Chapter 22 Friends with benefits
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Friends with benefits
Ruby
I gathered my things, picking up my empty snack container and water bottle before heading for the locker room. It had been a gruelling shift, but the adrenaline outweighed my exhaustion.
This placement had been my toughest one yet, but also the most fulfilling. I was grateful the nursing coordinator had pulled strings to arrange this earlier than was customary. Only a few weeks in, and I already knew it was the path I wanted to take.
“Ruby,” Dr. Spring, the anaesthetist I had just assisted in surgery, called out.
She was still dressed in her scrubs, her surgical mask hanging loosely around her neck.
“Are you done for the day?”
I nodded. I’d swapped my shifts around because I’d hoped to be in Arizona for Ryker’s National Championship game. As much as it sucked that there was no longer a reason to be there, instead of wasting a Saturday night off, I’d switched my flights to visit him at Phil-U instead.
The football team were throwing a party to mark the end of their season. It would be a fly-in-fly-out trip. I’d need to head back first thing tomorrow morning because I couldn’t find anyone to cover my night shift. But after missing his last game, I wasn’t about to miss this too.
“I won’t keep you too long,” Dr. Spring said, slipping her hands into the pockets of her scrubs. “I wanted to congratulate you on these past few weeks. I’ve been impressed by your precision in each surgery, and the experienced nurses have all had nothing but great things to say.”
Heat climbed my cheeks. I always found receiving compliments kind of embarrassing. I never knew the proper way to react. Agreeing felt arrogant, but brushing it off was like I was dismissing all the hard work I’d put in – and it had been hard. Harder than any other rotation.
“I wanted to gauge your plans for what comes next. A close colleague of mine is opening a graduate position in his team to start after the summer. He’s based in Tacoma, a city in Washington, not too far from Seattle.”
Whatever fatigue I’d been feeling instantly disappeared.
“Are you talking about Dr. Jefferson?”
When Dr. Spring nodded, I had to bite my tongue to keep myself from squealing with delight.
Dr. Jefferson was one of the most renowned anaesthetists in the country.
He was constantly making headlines for new groundbreaking techniques, and he worked with the best of the best to push the boundaries of modern medicine.
I’d read an article only last week about his move to Washington.
“If you’re considering a career in surgical nursing–”
“Definitely,” I interjected, unable to contain my excitement.
Dr. Spring chuckled softly. “Then I’d be happy to put in a good word once your placement with me is complete. Keep up the great work between now and then, Ruby, and that recommendation will be glowing.”
My smile didn’t fade even as I showered, then dressed in a knitted set and floor-length trench – my go-to winter fit – or while waiting outside the hospital for my Uber. I was so amped I needed to share this news with someone.
Usually, Noah would be the first person I called. I was still learning to ignore the natural urge to search for his name or text him after a shift.
When I’d returned from Miami, the girls had been waiting for me at the airport. One look from them had been all it took for me to break down. I’d cried the rest of the weekend, and then every morning and night the following week.
This week’s tear count was currently at three.
Once when a Snapchat memory popped up of Noah and me from a date night, then when I found one of his sweaters buried at the bottom of my wardrobe, and finally, when I was watching Friends with Benefits with Jaz and Justin Timberlake organised a flash mob for Mila Kunis.
If I wasn’t getting my happy ending, no one else should.
I pushed through the dull ache in my chest and called the group chat instead. Daisy answered first, then Jaz, then Bri.
“Hey, Ruby,” Daisy said. “Are you at the airport yet?”
I panned my camera to the parking lot. “I’m still waiting for my ride, but I have some exciting news.”
I told them all about my conversation with Dr. Spring, backtracking to give Jaz and Daisy some background on Dr. Jefferson since they’d never heard of him.
“Seattle,” Bri thoughtfully murmured while chewing her lunch. She was still inside the hospital. “Would you move there?”
I shrugged. “I mean, why not?”
Going home next year wasn’t an option. Not only because Noah would be there, but because Ryker wouldn’t. I had no real reason to go back. Just my parents and Ryker’s family, but as harsh as it sounded, even they weren’t enough.
While Seattle was further than I’d imagined moving to, perhaps that was a good thing. It could be a real fresh start, a place where nobody knew me as ‘Noah’s girlfriend’.
After breaking the news to my friends about Noah’s list of side pieces, I’d called my parents.
Though even as I told them Noah and I were over, I kept parts of the truth to myself.
For his sake? For mine? I wasn’t sure. There was still an invisible part of me protecting him, the part that still cared.
Less than five minutes after hanging up with my parents, Cherie had phoned – Mum had wasted no time passing that information along. I’d made Cherie promise she wouldn’t tell Ryker. With his football game coming up, I hadn’t wanted to distract him.
He still didn’t know. I’d have to fess up to him at some stage this weekend. There was a fine line between concealing the truth and outright avoiding it.
“I’m glad you’re going tonight, Ruby,” Jaz said. “It’ll do you good. A night with Ryker is exactly what you need.”
“Have you told him yet?” Daisy checked.
I sighed. “No. I’m sure it’ll come up at some point.”
As the wind picked up, I combed my fingers through my freshly cut hair. The new length still surprised me each time I caught my reflection. It used to fall halfway down my back, but now it ended just above my shoulders.
When going through a breakup, it was a rite of passage to either get a tattoo or a haircut. I’m sure my parents were relieved I’d chosen the later.
“Do you want to know what I think?” Bri asked, continuing to speak without waiting for an answer. “You should hook up with someone tonight.”
The mere thought of that set off an overwhelming amount of emotions. Panic. Guilt. Nerves. Sadness.
Hooking up with someone new wasn’t as straightforward for me as it was for my friends. It would take my record from just Noah to something I’d never wanted.
Bri’s expression softened, as if I’d just voiced all those concerns out loud. “I’m not saying have sex with anyone. But you will need to move on at some point.”
I knew that. But not tonight.