2 – Harper
W hat the fuck just happened? Here I was minding my own goddamn business and all of a sudden, this tornado almost makes a pavement pancake of me. My heart is still in my throat although less than before.
Alessia…
I love how her name sounds. My lips start moving and before I know it her name rolls off my lips and I hear it out loud.
Chills run up my spine. I shake my head and wipe my eyes with my hands.
I need to get home. I love this rooftop, but I really need to get to the store before my next shift starts.
I turn around, walk to the door and start the walk down the stairs back to the dressing room. Lost in my own thoughts, I turn the corner and hit something hard but soft.
“Sorry!” My face turns red with embarrassment, and hands gripping my arms to steady me .
“Am I literally going to keep bumping into you from now on?” a familiar voice says. I look up and see Alessia holding me. Seriously I never see her and now twice in an hour?
“Hi Alessia, I guess we are.”
She laughs and it sounds so melodic. That chill up my spine returns. Okay I need to get a grip on that, and soon!
“I’ve got to run; Doctor Bob will kill me if I’m late to my shift again.” She lets go of me and starts to walk away before I can say anything.
She stops, turns around and walks back. My brows furrow.
She stops before me, leans in and grabs something from my pocket.
When I look down, I see she took my notepad and pen.
Alessia flips to the page where I wrote down her name and starts writing.
She looks at me with a mischievous grin, closes my notepad and gives it back.
Then she has the audacity to wink and walks away.
I walk to my locker and open up my notepad and quickly find the page where her name was. There it is, in cute swirly handwriting.
I never got your number so now you have mine.
310-555-3911
-xx- Alessia
I tear out the page and put it in my bag, maybe I’ll use it later.
I start undressing, throw my scrubs in the laundry basket and put on my leggings and oversized sweater.
I unbraid my hair and let it hang loose so my aching scalp gets some rest. I throw my bag over my shoulder and run out the door into the spring Los Angeles air.
An hour and a half later, I’m home and crash down on my couch.
I turn on the tv and flip through the channels.
I settle on the news channel and grab my phone from my bag, a piece of paper swirling to the ground.
I grab it and look at it. Oh, fuck; I almost forgot about Alessia’s number.
I stare at it for a while and then I crumple it up, I walk over to the trashcan and let go of the ball of paper.
I sit back down on the couch and start going through my social media. Reels and TikToks consume me. Masked men, book recommendations and thirst trap women fill my afternoon. At 3 PM my alarm goes off, the reminder that I need to get back to the hospital for another shift.
I walk over to the counter and grab a banana, I’ll eat dinner at the hospital tonight, just need something to ease the rumble in my stomach.
Out of the corner of my eye I spot the crumpled-up number of Alessia, lying on top of the trash. I walk over and look, no stare at it. I bite of a piece of the banana..
It feels like that stupid piece of paper is mocking me, calling to me.
With a lot more force than necessary I throw my banana peel on top of it. Good riddance!
I grab my bag and keys and walk to the door, one last look to see if all the windows are closed. My eyes glance over the trashcan again, like it’s pulling me in .
I stomp back and grab that stupid piece of paper. I pull out my phone and open my messages.
Happy Now?
I jank the door closed behind me and walk down the stairs to the parking lot. When I get to my car my phone chimes.
I think so. Who’s this?
Oh yeah right… She doesn’t have my number so she can’t know it’s me.
It’s Harper, You gave me your number on my notepad. You know… The girl you almost made into a pavement pancake.
Pavement Pancake huh? Sounds like a waste of such a pretty girl. ??
My cheeks heat and I feel a flutter in my core. Pretty girl? My mind whirls to come up with some kind of witty response. I type and delete it again and again.
You still there ?
Yeah… I’m here… You think I’m pretty?
What the hell Harper, that’s all you can come up with? So much for playing it cool. Who am I kidding? Playing it cool ended when I had a staring competition with a fucking piece of paper in the trash.
Yes.
I stare at my phone. One single word and my head spins.
I open my car and get in. I silence my phone and leave it on the passenger seat.
When my car starts music’s blaring through my speakers.
On autopilot I drive back to the hospital for my second shift.
It’s only a short four-hour shift on the pediatric wing.
It should be a slow one, unlike those ER shifts.
I can’t wait to cheer up those little faces.
The pediatric wing is my favorite place to be.
Although most of those kids are very sick, I love how they still see the positive side of things.
There’s always somebody laughing and playing.
If it’s not the tiny human patients, then it’s one of their siblings.
The nurses on that floor are a lot friendlier as well.
If I had a life outside of the hospital, I could see myself becoming friends with some of them.
I park my car in the staff parking lot and get my phone from the seat. I unlock the screen and see that I’ve got a new message from Alessia.
Please tell me you didn’t end up as a pavement pancake! ??
I laugh. The sound startles me. She’s funny.
No, I didn’t. I was driving so I couldn’t check my phone.
I step out of my car and start walking back to work.
Phew! I almost called in a search party.
Don’t scare me like that again or I’ll whip your fine ass!
What the hell! Who says you can get within whipping distance of my ass?
“I do.” Her voice fills my ears from behind.
I whip my head around to see Alessia standing right behind me. She’s still wearing her crimson scrubs, and a few pieces of hair are now framing her face instead of being tucked into her ponytail. She looks a bit wild.
“Rough shift?” I ask.
“Nah, it was alright. Just a lot of running around, thank God for cardio.”
“Good, I’ve got a four-hour peds shift coming up.”
“Cool. So, about your fine ass.” Alessia says without hesitation.
“What about it?”
“I can get within whipping distance as you can see. You didn’t notice me coming up to you. You need to be more aware of your surroundings, Harper.”
My name on her lips sounds like a scolding. It makes me want to act like a stubborn kid, so I do just that.
“Who are you? My mom? Why should I be ‘aware of my surroundings’,” I say mockingly, making air quotes with my hands.
That earns me an angry look from her.
“You never know who might be watching you, waiting to attack you. We as women are vulnerable, no matter how tough you think you might be.”
That look combined with the anger in her tone makes me want to crawl into my own skin. My God she can be scary if she wants to be. I look down at my hands, my phone still clenched in them.
“Sorry.” I say, my voice barely above a whisper.
Her fingers find my chin and she lifts my head, her own face only a breath away from mine. If I dared, I could just lean in and place my lips on hers.
Feel her.
Taste her.
Hear her.
“Harper, look at me. It’s okay, I love that you see only good in the world. I could use some of that in my life.”
Her blue eyes search my face. Her face is a lot softer now, radiating warmth and love.
“I need to go. Those kids upstairs are waiting for me.”
“Yes, you should.” She lets go of my chin and tucks my hair behind my ear.
“What time do you get off work?” She asks.
“At eight. Why?”
“Do you see that guy over there?”
I look over her shoulder and see the same man that came to get her on the rooftop earlier this day.
“Yes, what about him?”
“That’s Elio. He’ll pick you up after work and take you to my place. I’m craving carbs and a chick flick so you’re joining me.”
“But I have plans!”
“Well, now you don’t.”
“Okay, I didn’t have any plans but I could have!”
Alessia laughs. “You’re probably just as much a workaholic as I am so that means you have little to zero personal life outside this hospital.”
I chuckle. She’s right, all that’s missing in my life is the twenty cats in my tiny apartment.
“I’ll see you tonight!” She leans in too place a soft kiss on my cheek, then winks and walks away.
She leaves me there: stunned with a burning cheek from where her lips just touched me.