by Terra Wolf
The door to the break room swung open, and for one hopeful moment, I thought it was Zion. But instead, Lorraine walked in.
“Morning, doll!” she said.
“Hey Lorraine.”
“So, I heard you got a day off yesterday for playing hero.”
I smirked. “It was nothing.”
“Ever so modest.” Lorraine got a pop-tart from the vending machine and then turned to me with an all-too-knowing gleam in her eyes. “You catch up with Zion?”
I pressed my lips together, trying hard to fight back the smile that naturally wanted to present itself at the sound of his name. Lorraine laughed and clapped her hands together.
“Shh!” I said, casting a panicked look around the room although we were alone.
“Shh, nothing!” Lorraine said. “I want some details! I heard he all but caused a scene over you yesterday. I was busy with Dr. Newman, so I missed it all. Had to hear it through the grapevine. When I heard you’d taken the day off, I almost decided to call you. But then someone told me that you’d left with Zion, so I figured you might have been busy.”
“So busy,” I laughed.
Lorraine pulled out a chair and motioned for me to sit beside her as she opened her strawberry pop-tart. “So—what’s the verdict? First impressions aren’t always lasting impressions, eh?”
I shook my head. “I guess not. I’ve never had a first impression proven so wrong in my life. Zion is…intense. And wonderful.”
“Look at you, sounding all smitten.”
“I am,” I said, feeling another blush coming forth. “It’s scary, actually.”
“Scary? What’s scary about it? Tall, dark, and handsome. Doctor. Girl, that’s what you call the jackpot! So what if he’s a shifter? Just means more muscle to love,” she smirked.
“But it’s all happening so quickly.”
“Feels too good to be true, huh?”
“Exactly. But us working together.”
“Well, the only thing to do is wait it out and see what happens. Think of it like an amusement park—sometimes the best rides are fast!”
Lorraine and I descended into a fit of giggles. “You are a mess,” I said.
“So I’ve been told. And don’t worry about this place, your secret is safe with me.” She took another bite of her pop-tart and then checked her watch. “What are you doing here so early anyway?”
“I wanted to check on the woman from yesterday. She’s doing good. She’s in recovery now.”
“What exactly happened with that again?”
“I was taking Apple for an early morning run and she took off after a stray cat. By the time I got her to stop, there was this woman. I saw her just as she fainted and bashed her head on a metal fence.”
“Goodness, honey.” Lorraine reached over to briefly take my hand. “I know that had to be scary.”
I nodded. “I thought she was going to die.”
“Well, thank goodness you were there. Not everyone can stay as calm under pressure as you.”
I laughed humorlessly. “That’s the thing I struggle with most. I always feel like I’m on the brink of panicking during emergencies. You’d think that in all my time working in this field, especially in this department, I’d be better at it.”
“That’s interesting. Because in my time working with you, I’ve never seen you lose your cool during an emergency. Maybe you freak out on the inside, but it doesn’t show. And it definitely doesn’t impair your judgment. You’ve got amazing instincts, Alexis. Knowing that you panic on the inside just makes what you do all the more impressive. You’re going places, honey. Mark my words. There’s only great things in store for you.”
“You make it sound so impressive.”
“You are impressive.” Lorraine nudged my arm. “No wonder he likes you.”
“Does…Does everyone know?”
Lorraine shook her head. “No. I’ve only heard muttering from the people that saw Zion snap at the security guard who was giving you a hard time yesterday. But it’s just speculation. I don’t know what you’re worried for though! As gorgeous as Zion is—if I had anything going on with him, I’d probably get a t-shirt made, declaring it to the whole world!”
I laughed outright again. “You are crazy, Lorraine. The policy. I don’t want my job at risk.”
“And you are crazy lucky! Now stop, Human Resources could care less about that handbook.. Hell if they opened it once in a while themselves, maybe they could use it. Plus Zion’s family runs this hospital. If there’s an exception for anyone, it would be for one of the Bradford’s. So stop worrying!”
I sighed. She was right. I needed to relax, and enjoy what I had.
“Have you seen Zion today, by the way?”
Lorraine wrinkled her brow. “Come to think of it—I haven’t.”
I pouted. He hadn’t said anything about having a day off.
“He must have taken the day off. Maybe you wore him out too much.”
“Lorraine,” I said, slapping her arm and causing her to give another hearty laugh. She pulled away from the table. “Well, it’s time to report for duty.”
“Yeah,” I said, standing also. “I’ll talk to you later.”
“Sure thing,” Lorraine said, throwing away her pop-tart wrapper and heading out the door. I left shortly afterwards, deciding to head back to the on-call room to make a cup of tea as I waited for my help to be needed.
When I entered, a few nurses were inside—two making coffee and one watching the news on the television overhead. They all smiled and nodded at me as I came in.
“Slow day today, huh?” I said. It was unusual for there to ever be more than two people in the on-call room at any given moment.
“Yeah,” one of them responded. “Let’s hope it stays that way!”
“I hear you,” I said with a chuckle.
“Good job yesterday, by the way,” she said. “I heard you helped paramedics save a woman’s life, and you weren’t even officially on-duty.”
I waved my hand dismissively. “It was nothing. Just doing my job. The way I see it, when someone needs help, I’m always on-duty.”
“You should totally think about teaching nursing students. Or at least mentoring them,” one of the other nurses said.
I retrieved a tea bag and a mug. “Who knows.” I shrugged my shoulders. “Maybe one day.” I finished making my tea and then took a seat, using the down time to check my email, text messages, and voicemails to make sure I hadn’t missed anything. While I wanted to pretend I was looking for work-related messages, I was really checking to see if I had anything from Zion. My heart sank a little upon seeing that he hadn’t called or messaged me at all.
Exasperated, I ran my hand through my hair, recalling the silky feel of his and how it contrasted to the rough stubble on his cheeks. I raised my cup to take a sip of my tea, wanting to hide any indication of how hot I felt at the thought of him.
“You used to work with Dr. Presch, right?” one of the nurses suddenly asked.
I lowered my cup. “Yeah.” I leaned forward. “Have you heard from her lately?”
She shook her head. “No, I was going to ask if you had. Rumor has it that she may be transferring to another hospital, somewhere offering her more money.”
“Ahh,” I said, leaning back in my seat and feeling vaguely disappointed. Regardless of what was going on between me and Zion, Dr. Presch remained my favorite doctor to work with. I had learned so much from her. On the other hand, I knew she deserved to be properly compensated for her skills, so if the rumor was true, good for her.
“I never got a chance to work with her, but I heard she was a really good doctor. A lot of staff seem bummed out about the possibility of her leaving.”
I nodded. “Yes. She was the best. I’ll be forever grateful for the time I got to work with her. She really taught me a lot about caring for patients and for being an advocate for the people we treat. Doctors like her are few and far between.”
Another one o
f the nurses sighed. “Looks like all the good doctors eventually move on. Like Bradford.”
I almost dropped my teacup at the sound of his name. My eyes widened. “Pardon?”
“Dr. Bradford. I heard he’s leaving too, right? Did he find another hospital that’s offering him higher pay?”
“Apparently,” the nurse who’d been watching TV chimed in. “I’m honestly surprised given his family background here at the hospital. But I guess money speaks. He does have an Ivy League degree so I’m sure there are several other hospitals just waiting to scoop him up.”
There was more to the conversation, but I could no longer hear. My ears were practically ringing with shock. The tea had suddenly turned sour in my stomach. I set the cup down.
Zion, leaving without telling me? He couldn’t. He wouldn’t…
The previous day, it felt like things had officially changed between us—like we had both decided to officially give in to the undeniable connection between us.
Or maybe he was just stringing me along, a voice in my head said. He got what he wanted, and now he’s free to go.
The thoughts created a bitter taste in my mouth, and I felt like my blood was literally starting to boil. It was a moment before I realized the other nurses were still talking to me.
“Alexis, are you all right?”
“I’m fine,” I said, though my voice came out harsh. I stood, recognizing the tale-tell stinging in my eyes indicating that angry tears were not far. “Excuse me.”
I bolted from the on-call room and headed straight for the women’s bathroom, where I locked myself in and stood before the mirror. My eyes swam with tears and my face looked a shade too pale.
Pity. I felt nothing but pity for the woman staring back at me. She just couldn’t stop getting hurt. She had ignored the signs that things had been moving too fast with someone too complicated, and now she was going to pay the price.
In the little bit of time I’d known Zion, strangely enough, it felt like he had already hurt me more than Tyler had.
Annoyed, I stormed out of the bathroom. A slow day no longer seemed desirable. I needed to keep busy to keep myself from thinking about how badly I wanted to ring Zion’s neck.
Nineteen
Zion
In a world where your parents have paved a way for you, it’s easy to become complacent. That’s where I think I landed. After their death, it was easy, comfortable even, to stay in the place that was familiar, like home. I knew I had job security with the hospital, there was no doubting that. Uncle Murray, Luke, and Aiden were always there to back me if need be.
But once you are complacent, it’s easy to become stagnant, and then ultimately unsatisfied. That seemed to be how I felt in every area of life recently.
And that was precisely how I felt when I returned to the night-shift. Entering the hospital during night hours felt like home, but it also felt like I didn’t entirely belong there anymore. I no longer felt challenged, I lost the fire I once had for saving lives. Alexis reignited that spark the first night I met her though. She reginited much more than my passion for work.
I wasn’t good for her, though. My bear was so unpredictable and with my past eating away at me, I couldn’t be what she needed. So taking the job at Levitt Memorial in NYC was the best choice for both of us. I’d be free of the ghosts that haunt me at Mountain Hospital East, and Alexis would be free of me.
“Dr. Bradford, are you all right? You seem a little distracted tonight.”
“I’m fine,” I said to the nurse before me. Justine was her name. She was nice, skilled, pretty—but no comparison to Alexis.
My bear roared at the thought of Alexis, wanting to break free and run to her right then and there. Stop it, I said to myself.
“Dr. Bradford!” I turned around, seeing another nurse running toward me, out of breath. “You’re needed to fill in for Dr. Hans. We have a GSW. We have him stabilized, but you need to do the final assessment before surgery.”
I hurried off after her. She led me to a young man with a gunshot wound to the side that had broken a rib. When I got there, the other nurses and technicians stood around as if their job was done.
“He’s all set, Dr. Bradford,” one of them informed.
“Was a full-body examination conducted?” I asked.
They all paused to look at me. “His only injury was in his side and we’ve—”
“Standard procedure is to do a full body examination. You all should know that,” I said, feeling mildly agitated. They all muttered awkwardly around me, apologizing as I finished the full body examination and then sent out a request to get the patient to roll up to surgery.
Justine stayed behind to help me organize the patient’s files and waited to accompany me in updating his family.
“Are you sure you’re feeling all right, Dr. Bradford? I can tell something is up.”
“Do you know Nurse Lewis, Justine?”
She tilted her head to the side and glanced up at the ceiling, jogging her memory. “The name sort of rings a bell…”
“Alexis,” I said. “That’s her first name.”
“Alexis Lewis…Oh! Is that the one who just saved that woman a couple days ago? Rode in the ambulance with her, administering CPR?”
“Yes.”
Justine nodded. “Yes, I’ve seen her a couple times. She’s really pretty, and a damned good nurse from what I’ve heard. I don’t know much about her though. I think she only works the day shift. Why do you ask?”
I stared at Justine for an instant, no longer sure why I had asked. What did I expect? For someone to fill me in on Alexis’s whole life story? For someone to let me know if she had a serious boyfriend in the past and whether I stood a chance with her, or if I was nothing more but a passing fling? I had made up my mind, so it was a pointless attempt anyway. Or was it?
I shook my head. “Never mind. No reason.”
Justine narrowed her eyes suspiciously at me, but didn’t push it. She knew me enough not to.
Naturally, for the rest of my shift, I hadn’t been able to get Alexis out of my head. Maybe walking away from her wasn’t the viable option, no matter how much I wished it was. It wasn’t just physical, as it had been with so many others before her. Those, I had easily been able to walk away from afterwards without a fleeting thought. But Alexis—she had a hold on me that I just couldn’t shake no matter how much I wanted to.
I needed to see her again.
To be with her again.
My bear paced in anticipation, almost consuming all of me to pursue her. I fought back, waiting as patiently and even tempered as possible to stick around until the shifts changed so that I could see Alexis. I didn’t know what I planned to say to her, but I knew we wouldn’t be satisfied until I saw her face. If I didn’t see those baby blue eyes of hers, I knew I would go crazy.
But as the day shift continued to roll in, Alexis wasn’t amongst them. I watched the steady shift of doctors, nurses, technicians, and interns. Each time someone entered the hospital, my heart gave a hopeful leap, only to be disappointed again when each face I saw did not match the one I was craving to see.
Nearly an hour after the day shift began, and unsuccessfully dodging questions regarding why I was still there, I decided there was no use in sticking around. So I left with another plan brewing in my mind.
Twenty
Alexis
I knew I shouldn’t have taken another day off from work, but I just couldn’t muster the energy to go in. I hated myself for feeling the way I did, but I couldn’t help it.
Apple had entered my room for the third time this morning, clearly protesting the fact that I was lying around in a nearly comatose state.
“In a minute, Apple,” I said, as she stood at the foot of my bed. After hearing this twice before already though, she wasn’t falling for it any more. She was ready for her morning run, and she let me know it by the loud and frustrated whine she gave me. Agitated, she began to pace the apartment, while I continued to li
e in bed like a pathetic lovesick teenager.
I reminded myself time and time again that I hadn’t known Zion Bradford for long and it made no logical sense for him to have such an effect on me. It was embarrassing, especially knowing that he didn’t feel the same way. Here he was, leaving the hospital for one more glamorous, and much further away, without thinking of me even a little, not even to let me know he was leaving. And in contrast, I was lying in bed, depressed and ignoring my dog.
Pathetic.
“Get a grip, Alexis,” I said out-loud to myself.
Apple whined from the front of the apartment. I could hear her scratching at the front door, ready to take herself for a walk if she had to.
“Okay, girl. I’m coming.” Finally, I propelled myself out of the bed and headed to the bathroom to tie my hair back, brush my teeth, and put on some sweats so that I could take Apple out before returning to retire on my couch for the day.
Right as I was brushing my teeth, the doorbell rang. Apple barked.
“Who in the hell?” I muttered. I returned my toothbrush to the bathroom cabinet and rinsed my mouth before rushing to the door, almost tripping on Apple along the way.
I peered out the peephole and my heart almost stopped.
Dr. Zion Bradford stood there, staring hopefully at the door with a single red rose in his hand.
Shit. I looked down at my raggedy old pajamas that consisted of an old college t-shirt and faded plaid shorts. Apple continued to bark and scratch at the door, wondering what was taking me so long to answer.
A frown appeared on Zion’s face, and I watched as he took several tentative steps backwards, obviously thinking I wasn’t home and preparing to leave.
I hesitantly unlocked the door. By the time I poked my head out, Zion had been heading down the hall.
“Zion? What are you doing here?”
“Alexis,” he said, coming to a halt.
He ran a hand through that dark silky mane of hair. “I wanted to see you.” He came back to my door and handed me the rose. Apple, wagging her tail like crazy, stood on her hind legs and placed her front two paws on him. He smiled and pat the top of her head. “Can I come in?” he asked after a moment.