16. Calista
SIXTEEN
CALISTA
“ I don’t know how people do this every day, El,” I said, banging my forehead down on my desk.
I had just returned from practicum and hadn’t bothered to change out of my scrubs yet. At this point, I didn’t even care that I was whining. I was exhausted—emotionally, mentally, and physically.
The entire morning had been spent changing bed pans, managing critical care equipment, and assessing patients who were on the verge of dying while acknowledging the hollow faces of their loved ones. My heart clenched again at the memory.
If the ICU was teaching me anything, it was that nursing might not be for me.
“I’m sure some days are definitely harder than others,” Ella responded from her bed.
Every day was hard.
I sighed, drawing imaginary circles on a textbook. “I guess so.”
“Let’s lighten the mood,” she said after a few heavy moments. “You can stress about practicum while you’re there.”
I offered her a nod, but didn’t say anything further.
“So… The Break Room, huh?” Ella mused. She was lying on her stomach, chin perched on a dainty wrist, her cat-like eyes digging into my soul. “And how did that happen? Last I heard, you and Lincoln were in a little bit of a lovers’ quarrel.”
I rolled my eyes at the last bit. This is what I got for spewing information about what had happened a few nights ago before running off on her in the early hours of the morning. I wanted to smile as I recalled her shouting after me down the hallway, hair going through a serious case of bedhead.
To be fair, I could have chosen a better opportunity. But I just couldn’t hold it in anymore. I had to tell someone .
Lincoln Pierce had me reverting into a teenage girl.
“We had called it quits for studying. He was hungry. I was hungry. We went to get food. Simple as that.”
“Simple,” Ella repeated, popping the last syllable. “Whatever you two have got going on is anything but simple.”
Light from the afternoon sun beamed through the window. The apples of my cheeks warmed. I closed my eyes, basking in it as I twisted my hair into a new bun. “I don’t want to overthink it.”
“Of course not.” Ella scrolled through her phone, a teasing grin etching itself onto her face.
I knew what she was thinking. Like my roommate, I was very much career motivated.
I had dreams and ambitions I had been chasing since I was a little girl.
Men were not something I had on my radar very often.
Since Ella and I had become friends, I had been on one date, which was casual at best. A guy in my program had been asking me to go out for coffee with him for months.
I hadn’t spent this much one-on-one time with a man in… well, ever.
Lincoln Pierce, while still infuriating, was starting to grow on me. And I was beginning to see another side of him. A side that I found insanely attractive.
I pulled in a heavy breath of air through my nose before releasing it.
Keep it professional, Cali.
“Any plans this weekend?” I asked Ella, derailing the conversation.
Ella didn’t look up from the small screen in her hand. “One of the sororities is throwing a Halloween party on Saturday.”
“That sounds like fun,” I said, trying and failing to refocus on the notes in front of me.
“You’re coming.”
“Am I?”
“You absolutely are. I can see how down you’ve been since you’ve started placement. Clear your schedule, sweet cheeks,” Ella said. “No studying, no tutoring, no babysitting. We’re going to party.”
When was the last time I’d been to a college party? I couldn’t even remember. The thought of breaking away from my stale routine didn’t seem so bad. She was right. After everything that had been going on, I could use a break.
As if he knew we had just been talking about him, Lincoln’s name flashed across my phone screen along with a message.
Guess who passed their midterm ?
I bit back the grin that was threatening to come out. He did it. Lincoln had managed to pass his second midterm, which meant I was one step closer to getting a reference letter from Professor Hamilton.
I wanted to respond to his message and ask for specifics, but I held myself back. I couldn't give Ella the opportunity to unload even more questions on me. Questions I didn’t have answers for.
“Yeah, I’ll come,” I said, turning my phone face down. “I used to love Halloween.”
Ella rose a perfectly arched brow. “You’re not going to fight with me, complain that you have too much on your plate?”
“Nope, I think I should go.”
“Well then…” Ella’s hazel eyes twinkled with mischief. She moved onto her back, her blonde head hitting the pillow. “Maybe Lincoln Pierce has been good for you after all.”
“Lincoln has nothing to do with it. I know how hard I’ve been working and how stressed out it’s making me. I deserve a break.”
Maybe that’s why I was so overwhelmed at practicum. I was spending too much time hitting the books and, when I wasn’t, I was tutoring or stuck in the depressing hospital ward. There was no relief.
“Good on you. I’m glad you can finally see that.”
A brief quiet settled over us before a thought came to mind. “So… costume ideas?”
“I was trying to convince Harper that we should do the Powerpuff girls. You know,” Ella gestured to her shiny locks. “Because of our hair color.”
“That’s a fun idea. Why don’t we do that? ”
“Harper shot me down,” Ella sighed, rolling her eyes back at me. “You know how she is with dresses.”
“We could wear shorts?”
“I’ll run it by her again; if not, we can come up with something else. I want to make sure you look good.”
An airy laugh escaped from me. “Why are you focusing on how I’m going to look?”
“Because all of Fenton’s sports teams have been invited,” Ella said with a mischievous glint in her eyes. “Maybe Lincoln will make an appearance.”
My spot by the window suddenly got too warm. I pushed my chair back, allowing it to scrape against the carpet, and slipped my shirt over my head to reveal a spaghetti-strapped tank top.
“There’s a high probability that Lincoln won’t even show up. Besides,” I said, tossing it onto my bed. “Why should that matter?”
“I don’t know,” Ella went back to scrolling on her phone, speaking in a nonchalant tone. “Sometimes the most magical things happen on Halloween night.”