Page 67 of Rise Above

CHAPTER 10: TRAUMA RESPONSES

AIFE

The panic had finally died down when we left the

emergency room. Instead of allowing myself to fall into the abyss that was PTSD, I numbed myself instead. Sometimes, that was easier. I’m sure my therapist would disagree, and the social worker in me would also disagree that disassociation was easier. After all the years I’d spent disassociating and numbing from my body, I knew I shouldn’t fall into old, bad habits. Hospitals did that to me. They brought out the worst in me. Working in one was different; I could control that. Injuries and sickness—every bad thought hit like a ton of bricks.

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I could still feel the panic slumbering in my body. It

would awake at the wrong time; it always did. Dealing with my medical trauma was sometimes a full-time job. I still didn’t know all my triggers even after years and years of therapy. One thing I did know was that Talon noticed. How that man got under my skin was still a mystery, but I was weirdly happy to have him there.

Pulling into my parking garage, I quickly shut my

car off and helped Talon out. He may have just broken his wrist, but he was cradling it like a baby. He seemed to be in a daze, but that could be the drugs finally kicking in. Talon followed after me, kicking his shoes off and flopping on my couch.

“Talon, we need to get some food for you and then

take your next dose of pain killers.”

He groaned and peeked an eye at me. “Why?”

“You need to get ahead of the pain, honey.” Pulling

out his meds, I lined them up on my kitchen counter. “It’s important.”

“Why do you know that?” He kicked his foot over

the arm rest, his feet dangling quite a bit off the end of the couch. “You take care of other injured athletes?”

He looked cute with his curly hair covering his

forehead. Talon was a remarkably attractive man, but there were times he looked so boyish. I loved those moments. Cute Talon was one of my favorites.

“Not exactly.” I got a glass of water ready for him.

“Burgers, okay?”

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“Cheeseburger.” His voice was high, almost like a

whine. Yet, I found it weirdly endearing.

“Yes, sir.”

Talon groaned. “Don’t call me that. Fuck, Aife.” Was he… was he turned on? By me? That was a

weird feeling for me. I was not the type of woman that turned on ridiculously hot men. And that’s who Talon James Walker was: a ridiculously attractive man.

I decided to tease him even if he had asked me not

to. “Don’t say what, Talon?”