Chapter 4
Graham
T his has been one of the strangest nights of my life. That’s saying a lot, considering I have worked in the medical field since I was sixteen.
Nothing in my life has blindsided me like this woman sitting beside me in this hospital waiting room. Paige is like no one I have ever met before. The attraction is instant, and I haven’t felt anything close to that ever in my life.
It is even more jarring because meeting her tonight has woken something I didn’t know I was missing. I know anyone could have walked into that bathroom and done the same thing, but it just speaks volumes about the type of woman Paige is. Not to mention everything her sister has told me about her. Bre is very proud of her and constantly talks about her being a nurse.
“Paige, you guys can come back,” a female calls.
Paige smiles, and we both stand, heading over to the door leading to the back. I try not to linger on her smile and am hit with a memory.
A little over a year ago, Kat had a similar situation. Some therapy and Alcoholics Anonymous accompanied it. She has been sober for about seven months and recently started drinking again. We fought about it tonight before we left our townhouse.
She hasn’t been home since last night when I got off work and has been pulling away from our relationship again. We broke up briefly before discussing our collective issues. It happened about three years ago.
Unfortunately, Katherine has decided to drown herself in a world of lust and sadness instead of dealing with her grief. Our relationship of six years feels like the last three have been a lie. The loss of a child will do that to a couple. No matter the circumstances around it, we both know deep down that is the root of many of our issues. Trapped in this idea of a broken family that never got a chance even to exist.
Now, I walk toward another gurney with Katherine dressed in a hospital gown, her hair still caked with vomit. Glancing towards the monitor, I notice everything seems normal. Paige stands at the doorway, allowing space between us.
She smiles sweetly at me, wrapping her arms around herself in the oversized work jacket she found to cover herself up in the car, and I finally speak for the first time since riding over here with her.
“Thank you.”
“Not a big deal.”
She smiles before nodding towards the busy emergency room.
“You ever work in the E.R.?”
“It was my second choice.”
Paige points towards Katherine’s room, and I walk towards the gurney, pulling up a chair beside Katherine’s unconscious body. Looking back towards the curtain, Paige’s emerald eyes linger on me. I feel like it’s hard to breathe, and I am fighting the urge to tuck that piece of hair that keeps falling into Paige’s gorgeous face behind her ear.
I have never felt anything like this in my life.
“I’m going to head home. If you need someone to come pick you up, just text Chris,” she says softly, half smiling, before pointing toward the waiting room.
I can feel the disappointment settle on my brow before I neutralize it.
“I’ll figure it out.”
I smiled before noticing a few male staff members huddling around the nearby nurse’s station, checking her out. I laugh and can’t blame them for noticing her long, toned legs in that dress.
She is a goddess.
“Do you always have a fan club?”
I nod and wave at the men, clearly, eye fucking her from the nurse’s station. She lets out a soft giggle before following my line of sight.
“No. Just around here.”
She waves softly towards the men before walking over to them, throwing me a smile over her shoulder. I can’t help but watch her sway her hips as one of the men pulls her into a hug with his multi-colored manicure before smiling flatly at the older balding man in a white coat. Paige seems uncomfortable because she is clinging to the well-manicured one.
Who is that?
My mind is spiraling, and I turn towards Katherine. A new kind of disappointment begins to fester in my chest. My eyes look up for Paige again, but she appears to have left with the well-manicured man as I notice the old one in the white coat focusing on his phone.
I sigh, frustrated, and gently brush my fingers across Kat’s engagement ring. When we met, I was on top of the world. I had purchased my first house and gained access to my trust, all while finishing my second year of residency. I was ready to find someone after being alone for so long.
Yes, I had a few girlfriends, but Kat was the only one I was ever serious about. Nothing ever felt the same between us, though, after losing our daughter.
I ended up selling most of my grandparents’ estate in hopes of putting a large down payment on a forever home. Something with a few acres and some water nearby for my boat.
I knew growing up I didn’t want to live in Missouri my whole life, and since we were stationed in Austin, I paid cash for a two-bedroom townhouse near the base before investing almost everything else.
I close my eyes, attempting to rest, when I hear a soft knock on the door. A small brunette with large round glasses and a white coat enters the room and introduces herself as Katherine’s doctor before the bald man follows.