Chapter 14
Aria
“Alright, miss Jade. I’m going to put some cool stuff in your arm, and as soon as I’m done, I’m going to see about getting some rainbow sherbet. How does that sound?” I look at the little girl laying in the hospital bed and almost crack when her tear-filled eyes look up at me.
She’s scared of needles and is trying not to show it. She is trying to be brave, but I can see her fear is taking over. I so badly want to make her feel better. If only I had the superpower to cure kids of their illnesses.
When she opens her mouth, I angle the point of the needle right where I need it, pushing the medicine down when I hear her voice.
“Can I get banana slices with it?” she asks, some of the fear fading away.
I nod as I move the syringe away from her arm and grab a pink bandage. “You can get bananas and all the sprinkles you want.” I lift the bandage and show it to her. “You didn’t even flinch, girly-pop. I think that gets you two scoops.”
All the fear leaves Jade, and she gives me the brightest smile. “Did you hear that, Mommy? I get two scoops.”
My eyes go over to her mom, sitting in the chair over by the window.
“I did hear.” She sends her daughter a smile just as bright. “Hopefully, they are big scoops.”
I laugh as I dispose of my gloves and fill out Jade’s digital chart.
“I will see what I can do about that request,” I say to the mother-daughter duo.
“The penicillin should start working soon, but it can take some time. I’ll be in to check in on her in a few.
If either of you need anything, I’m just a button away. ”
The mom throws me a grateful smile. “Thank you.”
“Of course. I’ll go see about getting two bowls of ice cream sent in.” I make my way out of Jade’s room and back to the nurses’ station.
I have three kids on my service today, and I have to make sure everything is in their charts before leaving.
It’s only been three full weeks of working here, but I have definitely found my groove.
Everyone has been so nice and welcoming, I’m having a hard time wondering how I will be able to walk away from it in five months.
Maybe something will happen between now and then that will make walking away from this place easier.
Instead of thinking about leaving so early in the game, I throw myself into my charts. I’m in the middle of writing down my notes for the little boy in room sixteen when Sophia comes over.
“Hey, can I ask you a question?” she asks, leaning over the top of my desk as if she doesn’t want anyone else to hear our conversation.
I move my eyes away from the computer screen and up to her. “Of course.”
In the weeks since we’ve met, Sophia has become kind of my Chicago version of Serena. If we are on shift together, we have all our meals together, and when we’re off, we hang out when she’s not busy with her boyfriend. We may not be Bonafide besties just yet, but we are getting there.
“Do you like hockey?” she whispers to me.
That’s not the question I expected. “Like the sport?”
Her face scrunches in confusion. “Is there a different type of hockey?”
“You could be talking about tonsil hockey for all I know.”
She gives me an eye roll. “I’m talking about the sport. Do you like the sport?”
I let out a chuckle. “Well, I liked the movie The Mighty Ducks. Does that count? Because outside of that, my knowledge is limited.”
“So you know nothing about the hockey team here in Chicago?”
I shake my head. “The only thing I know is that your boyfriend plays for them.” And it’s true. Hockey is not a sport I follow. Baseball, on the other hand, I can name every single team the league has to offer. Something my stepdad made sure of.
Sophia nods and takes out her phone, showing me the screen.
“What do you think of this guy?”
It’s a photo of a young guy, maybe around twenty-six, twenty-seven, with light brown hair that looks blond almost and hazel eyes. He’s staring straight at the camera.
“He’s cute,” I voice. “Not my type, but cute nonetheless.”
I’ve also sworn off men and relationships, but I don’t say that.
“And you don’t know who he is?” Sophia asks, putting away her phone.
“Never seen him,” I say with a shrug. Is he some sort of Chicago celebrity?
“Perfect.” Sophia beams. “Would you like to make a couple thousand dollars this week?”
A couple thousand? How does not knowing who a guy is earn me a couple thousand dollars?
Wait.
No way.
Is…is Sophia trying to pimp me out?
I lean forward to get as close to Sophia as possible. “Soph, I love you. I’ve only known you almost three weeks, but I love you, I do, and I’ve done a lot of crazy shit in my life, but I draw the line at getting paid to fuck someone.”
Sophia pulls away, putting distance between us, shock all over her face.
“What?” she asks, bewildered. “That-that is not… I-I m-meant it as…” Eventually, she pauses, takes in a big breath, and looks at me sheepishly. “Can I start over?”
“Please,” I say, giving her an eager nod.
She takes another breath before she starts up again. “He’s a friend?”
“Why is there a question mark at the end of that?”
A sigh leaves her. “Because he’s the owner of the Dark Knights, the hockey team here in Chicago. I don’t know him that well outside of a few interactions at team events, but Blake, my boyfriend, said he would consider him a friend even though he’s his boss.”
I think I got all of that. “Okay?”
“Anyway, he’s getting knee surgery and is looking to hire a nurse to help with recovery.
He had mentioned it to Blake when they ran into each other, and Blake volunteered me.
It’s good money from what he told me, but as confident as I am in my skills, I don’t know if I’m comfortable with doing nurse duties without the help of the hospital or someone else. ”
I nod as I take everything in. Having been in her shoes a few years ago, I know why she wouldn’t be confident, but I’ve seen her work, and she is amazing at the job. With time, she will have all the confidence in the world, even if it can be hard without the supplies the hospital provides.
“Okay. So you want me to help you out?”
Sophia nods. “That, or you can take the job completely. I don’t want to be the reason his recovery goes bad.”
“Don’t doubt yourself. You are an amazing nurse.
All the kids love you, and so do the parents,” I tell her, because it’s true.
Sophia is on her way to being an amazing RN.
She can do this job without me, but that doesn’t stop the question from leaving my mouth.
“How much are we talking here exactly? Money wise.”
A smirk forms on her face. “Five thousand per shift. So, if we do one together, twenty-five hundred each.”
My eyes practically pop out of my head. Twenty-five hundred is a week’s worth of pay, and this guy is paying it for a shared shift.
It would be nice to have some extra money in my pocket.
The rental stays could get more expensive, and if my past comes looking for me, it would be nice to have the money in case I need to hire a lawyer.
“How would the shifts work?”
“We would go in when we aren’t here, either both of us or one of us at a time.
According to Grayson—that’s his name—he has someone to help out during the majority of the day and with meals, but he is going to be staying with family and doesn’t think they can handle it if anything were to go wrong or if he were to need help with his medication.
He said we can stay there if needed, and he will cover food and transportation as well. Oh, and any supplies needed.”
“Five thousand a shift for that type of work seems a little excessive, don’t you think?”
And it is. We essentially will be getting paid five grand to babysit.
“It is, and I said the same thing, but he’s insistent. So, what do you say? Want to help? You’ll have the lead and everything. I will just be your assistant.” Sophia smiles down at me, puppy dog eyes and praying hands and all.
I should say no. The word is almost out of my mouth, but something stops me.
A voice.
You can end this, Aria, but you will always be mine.
That voice is why I left Austin. That voice is the reason why I feel like a huge chunk of myself is missing.
That voice could destroy me if it were to ever find me again. I need to protect myself, and this job gets me one step closer to that.
“Yeah, I’ll help you out.”