14. Chapter 14
Chapter 14
Faith
I t's an annual nightmare. Ryan slithers out from whatever hole he's been hiding in, hell-benton screwing with my head, trying to make me surrender to him. I used to count on him, losing interest and fading away. But this time, there's a menacing determination in his approach. There's a relentless drive that makes it clear—he won't give up this time.
I try to recall his past attempts to get back together, but I can't remember him ever bombarding me with this many texts. I ignore them all, anyway. I could change my number, but I treasure the messages between Chelsea and me. As I finish my patient notes, my phone starts ringing incessantly. I have to silence it at least four times to focus and clearly get my notes done.
Sadly, ignoring messages and calls isn't enough to keep him away. It's only when I hear his booming voice coming into the ER that my whole body jolts. My heart stops beating for a second and starts racing once I see it's really him.
Suddenly, his voice echoes loudly from the hallway. "I just need to see Faith," he demands, talking down to one of the younger nurses.
"I've got it, hun," I tell her, and she rushes back to her patient. I'm thankful I'm sure she wants to be as far away from Ryan as possible despite his fake charming smile.
"What the fuck are you doing here?" I ask, my voice sharp and unyielding. But his smile remains unchanged, unaffected by the tone of my voice. It's not like it is when I take a tone with him alone.
"I'm here to see you," he says sweetly, mindful of those around us. "You aren't returning my calls."
"And? We're not together anymore. I don't have to answer," I retort, my patience thinning.
"It doesn't have to be that way," he says sweetly, in the same tone that used to work on me every single time. "Let me buy you dinner tonight."
"No,"I say sternly. "Please leave."
"Come on, Faith, just give me another chance."
"Why? So you can start beating on me again?"
"God, how many times do I have to say I'm sorry?" he sighs, and I can only hear annoyance in his voice. "You make me that way."
"I make you ?" I scoff. "If I could make you do anything, hitting me and leaving me black and blue would be the last fucking thing I would make you do to me."
"Will you keep your fucking voice down?" he hisses as his eyes dart over to those who could have possibly heard me.
"No, because you can't tell me what to do anymore," I reply loud and clear, but it only brings a deep anger to his eyes, one that I'm all too familiar with.
"Let's see how tough you are when no one's around," he whispers, grabbing my arm in agrip so tight I'm afraid it might break. Your mine, Faith, always have been, always will be." A demented smile forms on his face as he stares into my eyes.
"Get off of me!" I shout loud enough for the other nurses to see. I pull back as hard as I can, but he doesn't loosen his grip. It's only when a couple of nurses rush over that Ryan turns me loose.
"Call security," one of them says when she recognizes Ryan's face.
"Stupid bitch. Fuck this," he scoffs and rushes out of the ER before security has time to grab him.
I rub the tension out of my arm while the other nurses look worried.
"I'm fine," I assure them while ensuring Ryan is well and truly gone.
"Are you sure?" Cathay, one of the older nurses, asks. She's all too familiar with the various injuries she's had to treat due to Ryan's temper.
"Yeah, nothing happy hour won't fix," I tell her.
"Faith,"she says with a mother's concern. "Is he bugging you again?"
"No, it's fine. He'll lose interest like he always does and move on to some other girl," I reply, more for my own assurance than hers.
But even as I try to distract myself with patient notes, I can't shake the memory of the desperation in his eyes and the audacity of his public aggression. It's like he no longer cares who sees until security gets involved.
No matter what, I need to take care of myself. So, at the end of my shift, I clock out and head to the local bar for a much-needed drink. I decide that tonight, self-care means a strong drink and the comforting buzz of a crowded bar, anything to ease the growing tension in my shoulders.