["You did it!"] Whisney's cheerful voice praised Lethia inside her head.
'Don't talk to me! I need to focus.' Lethia commanded sharply, her brows furrowed as she clenched her palms against her lap, using the grip as an anchor to keep her focus.
She kept pushing herself to concentrate. The tighter her fists clenched, the more she squinted her eyes, and the clearer Doctor Rue's firm voice and his assistant's replies became. It was like turning up the volume on them while the rest of the noise faded into nothing but a low, buzzing background.
"Is she our last patient?"
"Yes, doc. She was the last."
Lethia could hear the thud-thud of their shoes hitting the floor, followed by the rustling shuffle of paper.
'Wait, are they going home? No more talk about Renar?' Her lips pouted, brow still furrowed in disappointment.
But just as her focus wavered—distracted by the two patients whispering while glancing her way—the doctor's assistant said,
