Chapter 10
Today was one of those days.
My stomach rumbled as I sat on the couch in my living room.
It was after noon, and aside from a granola bar for breakfast, I hadn’t eaten a thing.
While I debated whether to finish what I was working on before or after finding something to eat, a knock sounded at my front door.
I blew out a breath, set my index cards and book down, and stood, moving to the door and peering through the small side panel window.
I stepped back and opened the door a moment later to see Marie holding a bag and a drink carrier. “You look like you could use a little break,” she said before walking right inside. She was in her scrubs, clearly on her lunch break—I didn’t live far from the hospital.
I chuckled as I shut the door behind me and followed her into the living area. “You could say that.”
“Well, good. I brought some subs from Gusto.”
“Oh, you’re a damn gem.” My stomach rumbled again. “That sounds so good.”
“I knew you wouldn’t pass up a spicy Italian,” she said with a grin. She knew me well.
I moved my things off the coffee table, dropping books and papers onto the floor. We both sat on the couch, and she pulled the subs from the bag. “Thank you,” I said as I unwrapped mine. “How’s work?”
She nodded, swallowing the bite she’d just taken. “Not too bad. You missed out on the woman who gave birth in the parking lot.”
I snapped my head over to her, eyes wide. “Shut up!”
“Yeah.” She chuckled. “Husband pulls up, runs in to grab a wheelchair, screaming that his wife is in labor. So, Allison and I follow him out, and the woman is half in the front seat, half out with her feet on the ground, screaming, ‘it’s coming out!’ A minute later, Allison was holding a healthy baby boy. ”
“Goddamnit!”
And that was one of the many examples of why I loved the thrill of the ER. You never knew what would happen.
“How’s studying?” Marie asked as she looked at the few notes and index cards still scattered on my coffee table.
I sighed. “I’m over it.”
“You’re overthinking. You know you’re going to pass.”
“Hey, you never know. And from what I’ve heard, the 3P exam is no damn joke.”
She reached over and grabbed one of the index cards as she chewed, reading it over before swallowing.
“You are seeing a sixty-three-year-old male who has decreased chest expansion, a symmetric thorax with moderate kyphosis, and bilateral diaphragm distension of two centimeters. What is the most likely diagnosis?”
“COPD,” I answered before biting into my sub.
“See?” She tossed the index card. “You’ll be fine. Stop worrying so damn much.” She grabbed her drink, taking a few sips. “How goes the love life?”
I scoffed. “What love life?”
“That good, huh?”
“Yeah. But you should be proud of me. Ryan reached out the other night out of nowhere after nearly a year of silence, wanting to know if I wanted to grab some drinks. And I said no.”
Her brows rose as she looked at me. “Oh my God. Who are you?”
“I know,” I said. “I surprised even myself.”
She looked at me, her eyes narrowing skeptically. “Okay, but if you weren’t cramming for this exam…you totally would have said yes, wouldn’t you?”
“That’s not the point. The point is I said no.”
“And how did he take being turned down for the first time?”
“Like the jackass he is,” I scoffed. “I responded, apologized, and said that I couldn’t.
He read my message, and the typing bubbles appeared and disappeared several times, but he sent nothing.
Not until a good twenty minutes later, when he came back with, ‘What, are you seeing someone or something?’ I told him no, that I was busy. And he responded with ‘Whatever.’”
Marie snorted. “What a dick.” She took another sip of her drink. “You know…you could always reach out to dimples again if you’re feeling slumpy.”
Dimples. Blake.
“I am not reaching out to him.”
“Who cares if he’s your brother’s friend? He was hot. And you said he was great.”
“And I stand by that. But I also stand by not reaching out. It was a one-time, impulsive thing. Plus, wasn’t it you who criticized me for always turning to the familiar?”
She chuckled. “I’d make an exception to my rule for dimples.”
“Okay, well, don’t. Because it’s not happening.”
“Have you seen him since?”
“Yeah, a few times, mainly because of the wedding and us both being in it. Once that’s over, I doubt I’ll see him at all.”
By the end of the week, Sunday finally rolled around, bringing a much-needed shift in pace.
I was exhausted after days of nothing but work and studying, and with the 3P exam only a few days away, I was feeling on edge.
I’d be glad when this and boards were over and I no longer had to deal with the stress of school.
That night, though, I got a small break when I headed over to my mom’s for dinner.
Family dinners had been a little different the past couple of Sundays because we had a new addition to the table. Morgan. My brother actually brought a girl to dinner, and my mom couldn’t stop smiling because of it.
I liked Morgan—she was down-to-earth and funny, kept Wes on his toes, and didn’t put up with his bullshit. More importantly, she made him happy. I’d never seen my brother like this, had never seen him look at anyone the way he looked at her. It was fucking weird, but in the best way possible.
Seeing Wes like this, however, made me feel inadequate in ways I hated.
I, the ridiculous, hopeless romantic with too much heart, had zero love life. And my brother, the man who once declared he’d never complicate his extraordinary bachelor life with a relationship, now had a steady girlfriend and was tripping over himself with permanent heart eyes.
The universe could be extremely cruel at times.
“Graduation is soon, yeah?” Morgan asked as she helped me clear the table after dinner.
“Yeah. I have my last exam on Wednesday. So long as I pass that, I graduate.”
“And that’s it? You’re all done after that?”
“Not quite. I have to take my board exam to get my certification.”
“Ah.” Morgan nodded. “And after that? Do you get to stay in the ER or will you go somewhere else?”
I smiled. “They made a position for me so I could stay.”
“Nice,” she said, and then grinned. “Hey, I just realized that you’ll be working with–”
“Hey, Princess!” Wes called from the kitchen. “Mom has a question about the beach house renovations!”
I chuckled at the interruption, and she shook her head with an apologetic smile before disappearing from the dining room. And did my brother just call her ‘Princess’? Seeing him so affectionate and using cutesy nicknames was going to take some getting used to.
Later that evening, when I got home from dinner, I went right back to studying.
A few days passed quickly. My boss gave me Monday and Tuesday off so I could use those days to cram, and on Wednesday, I took the 3P exam.
I was already on edge before, but waiting for the results was torture. They told us it would take at least a day. So, on Thursday, I was back at work, and every moment of free time I had was spent refreshing my damn email.
Marie chuckled beside me at the nurses’ station while she was charting. “Are you trying to manifest the results into your inbox?”
“Shut up.”
I set my phone down and finished charting on a discharge I had just completed. A few minutes in, and my phone buzzed.
Marie and I both looked at each other, then at the screen. It was an email notification from the school. And my heart went into my throat.
“Oh, for the love,” Marie said as she grabbed my phone and unlocked it—she knew my passcode. I just stared at her as she opened the email, and then she grinned. “It says exam results are posted.”
I took my phone back and quickly logged into the student portal, navigating to the grades section.
“I passed,” I breathed…and then grinned. “I passed!”
“Of course you did!” Marie chuckled. “The only one who had any doubt was you.”
“Did I hear that right?” I looked up to see Michelle, my nurse manager, smiling from around the corner.
“Yeah! I passed!”
“Like Marie said, of course you did.” She smiled. “Ugh, I really don’t want to have to find a replacement for you.”
“Don’t get ahead of yourself,” I said. “I still have to pass the board.”
“Oh, please. You’ll ace that just like you have everything else. And speaking of replacement, Dr. Tomblin is on her way down with the new ER doc. They had to come sign some stuff and get their coat and badge, and she wanted to walk them out this way to introduce them.”
Marie chuckled sinisterly. “Fresh meat.”
“Be nice, Marie,” Michelle said playfully. “We don’t need you scaring them off before they even start.”
I chuckled as I looked back at the computer screen, closing out the patient’s chart just as footsteps sounded down the hall from the back doors of the ER. When I turned and saw Dr. Tomblin, I smiled…and then I froze when I saw the man beside her.
Tall. Broad. Blue eyes. Dimples. My heart slammed against my ribs, my breath lodging in my throat.
Oh, crap.
“Everyone, this is Dr. Blake Pierson. He’ll be taking Dr. Toma’s position, and starts next week.”
Blake looked around, and when his gaze landed on me, the surprise was evident in his eyes. He recovered quickly, schooling his expression as he looked away, and offered a polite hello to everyone standing there.
I looked over at Marie, whose mouth was hanging open through a grin. A bubble of laughter escaped her. “So much for not seeing him at all.”