Doctor-Patient Confidentiality: Chapter One Hundred and Seventy-Two

The words reverberate through my being, urging me forward despite the weakness in my legs. Like a tattered moth drawn to an open flame. Until I’m standing before Frost in the enclosed basin, our bodies now only inches apart, squashing any impulse to maintain some distance from him. He’s so close I can feel the heat radiate off him, centralized in his charged eyes that mine keep having to dodge.
It’s like being cradled in a coffin.

The chill of the basin floor seeps into my soles, a stark contrast to the heat radiating off Frost’s body. His presence looms over me, magnetic and overpowering. I am enveloped in his aura, consumed by the energy that crackles between us.
He gestures to the balls ringed around the basin. “An oxygen atom has eight electrons, six on its outermost shell. These are the electrons it shares with the sole electrons of two hydrogen atoms to form a water molecule.” The depth of his voice seems to make the sleek cavity feel alive somehow. “But since you lost yours and consequently broke your bond, these electrons are incomplete and unstable. You’ll need to take responsibility for them.“