The Alpha's Healer

14 | The Trio

"Thank you for sharing it with me." Dr Carlos handed her the book, pushing up his glassing up, he asked, "I'm curious about the formula mentioned on page two. Where did you find it? It's not part of the syllabus as far as I'm aware."

"It's not." Iris finally put her guard up, unwilling to reveal some secrets, she made up something on the spot. "I found some books in the library."

"How lucky. Haha, would you like to see my lab?"

-----

The lab was situated at the top floor in the hospital building. An entire floor dedicated entirely for Dr Carlos' work. He unleashed the excitement about his lab and work during the elevator ride, which was hardly five minutes.

Iris' interest grew far more than that was acceptable. She refrained from asking many questions, but a few still slipped in between his chattering. His loose hair swayed as he led her beyond the glass doors of his lab.

A small team of three, no older than thirty and dressed in white lab coats over their semi formal clothing, turned towards the entrance at the same time.

Iris dug her heels into the floor, a bit uncomfortable with their attention. Dr Carlos made a quick introduction.

His priorities were clearly listed, and getting to know each other's name was nowhere near the top, which was evident in the way he messed up two out of the three people's names in his own team.

Claire, previously introduced as Clara, was the only girl in the team. Her slightly shorter frame made her stand out and attract Iris' attention before the other two.

The waist of her lab coat was altered to highlight the curves of her body. Her long hair messily wrapped in a claw clip allowed a few strands to frame her rosy face delicately. Black thick rimmed glasses framed a pair of beautiful light green eyes.

Claire was beautiful, Iris thought. Her evaluation meant nothing, so her lips remained shut about it, pinched into a thin line that almost seemed rude.

Adam quickly corrected his name as well. Adrian was his middle name, often used by Dr Carlos for reasons he couldn't fathom even after two years working in the same lab with him.

He was the oldest among the three, pushing thirty with a bad back and fingers that could fall off from holding beakers and droppers all day.

His thick brown hair coiled in a messy way above his head, leaving a clear canvas of a face that was ordinary to an extreme. So much so that Iris wouldn't be able to remember it even if she tried.

"And this young man right here is my own spawn. Robert." Dr Carlos sent a heavy pat on his shoulder. "He is only a year older than you, so why not try becoming friends. Start by calling him Rob, or Robby like the rest of us."

To call someone she just met with a name his close friends and family use hardly hovered the line of acceptable. Iris addressed them one by one, soft and humble, in the names they asked her to use.

Claire and Adam returned to the task at hand. Iris finally paid attention to Dr Carlos' son. It wasn't uncommon for kids to follow a similar path as their parents in terms of profession.

It didn't surprise her that Robert not only was interested in medicine but also became a part of his father's team at nineteen.

However, Iris couldn't resist doing a double take simply because of their resemblance. Robert shared almost 80% of facial features with Dr Carlos, yet carried it in a completely different aesthetic sense.

His wavy hair touched his earlobe with its length, and dark eyes seemed to peek right into her soul when he smiled. He towered above everyone in the lab and had to lower him head to hold a conversation.

"Hello, nice to meet you. Dad talked about you yesterday. You can call me Rob." Robert said as he extended a hand towards her.

Iris quickly shook it and let go as if burnt. Physical contact didn't come easy, except for Sebastian, who seemed to be an exception for everything in her life.

"This is the medicine. Run these tests on it; I want a detailed report by tomorrow. And take these notes for reference. Iris wrote them." Dr Carlos handed over the material to Robert and shooed in away, dragging Iris for a brief tour of the lab.

Iris' only dream for the longest time, as long as she could remember, was to become a doctor. To make use of the knowledge she soaked in from those old books and put it to use, and by doing so, also make a place in her father's ice cold heart.

Thinking of it as a road to achieve the life she always wanted, Iris threw in everything she had to offer, only to be left at a crossroad right before her eighteenth birthday.

There she chose the path her father laid out for her, out of concern and a bit of selfish desire that it might soften him just enough for her to walk into his life without making a sound.

She bid farewell to the dream she had carved with her fingers, one day at a time, and buried it at a place so far deep even the deepest regret couldn't find it.

Dr Carlos' enthusiasm for his dream burrowed a hole in her heart, dug out that discarded dream with a shovel of regret and placed it right in front of her eyes, bleeding and broken, with sharp edges that hurt more, the more she tried to touch it.

That dream would never be hers again. Just the way she gave up, that dream have up on her as well.

The lab tour ended up being an hour long. Iris was glad and gasping for air behind Dr Carlos' back, ready to leave the place and go back to burrowing in an isolated corner, where she felt the most comfortable sense of belonging.

But the moment she decided to leave, Dr Carlos hollered for his son, "Robert, it's lunch time, why don't you all take Iris to our cafeteria? It's her first time her, so treat her to a nice meal!"

The trio readily agreed, visibly eager to take a break from the lab. Iris bit back the refusal that almost made it out. She trailed behind them all the way down to the first floor cafetaria.

"The hospital has two cafeterias; one is for general use where anyone can eat and the other is for staff only. The one we're at is the staff cafeteria." Claire explained, leading them to an empty table.

The table of four was soon filled with food of everyone's preference. Iris' was one of the 'must try' noodle soup dish meant to 'calm the body and soothe the soul with it's light but unforgettable taste' according to Adam.

Iris moved her spoon in the clear soup, wondering when would be the right time to text Sebastian to get her. They were supposed to eat together later. Was the plan scrapped? Iris felt the heavy weight of guilt spreading across her chest at the mere thought of being the reason for it.

She stayed relatively silent among the three. Adam and Claire made the most out of their time away from the lab, and even spilled some diabolical means used by Dr Carlos to keep them on their toes.

Was it really okay to trash talk Dr Carlos in front of his son? Iris wanted to ask, but then she heard Robert add to those accusations and swallowed it with a spoonful of soup.

The silence didn't last long for Iris. It was impossible for them to not show interest in someone brought by their mentor. The initial introduction was nothing but an exchange of names.

"So you're not from shadow ridge? I could tell from your mannerism. It's not like shadow ridge at all. Haha, where are you from?" Adam asked.

"Fire moon pack." Iris replied without adding any details. She didn't know them well enough to tell them about her life. Even Sebastian didn't know it all...

Her mood dropped by a notch. Reaching into her pocket, Iris took out the new phone and opened the text app, searched for Sebastian's name and sent a simple 'hello'.

Claire resume her interrogation as soon as the phone was placed on the table. Iris answered them vaguely, like a dense fog filling the forest, there but so obscure it might as well not be there.