Reawakened at the South Pole
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Juliette Hyland
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15.4K
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13
PROLOGUE
BOUNCING BEFORE HER twin brother’s dorm room, Helena Mathews worried her heart might escape her chest at any moment. But she wasn’t sure if it was from excitement or fear.
Probably both.
As of this afternoon, she was officially a nursing major. She swallowed as she tried to force herself to raise her hand. Knocking on a door shouldn’t be this hard!
Owen would understand why she had to change degrees. Would understand that focusing on emergency medicine was her passion. And help her find a way to explain to her parents why it wasn’t dangerous—at least not really.
They’d been born early, like most twins. But unlike her brother’s, Helena’s lungs hadn’t been fully developed. She’d spent the first three months of her life in the NICU. After she’d contracted a lung infection, her parents had been told to prepare for the worst. But Helena had rallied. Though until her teens, any time she got a cold, it tended to go into her lungs. And then she’d spend at least a few days in the hospital.
But she hadn’t spent a night in the hospital in years.
She’d always been on the tiny side, something she wanted to attribute to genetics, but her parents believed it was because of her rough start. For her entire childhood, and even now, they’d kept her sheltered—worried over every cough and sniffle.
Helena had begged them to let her live on campus at the University of Chicago, even though it was less than twenty minutes from their home. They’d allowed it, but she suspected that was only because Owen was in the prelaw program here.
And because she’d chosen a safe degree in art history.
Her mother had said on more than one occasion that museums were safe—no dangers there. And so Helena had selected the degree, even though it wasn’t her passion.
To please her parents.
Except right now there was a heavy anatomy textbook cradled in her arms. She’d stopped by the campus bookstore and bought the text even though she wouldn’t need it until next semester. The human body fascinated her. But she didn’t want to study how others drew it—she wanted to heal it.
Tapping her book, she stared at the door. It would thrill most people that their child wanted to go into medicine.
But not her parents, at least not with her.
Helena pulled on her long braid. She’d never done anything to displease them. No matter what, she bent to their expectations. To keep them from worrying.
But she wanted more than the safe life her parents thought she should follow.
And she had an escape hatch. The scholarship she’d earned as the valedictorian of her high school would cover most of her school expenses, even if she changed her degree plan. She could chase her dream.
Her dream.
“Helena?” Carter Simpson’s deep voice rumbled through her as he crossed his arms and leaned just slightly to the left. The famous Simpson lean. It was a habit his father developed in childhood, though the reasons were lost to memory, according to Dr. Simpson. And, as his mini-me, Carter had imitated it for as long as she’d known him. She’d teased him about the habit when they were younger, until she realized he didn’t even know he was doing it.
His handsome face showed surprise as he pushed a hand through his silky dark hair.
How did she explain hovering in the hallway?
It shouldn’t be that difficult. It was just Carter. He’d been in her house nearly every day since she and Owen had entered kindergarten with him. The boys had been inseparable and had occasionally let her tag along on their adventures, though they’d protected her from getting dirty and made sure she was never in danger. Not even a skinned knee.
Nothing that might add to her parents’ worries.
The boys had elected to room together when they’d all received their acceptances to the University of Chicago. Carter had never been more than Owen’s best friend to her—until they’d all headed to college in September.
Three months...ninety days. A blip in the timeline of their friendship, but everything had changed. At least for her.
She wasn’t exactly sure why the shift had happened. Why studying with the boys now made her palms sweat and her heart race if Carter’s knees brushed against hers. Why their morning coffee and breakfast talks, which her brother always skipped, were now the highlight of her day. Helena had gone to bed more nights than she wanted to admit thinking of the strong-jawed boy standing before her.
“Helena?” he repeated.
Her cheeks heated as she met his chocolate gaze. Of course her voice would disappear around him at the most awkward time.
“Owen is still at the library. I suspect he will be there until it closes. A big test in—” Carter shrugged “—in some law subject that I can’t remember.”
“Introduction to Political Theory.” She’d helped Owen write up his study notes.
“Of course you know.” Carter tapped her shoulder, then immediately pulled his hand back and stuck it in his pocket.
Did his fingers pulse with the need to touch her like hers did whenever she looked at him?
“Maybe I could use some of your helpful meddling,” Carter teased, seemingly oblivious to the desire rolling through her.
“It wasn’t meddling, just drafting up some note cards.” Her energy deflated as she sighed. She’d wanted to tell her brother the good news.
And it was good news.
But she needed someone to celebrate with her to alleviate the anxiety that was poking all around her happiness bubble. She could already envision the worry in her parents’ eyes.
There had to be a way to make them understand. To make them happy with her choice. Surely there was a way, even if her brain couldn’t find it in this precise moment.
“I was just teasing, Helena.” Carter’s smile lit up her darkening spirits. “Hey, human anatomy. I have that textbook. Are you using it in one of your art classes?”
His voice was calm, a balm to the prickles running along her skin.
“I changed my major.” The words popped out of her mouth, and she saw the shock radiate across his eyes before he stepped back and gestured for her to come into the small space.
She sat on the edge of Owen’s bed and waited while Carter pulled his desk chair directly in front of her. There wasn’t much space in the boys’ dormitory room, and she was very aware of how close he was. Very.
“I’m a nursing student now. Or I will be when we get back from the holiday break in January. I just... I just want to be a nurse.” Once the words slipped from her lips, Helena couldn’t keep them buried. “I’ve wanted to be a nurse since I was a little girl. Probably all those times in the hospital.”
She hadn’t meant to say that, either. She’d told her mother that once, and she’d fretted over the viruses she might be exposed to. Worried she’d spend more time as a patient than as a nurse. Helena had recognized, even as a little girl, that expanding on that dream would only upset her parents. So she’d smiled and said something lost to the fog of memory. But her heart had never forgotten the desire to wear a stethoscope as her badge of honor.
“I remember us playing doctor’s office when we were little. If I remember correctly, Owen always needed his leg put in a pretend cast because of some accident we’d dreamed up.”
“And I always fixed it by giving him a shot.” Helena laughed, enjoying the memory. Carter leaned closer, and flashes of heat erupted along her body that had nothing to do with the anxiety of talking to her parents.
His fingers reached for her, and Carter pulled the book from her lap. Setting it to the side, he gripped her hands. His touch was warm and soothing. Helena’s heartbeat pounded in her ears as she tried to focus on something other than Carter’s full lips. But it was hard when they were so close.
“Worried about telling your parents?”
“Am I that easy to read?” Helena’s chuckle sounded nervous, and she pulled her hands back. She needed to focus on the problem at hand and not on what it might be like to kiss Carter Simpson. And that was easier to do when she wasn’t touching him.
Though not by much.
“Not really.” He sighed and crossed his arms.
It took all her control not to reach back out to him.
“But I know your parents pretty well, and I suspect this will be a shock to them.”
“I want to be a nurse, but I don’t want to disappoint them. I want them to be happy, too.” She hated the whiny tone. If only there was a way to shake the worry from herself...without him seeing.
Carter slid from his chair, and the bed sank a bit as he sat beside her. He wrapped an arm around her and didn’t protest when she laid her head against his shoulder.
God, he smelled delicious.
That was not a thought she should be having about her brother’s best friend.
“They always worry...”
“But you are fine, healthy and you can’t live a life that has no risks,” Carter interrupted.
“Easy for you to say. You and your father have been discussing your medical career and how one day your name will be in those journals that cover every surface of his office. He is always proud of you.” The man was constantly boasting about how great his son was.
Her throat closed as panic raced along her spine. She always pleased her parents, pleased everyone. She hated upsetting anyone. They’d spent a lifetime caring for her, protecting her, worrying about her. The medical bills had nearly bankrupted them, but they’d never complained.
“I owe them so much.”
He squeezed her. “Only you get to live your life, Helena. There is nothing wrong with chasing your own dreams.”
She wanted to believe him. “I’ve never upset them before. But I can do this.” The phrase sounded a little hollow to her ears, but she was going to be a nurse. She’d taken the first tentative step, and she would not deviate.
An expression passed over Carter’s face that she feared was doubt, but he smiled. The dimple on his right cheek sent more heat tumbling through her. Her fingers ached to run along the late-evening stubble, to see what might happen if she leaned closer.
Get it together, Helena.
She’d come looking for her brother, not for Carter. Though she was glad it was Carter who’d opened the door.
A tad too pleased...
“Maybe we’ll be in the same anatomy lab next year.” Helena sighed, shifting the topic away from her parents’ expectations—at least for a moment. Though as his eyes dipped to her lips, she wasn’t sure it was a safer topic.
“I’d like that. A lot.”
A lot. Her heart melted at his soft voice, and she raised her gaze to meet his. Heat burned in them. And her body felt heavy as she let her eyes wander to his lips.
“Helena.” His fingers brushed along her jaw.
Need rushed through her as she realized he wanted to kiss her, too. Helena could feel it. “Carter—”
The door burst open, and they jumped apart.
“The library lost power.” Owen dropped his backpack on the floor, oblivious to her presence or the tension radiating between Helena and his best friend.
Her brother shook his head. “Helena?” His eyes drifted from Carter to Helena, and then he kicked his backpack. “Sorry, I am just really stressing over my final tomorrow.”
Helena patted Carter’s hand, and then she grabbed her textbook and stood. “You should get some sleep, Owen. Your head is crammed with all the knowledge it can take.” She hugged her twin and started for the door.
“Helena, didn’t you come here to talk to Owen?” Carter’s voice was tight.
She turned to find him so close their chests nearly touched. Her body wanted to lean into him. Wanted to pull him into the dorm hall and see if they could recapture the energy that had vibrated between them a few seconds ago. But it had passed—at least for now.
“It can wait. Owen has a big day tomorrow, and my stuff...” She motioned with her hands, hoping to make him understand. This time it was doubt and a touch of disappointment she saw hover in Carter’s gaze. Her stomach dropped. But Owen had a lot going on, too. She’d burden him with this when his finals were over.
She dropped a chaste kiss along Carter’s jaw and felt her eyes widen. She’d never done that, but Owen was too caught up in his own worries to notice the dynamic changing between his best friend and his sister. “I look forward to studying with you next semester,” she whispered, careful to make sure the words were too quiet for her brother to hear.
“Me, too.” His fingers reached for her, but he pulled them back just before they grazed hers.
“Are we still getting breakfast tomorrow?” Helena bit her lip as she studied him, hoping her hesitation tonight hadn’t driven away whatever was blooming here.
“I wouldn’t miss it.” Carter’s gaze lingered on her, and for just a moment she thought he might kiss her.
“Carter?” Owen’s voice rang out.
“Good night, Helena.”
Then the door closed. Helena hadn’t accomplished her plan for the evening, but her soul felt lighter.
So much lighter.
