With the water in hand, she headed down the hall and, as she turned the corner, she saw Ethan heading her way. As soon as he saw her, his eyes dropped to the floor. Brooke didn’t miss that reaction. She had seen it for months after their first date. Was he seriously going to revert back to his old ways, again? Even after everything they’d been through for the past two months? She wouldn’t put up with being ignored again. He was going to explain things this time instead of hiding under his insecurities.
The distance between them slowly diminished with each step, and in a matter of a few strides, Ethan was standing in front of her. She had been holding her breath for him to walk past her, but he’d stopped, and she let out a sigh of relief. From the expression on his face, that was probably the only good thing that was going to come out of this conversation. She was looking in the tiniest of cracks for a beam of light in what seemed like the darkest day of her life.
“Hey,” he said. His voice was low and his eyes looked at everything but her.
“Hey?” she asked, as she stared at him. “What happened to you last night? I had dinner ready, thinking you were coming over. I called and texted you, but no word,” she said, throwing her hands up.
His eyes finally met hers and she was taken aback by what she saw, or rather, what she didn’t see. Dull green eyes stared back at her and the only thing she saw in their depths was pain. Pain from what, she had no idea, because he wasn’t talking. “Ethan,” she said softly, trying to coax something, anything out of him. “What happened?”
Shaking his head, he bit his lower lip and looked away. He looked like he was on the verge of tears and she suddenly felt bad. Had someone died? “Talk to me, what’s going on?” she pressed, and gently touched his arm. He seemed so delicate right now that she almost didn’t recognize the man standing in front of her.
“I can’t talk about it here,” he finally said. “It would be best if you came by my place tonight. There are some things we need to discuss.” He gave her a reluctant look and added, “Around eight?”
Nodding in agreement, Brooke studied his face, hoping to see any clues that he had barricaded behind the wall he’d suddenly put up. He wasn’t the Ethan she had grown to love, and it scared her. Trying to prolong her time with him, she said, “I need to get this water to a patient. Walk with me?” Her tone was hopeful and she took off, not wanting to give him a chance to object.
The silence was awkward as they walked down to room 3105. Brooke was rarely speechless, but she had so much on her mind at the moment that she found it hard to start a conversation. She was almost relieved when the room came up, because the silence was miserable.
She turned to Ethan and quickly narrowed her eyes at the expression on his face. “What’s wrong?” she asked, and followed his gaze into the room towards the girl. They were both staring at each other, and when she looked back to Ethan, he quickly turned his back to the girl.
Ethan rubbed the back of his neck as he said, “Um, so I’ll see you tonight?”
Brooke opened her mouth to respond, but he cut her off by giving her shoulder a squeeze as he pushed past her and headed down the hall. She watched him go and wondered why she felt like her entire life was suddenly falling apart. She turned back towards the room and saw the same broken expression on the girl’s face that she had seen on Ethan’s.
She quickly headed into the room and set the water on the girl’s table. “Do you need anything else?” she asked, her tone coming out curter than she had anticipated.
“No, thank you,” the girl said, her voice was quiet and she stared down at her hands.
Brooke paused, contemplating asking her what was going on with her and Ethan, but decided against it. She would be talking to him tonight, and questioning a patient about personal issues was unprofessional. She turned on her heel and headed out the door.
She slammed her locker shut and Paige and Kyleigh winced beside her.
“Um, is everything okay?” Paige asked.
Brooke turned around and crossed her arms as she leaned against her locker. The scowl on her face was getting deeper with every second her mind replayed the scene with Ethan. What ties did those two have together? The question was driving her crazy. She looked up to see Paige and Kyleigh staring at her as they waited for an answer as to why she was in such a foul mood. She blew out a breath and said, “No, everything is not okay.”
“Yeah, we got that. What’s going on?” Kyleigh asked, as she leaned back against the locker next to Brooke.
Brooke turned her head to look at her and sighed. “Everything. Everything is falling apart. My life. My job. Ethan. My sister,” Brooke said in a distant voice.
Kyleigh and Paige looked at each other.
Bringing her eyes up to theirs, she said, “Guys, I put my two weeks’ in this morning, but my last day is Friday.”
“What?!” They both shouted the word in unison, and they wore matching shocked expressions.
“What do you mean your last day is Friday? What on earth has happened in the last couple of days, Brooke?” Paige asked.
Brooke slid down to the floor and rested her chin on her knees. “Too much,” she simply said.
“Seriously, Brooke, tell us what’s going on, you’re scaring us,” Kyleigh all but demanded.
Taking in a deep breath, Brooke said, “My estranged sister called last night to tell me she has cancer and ask me if I could move to New York City to help her with her restaurant and her treatments. Of course, I said yes, even after what she did to me and even though we haven’t talked in three years; she’s my sister and she could be dying.” Brooke felt tears well up in her eyes and swiped them away.
“Brooke, I’m so sorry,” Paige said, her voice low as she knelt down beside her.
“And to top it off, there’s something going on with Ethan. He brushed me off last night when I needed him the most, and this morning he was acting weird and said he needed to talk to me tonight to explain something. And when he walked with me to this patient’s room, he almost freaked out when he saw the room I was taking water into. There seemed to be something going on with him and that girl.”
“A patient?” Kyleigh asked.
Brooke nodded. “There’s just so much happening all at once. I haven’t even had time to tell him I’m moving. I was hoping we would be able to work through the distance when I move, but we can’t even get it together while living in the same city.”
“Maybe it’s nothing. But, how’s your sister doing right now? I feel so bad for her. What kind of cancer does she have?” Paige asked.
“She has breast cancer, but she’s okay for now. She has started chemo, so she’s beginning to lose her strength and needs help.
“Do you think you’ll move back here after she gets better?” Kyleigh asked.
Brooke looked at her and saw worry hiding in her eyes. She was trying to be strong for her, but her eyes were pleading for a yes, and she wished she could give her that, but the truth was, she had no idea what the future had in store for her. “I... I don’t know for sure yet. I hope so, but there’s no way of knowing. God forbid, but what if my sister doesn’t beat this. I might have to keep her restaurant running for her. There are just so many what ‘ifs’ right now. I’m sorry.”
Kyleigh leaned in and hugged her. “It’s okay, Brooke, we understand. You need to go and take care of your sister. Paige and I can visit if you decide to stay there permanently.”
She blew out a frustrated breath. “Hopefully it doesn’t go that route.” Brooke stood and looked at her watch. “We’d better get out there or night shift will be hunting us down. We can talk about this later.”
They both gave her a quick hug before heading out to start their shift. Brooke was praying for a fast and easy day. She didn’t think she could handle any near-death experiences today.
Chapter 26
ETHAN
Ethan st
ood outside the closed door to Olivia’s room, or Jamie’s as she was now going by, trying to find the courage to walk in and hear the excuse she had as to why she had up and vanished all those years ago. Or, really, run out on him. He had gotten his rounds done earlier than expected, so he had plenty of time to talk to her before meeting Brooke. This plot twist in his life was shocking and he had no clue why she had to pick this town and this hospital to show up in. But here she was, alive and now going under a new name. She had a new life. She had run from him to start a new life.
He pulled in a deep breath and knocked on the door. He would never be ready for this, but he had to know what had happened.
A soft voice drifted through the door. “Come in.”
He opened the door, his large frame hovering in the doorway. “We need to talk.”
She looked at him and nodded. “I know. Come sit down.” She motioned to the chair across the room.
Ethan took a seat and leaned over, resting his elbows on his knees as he rubbed his face. He finally looked up at her and asked the question that had been torturing him for the last three years. “Where in the hell have you been?”
Jamie swallowed and looked out the window for a few seconds before replying. “Ethan, after what happened to me, I just couldn’t get past the fear. Everywhere I went I was scared he’d find me.”
“But we had talked about it. You were going to therapy and you seemed to be doing better. I did everything I could to help you through it.” The pain from the memories caused him to choke out the last sentence. “Dammit, I did everything I could!”
She finally looked at him, her face softening at the guilt in his tone. “Ethan, it wasn’t your fault. None of it was your fault. I’m so sorry for running away like I did, but I just couldn’t deal with it anymore. Once I changed my identity and moved away, I felt so much safer. I finally felt free.”
He ran a hand over his face, fighting back the emotions that were building. He hadn’t talked about this to anyone. Why couldn’t things have turned out differently? As that thought crossed his mind, so did Brooke. If things had turned out differently, he wouldn’t be here, and he wouldn’t have met Brooke. If he was meant to be with Brooke, why, out of every town in this whole world, did she have to show up here?
“Ethan, I hope you can forgive me. You don’t know how much it took for me to leave you like I did. But, I had no choice.”
He narrowed his eyes at her and said, “You had a choice, but you decided on the one that tore us apart. We were planning on getting married. Hell, I would’ve moved, if that was what it took to ease your mind, but you didn’t even come to me and ask. I thought... I thought everything was okay with you.”
She dropped her face into her hands and began to cry. “I know!” Her words broke through tears and she sucked in a ragged breath and said softly, “I know, but I just couldn’t ask you to drop medical school, after all the time you’d put into it. I just couldn’t ruin your future like mine had been ruined. I left for me, but I also left to protect you. I would’ve ruined your life as well. I was a mess, Ethan, you don’t even know how bad things were.” Tears began flowing and she rubbed her hands across her cheeks.
Ethan sighed, despite the anger he felt for her right now, he hated seeing her cry. He stood and walked to her, draping his arms around her and pulling her into a hug. It was awkward but it also felt familiar. Regardless of the black hair now, instead of blonde, and the slightly fuller figure rather than the petite build he’d known for all those years, she felt the same in his arms. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry you went through what you did. And I’m sorry you felt like you had to run away and be someone completely different just to survive.” He held her in his arms for several minutes, gently rocking her back and forth. How did things end up like this? How did their life turn out this way?
“I’m sorry I’m crying, I’ve just felt so bad all these years... for leaving you. I know you must hate me right now,” she said, as she grabbed a Kleenex and dabbed at her eyes.
Returning to his chair, he said, “Let’s just say that my hate has simmered down some after talking to you, and you’ve helped me to somewhat understand your reasoning. It’s just hard to completely wrap my head around everything, but...” His eyes softened and he looked away. “I do believe you thought you were doing the right thing.”
She gave him an apologetic smile, and said, “That makes me feel a little better.”
Ethan looked at his watch, “I have to get going. Um, looks like you’re getting released in two days. That’s good. What are your plans after that?”
“I just moved here to Sweet Haven for my new job, so I’ll be unpacking,” she said.
Ethan’s eyebrows shot up at that new information. “Oh, so you’ll be living here? Where will you be working?” he asked.
“I’ll be a kindergarten teacher over at Collins Elementary. Please, don’t tell anyone my real name,” she pleaded.
“Your secret is safe with me,” he said, tugging at his shirt nervously. He pushed up from the chair, and said, “Well, I’d better get going. So...” he paused and then added awkwardly, “Maybe I’ll see you around.”
As he headed for the door, Jamie said, “Ethan, I’d like to meet again. I feel like we have more to talk about.”
Ethan paused in the doorway, his hand tightening around the handle. “Yeah, um, we do have more to talk about. I... don’t know just yet. We’ll see, okay?”
He didn’t wait for a response before walking out the door.
Brooke’s headlights shone through his living room windows and he felt his heart thud nervously. This was going to be hard. He had no idea how she would take the news that his ex was now in Sweet Haven, because he still wasn’t sure how he was taking the news. Would she feel threatened? He didn’t even know how he was going to ease her worries because he was still pondering the question himself. Should Brooke be threatened by her? The whole way home from the hospital he was trying to answer that very question, and he just couldn’t. The first woman he had planned on spending his life with was now, in a way, back in his life. How does one just simply get over that? And the hardest question of all, was this their second chance at love?
He hadn’t stopped loving Olivia, but, he loved Brooke, too.
The knock on the door broke him from those thoughts and his heart sank when he opened the door and saw the uneasy look on Brooke’s face. She jiggled her keys in her hand, and her eyes were red as if she had been crying. Her hair was thrown up in a messy bun, and she fidgeted nervously in front of him. He cocked his head at her, wondering if she had been crying at the idea of him needing to talk to her or if she had something else going on, too.
He stepped to the side and motioned for her to come in. He leaned in, kissed her, and said, “Is everything okay?”
She nodded and said, “Let’s just get to what’s going on with you.”
Ethan watched her head to the couch and take a seat. Her purse was still dangling from her shoulder, as if she was expecting to leave as soon as possible. Did she think he was breaking up with her? He sat down next to her, angling his body to face her. He hesitantly reached out and grabbed her hand, almost expecting her to pull away from him. Why was there this distance between them? She held onto it and finally looked up at him. He was bouncing his knee, a nervous habit that had always annoyed him, but he had no control over it, especially right now.
Brooke reached out and placed her hand on his knee and said, “Ethan, what is it?”
His leg stilled at her touch and he clenched his jaw and said, “Olivia, my ex that I told you about. Well, she’s alive and at the hospital.” He watched her reaction go from uneasy to alarmed.
“What do you mean she’s here? I thought she had disappeared three years ago, and everyone had assumed she had, you know?”
Ethan noticed she had pulled her hand away and it was now resting against her chest. He droppe
d his head and said, “She had disappeared, but she obviously isn’t dead. I talked to her tonight; she had run away and changed her identity to feel safe.”
Narrowing her eyes, she said, “Why on earth would she do that?”
His eyes met hers and he said, “Because she had something really terrible happen to her six months before she disappeared. She couldn’t get over it and thought the only way to feel safe was to be someone else.”
“What happened to her?” Brooke asked.
Ethan bit his lip and looked away, hating the emotions the past brought up.
Brooke reached out, touched his shoulder, and said, “You know what, I don’t want to know. It’s really none of my business. Is she okay now?”
He lifted one shoulder. “Yeah, she says she feels safer with a new identity and has been going to therapy to work on herself.” He looked down and shook his head. “I’m so sorry, Brooke. I am still stunned this is even happening right now. I still haven’t processed it all.”
“So, what are you going to do?” she asked, spinning the mess of bracelets aimlessly around her wrist.
Ethan’s eyes shot up to hers at the obvious insinuation in the question. “What do you mean? There’s nothing to do about it.” His reply came out harsher than he’d intended and his eyes softened. “I didn’t mean to sound brash, I’m sorry. It’s just all a little overwhelming, to be honest.”
“Ethan, I’m sure there is a lot that needs to be addressed between you two. I mean, you assumed she was dead, so you grieved, and then you moved on. But, now she’s alive. Can you really shut off those feelings now that she’s here and alive?” Brooke pulled her purse up higher on her shoulder as the last sentence hung in the air.
Ethan lifted a brow at her question. “What do you mean by that? You think I still have feelings for her?” he asked, running a hand through his hair in frustration. This conversation wasn’t going as he’d planned.
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