The same day:

Kenna's POV

There he was.

Dr. Tyler Hart, with his back turned towards us, was gazing out of the window.

Here I am, worried about what's ahead of me. And he's gazing out of the window.

This old man has plenty of time in the world.

The nurse says, "Dr. Hart, they're here," in her posh accent.

He turns around ever so slowly.

He definitely has all the time in the world.

And then...

I was met with the most exquisite face I'd ever seen on the face of this earth.

Dr. Hart wasn't the old man with gray hair I'd imagined. He didn't even wear glasses.

He was probably a few years older than me and was so gorgeous.

Wait, am I drooling over a doctor?

"Hello, Miss Joy," he says in his majestic voice, flicking his eyes between mom and me.

"Hey, Dr. Hart," mom says.

"Please have a seat", he nods and makes his way towards his desk.

We sit in the seats opposite him, and he is in his.

I look at him; he has lovely dark brown hair, gorgeous deep blue eyes, a perfectly sculpted nose, a beautiful pair of lips, and a jaw that is on point.

I might have been staring at him for too long because he smiles and says, "So, I'm guessing you're Kenna?" wiggling his eyebrows.

"Yes, I am," I reply, trying to sound calm.

"So what brings you here?", he asks mom.

"Is there a file from a previous hospital?"

"Uh, yes, there is," mom says, handing my file from the previous hospital to him.

He scans the file quickly and looks at it thoughtfully as he begins closing it.

"So, you're here for a second opinion. Well, then let's not waste any time. I mean, the faster you tend to it, the better", he says in a rush.

Mom nods enthusiastically in agreement, and so do I, unenthusiastically.

"Let's begin with the tests. If it's negative, then that's good. If it turns positive, then we'll begin with the treatment as soon as possible", he says, looking at mom.

Mom nods again. I don't move a muscle.

"So, when do we get back for the tests?" mom asks shakily.

"Let's start now. I don't want to delay anything. Come on", he says, looking at me.

I blink at him and get up from my chair.

"Which doctor will be tending to her?", mom asks. "Dr. Wesley?, Dr. Kennedy?, or...?".

"Well, I'm a doctor too", he says with a cute smile. "Dr. Hart will be tending to her".

There was a sense of relief on mom's face.

"I'm sorry, I thought since you were the head of the department you didn't tend to any patients", she says to him.

"Oh, no. I prefer tending to patients rather than being the head of those who tend to them", he says, raising his eyebrows. "Also, most of the doctors haven't arrived as yet. It's a lazy world", he mumbles.

"Dr. Lee is here; he can tend to her," the nurse interrupts abruptly.

What is her problem?

"No, Alexa, I'll do this. You may now leave my cabin," he says to her, and she leaves the cabin with a scowl on her face.

Serves her right.

"So if you will follow me, Miss Kenna", he says, looking at me. "You can too, if you'd like to", he says, looking at mom.

"Will it be painful?", mom asks him with concern in her voice.

"Well, I can tell she's a strong girl", he says, looking at me and then back at her, "So nope, it won't hurt".

"I don't think I'll be able to see her like that. I've read about the testing process on the internet, and I can't look at my baby girl like that," mom says on the verge of tears.

"Hey, that's alright now", he says comfortingly. "It will be okay. It's just a little bit of pain and nothing more than that, to be honest".

"Well, I think I'll just stick to being in the waiting room. Kenny, come and find me once you're done," she says, looking at him and then me.

"There's no need; you can wait here. In my cabin until we're back", he says to mom.

Why is he so good to us?

"That's alright; I'll be okay in the waiting room," she almost stood up from her chair.

"Please, I insist that you remain here", he says strongly. "We'll be back really soon".

Mom nods and gives in to the idea of being here. He smiles at this and grabs a pair of gloves from one of the drawers of his desk.

"Let's go," he says to me, and I swear, I could barely move.

I had to literally drag my right foot, then my left foot, then my right foot, to get my body to move and register what was happening around me. It took a lot of effort.

We make our way out of the cabin and are on our way to the lab, where my tests will be processed.

"Look, Kenna, you don't need to be nervous, okay?" he says, breaking the silence.

I look up at him. He is way taller than me. Probably around six feet in comparison to my five-foot-two.

"Yeah" was all I could manage.

"Whatever it is, it will be alright," he repeats mom's words, and I am momentarily comforted.

I smiled at this, and when I looked up at him, he was smiling too.

Before I could react any further, we were in the lab.

"Okay, so I'm going to take a sample of your bone marrow and send it for a biopsy to detect if there's anything wrong," he says, and my heart skipped a beat.

.

.

Let's not get into details about the testing process because it hurt a lot. But Dr. Hart was constantly comforting me with his words.

Telling me how strong I was.

Telling me it's going to be okay.

Telling me to believe in him.

And I did.

.

.

.

"The reports will be back in maybe two or three days. So I'll fix a suitable appointment, and I'll see you here", he says to mom once we're back in his cabin. "I'll ring in to let you know when I get the reports".

"Okay, we'll be here", mom says nervously, standing up to exit the cabin. I follow closely behind her.

"Thanks, Dr. Hart", I say.

Mostly for being my support system and comforting me with his words.

"You don't need to thank me, Kenna. And please call me Tyler," he says, flashing his gorgeous smile.

.

.

.

The rest of the day passes by in a blur. Nothing eventful.

I spent most of it reading a book. There hasn't been any text from Ally as of yet.

So I texted her again. I briefed her about today's encounter with Dr. Hart, except for the part where I was drooling over him.

.

.

.

Long after we had dinner, I was now on my bed, hoping that everything would be okay. That the test would be negative.

But there was something about Dr. Hart—I mean Tyler—that intrigued me.

Well, I don't know what that is, but I guess I'll find out soon.

Very soon.