CHAPTER 12
RILA
She was more anxious than she wanted to admit.
Every time it crossed her mind that the ridiculous date with Kieran was the next day, her fingers went cold.
And maybe, just maybe, there was something like a coldness in her stomach too.
But she preferred to think that this second part was a sign of irritation and nothing more.
She knew Kieran was good at planning this kind of stuff, she had her eighteenth birthday as an example.
As much as she wanted to, she would never forget the thousands of lights decorating Capilano Park in Vancouver.
That night, Rila felt like she was in a true fairy tale, surrounded by illuminated trees and one of the largest suspension bridges in the world, glowing in different colors.
She still remembered the smell of snow mixed with the foliage and, if she closed her eyes, she would feel the winter breeze blowing. It was perfect.
Fucking Kieran Ward.
— Bed three is yours, Rila — Pippa raised the tablet in front of the doctor and pointed towards the stretcher hidden behind the curtain.
— Okay, I'm on my way — she was relieved that she would have a patient to occupy her head and stop her from thinking about the player for a while.
She knew she couldn't think like that, but it wouldn't be bad if the emergency room filled up with patients. It didn't need to be a catastrophe or a serious accident, just a few colds and viruses would be enough to keep her going. After all, an empty mind is the devil's workshop.
Better yet, empty mind, Kieran Ward's workshop.
She walked to the indicated bed, not bothering to look at the device in her hands to check the medical record. However, she regretted not doing so as soon as she pulled the blue curtain.
Naomi Hill was sitting on the edge of the stretcher, her back straight and both hands holding the luxury bag in her lap, as if she needed to touch as few things as possible, or she would become infected.
Which wasn't completely a lie, after all, it was a hospital, and microorganisms were running rampant.
But, unless her mother licked the floor, she would be fine, she wouldn't catch some disease just from sitting comfortably.
— Mom? — Rila closed the curtain and crossed her arms, looking at her mother with a frown — What happened?
— You're not answering my phone calls — Naomi stood up, and the emergency doctor knew it was because, like her, her mother didn't like having to look up when talking to someone because of the feeling of inferiority.
— What? — she couldn't believe what she heard — Aren't you sick or anything like that?
— Of course not! If I had been, I would have gone to our family doctor's clinic — she exhaled a small, humorless laugh, as if it were absurd for her daughter to think that she would come to the hospital instead of going to the private clinic first.
Rila really wanted to know what had gotten into people lately that they thought they could just corner her at her job.
And yes, she was avoiding her mother. She had declined two calls in the last week and let another go to voicemail. She knew Naomi well enough to know that the woman wouldn't give up, but Rila thought she had a little more time before having to deal with her.
However, after the last dinner disaster, Rila really didn't want to have to attend that month. Couldn't they take a break from that commitment? At least until her head was free of Kieran Ward again, because dealing with him and her parents at the same time was too exhausting.
— Mom, you can't pretend to be a patient just to talk to me — she sighed and rubbed her fingers over her forehead, completely irritated by the situation — There are people who really need me here.
— I just want to know which day you are free for dinner this month and also ask you to be more polite next time — she said exasperatedly — I taught you better than to be rude and leave in the middle of dinner.
— I might try to stay a little longer if you'd stop pressuring me to talk about marriage and kids.
Rila hated the way her parents made it seem like she was an investment, like they were waiting for the moment when she would make the profit they wanted.
Yes, they gave her a great life, full of privileges and everything, but that didn't mean she owed her existence to them.
And it wasn't like she was doing anything bad with her life, embarrassing them or anything like that.
She was healthy, had no criminal record, was building a successful career, wasn't a bad person, and was happy. That should be enough for any parent, right?
— I'm not pressuring you, these are just questions — Naomi pressed her lips into a line, making her displeasure with that conversation clear — I want to know what my daughter is planning for her future.
The problem was that she should know her daughter enough to know that Rila wasn't the type of person who planned things, she just let them happen.
The only planning she made in her entire life was regarding her studies, and only because without that she wouldn't have been able to enter the MedHarbor residency program.
Why plan a life if it could change at any second?
Besides, she didn't like the idea of being stuck in the middle of a bunch of plans, she preferred to live one day at a time and not worry about what she'll be doing in five years.
This kind of thing was more like Jessie, who had her whole life planned out and was the type of person who thought too much before making any decision.
— Your daughter is planning to finish her residency, and, for that to happen, she needs to not be caught talking to her mother in the middle of her shift— Rila crossed her arms under her breasts, keeping her gaze locked on her mother's.
It wasn't even eight in the morning, and Naomi had perfect makeup on and her thick black hair was brushed as if she had just left the salon. Not that she doubted that was exactly what happened.
— Just give me a date and I'll go away, Rila.
Thinking about getting it over with, the doctor took her cell phone from one of the scrub's pockets and scrolled through her calendar, looking for the furthest day possible, as always.
— Thursday, the twenty-eight — there, another event she didn't want to participate in has been added to her calendar — I get off at seven and I'll go straight to the mansion.
— Great, thanks — Rila was waiting for her to take out her cell phone to write down the date, but instead, Naomi took out a small black box with the symbol of a luxury brand on the lid — And here, you look pale. Put on some blush before you go back there.
It only took her a few seconds to decide that it wasn't worth arguing about, so she just picked up the packaging and accepted her mother's suggestion. Some things weren't worth wasting energy on.
She was able to return to work after that, and for the first time in a long time, Rila was stealing cases through the ER.
In fact, since this was something interns used to do — at the beginning of residency, all they wanted was to get more procedures, and that meant taking patients from each other — she let one of her disciples do the dirty work.
But he didn't lose out with this role as a thief, as she let him do most of the procedures, teaching him how to intubate and letting him collect liquor from two patients. At least her attempt to not think about the player turned her into a great teacher.
She didn't know that year's interns very well, since taking care of them was the role of second-year residents and she had already paid for that sin the previous year.
Yes, being an intern was bad, but being the nanny was worse.
So, as soon as her baby-doctors gained a little freedom, Rila started worrying only about distributing tasks and not letting the new interns kill someone in her emergency room.
— That suture looked great — she praised, and the intern's full lips spread into a smile.
— Thank you, Dr. Hill — the man whose name she discovered was Alex Burton was so excited that if they were in a cartoon he would be glowing — This was the coolest day so far.
— You've been here for five months, you're still a baby — it was so cute how anxious the interns were that it was strange to think that she was like that one day — Don't worry, there will be many great days.
And I know it can suck having to share the ER with the surgery interns, but don't worry, we're a level one trauma center, we get enough patients that we don't have to fight over sutures and intubations.
— This isn't even the hardest part of sharing a floor with the blue ones — Alex let out a laugh and ran a hand through his shaved hair — I can't stand hearing their complaints when they are assigned here. Some days I want to punch one of them.
Surgery interns were not usually happy when their resident sent them to the emergency room, as they wanted to spend as much time in the operating room as possible. Most of them were pains in the ass and acted like scalpel junkies, so she understood what the intern was saying.
— Take advantage of this to get cases and learn more, that's what I did — she guided them to the counter and gestured towards the automatic door next to it — When you're done with your patients, stick around here to keep an eye on what's coming.
Oh, and make friends with the nurses, not only will it make your life a lot easier, it will also ensure that they call you first when something cool comes up.
— She's right about that — Pippa peeked from behind the computer and blinked one of her dark eyes at them — We like the muffins from the bakery two blocks away.
— Thanks, I really appreciate the tips — Alex leaned his back against the counter and crossed his arms, his dark red scrub tugging with the movement and marking his toned biceps.
He was an attractive guy, there was no way to notice that. His dark skin, black eyes, and full lips perfectly matched his robust and tall frame. Besides all that, he seemed like he wasn't an idiot.
Normally, this was the kind of man Rila would strike up a conversation with and ask out for a drink. But, there were two things that prevented her from doing that.
First, he worked at the hospital and she didn't like mixing pleasure with work. All the guys she'd dated since joining MedHarbor were from other hospitals or weren't doctors, and that was something that wouldn't change.
And second, he wasn't Kieran.