crush was annoying.
She drove to the hospital and ended up a solid twenty minutes early for her shift. That would give her enough time to get a cup of coffee that was better than the diner swill, and also get a report from Eva, the night nurse, without her needing to stay late. It was a small thing, but she knew Eva appreciated it, and Eva tended to show her appreciation with baked goods. Really well made baked goods that often involved chocolate. Being friends with Eva was good news.
The report from Eva, however, was missing one specific detail. “What about the man in 24?” Roxanne asked.
Eva looked confused for just a moment, and then nodded. “Yes. He finally told us his name; Julian Greer. And then he walked out.”
“ Walked out? Dr. Alexander had to treat a twelve inch laceration that went an inch deep into the thigh, never mind the cuts that needed to be stitched. He needed to be admitted and watched for infection. How could he even walk?”
Eva gave her a shrug, and the sort of dark look that said it had been a long twelve hours, and there were brownies on the line. “I don’t know about any of that. I got here for the start of my shift, and the man was shouting at Caroline. She said he had to at least sign himself out AMA, and he shoved her out of the way and stormed out. He was moving just fine. Caroline has a concussion, though, she hit the wall so hard.”
“Jesus,” Roxanne said, shaking her head.
“After that, not much overnight,” Eva said. “You’ve got a suicide in 22 who’ll end up inpatient for a few days while she gets hooked in with mental health services, but other than that, nothing much on your plate yet.”
“Thanks, Eva. Get some rest, okay?”
Eva laughed and went on her way. Roxanne poked her head into 22; the girl was turned away from the door, and it sounded like she was crying quietly, but there was a sitter with her so she wouldn’t have to maintain watch. And then she found herself wandering into 24.
The room had already been cleaned, but something of what had happened yesterday still hovered on the edges of her awareness. That feeling of being drawn in, pulled toward something. They hadn’t taken that out with the linens or the mop on the floor.
It had taken ages for the stitches to be completed on Greer’s body. He’d had huge nasty cuts, and Dr. Alexander had stitched for what felt like hours to get the worst of them properly closed. There was no way he’d thrown Caroline, a solid black woman, into a wall and left her with a concussion.
But at the same time, Eva wouldn’t make something like that up, and she wouldn’t have been confused by it. Maybe, after her shift, Roxanne would give her charge nurse a call, make sure she was okay, see if she could stop by with some soup and get the rest of the story.
It was funny; even being in the room made her body heat up again, just a little bit, as if the air was still full of Julian and the easy way his eyes had rested on hers. She shivered thinking of it. And of last night, imagining him over her. That one orgasm had been the first of many; by the end, she could almost feel his weight bearing down onto her as she throbbed with the urgency of her need. She’d never managed to feel done. Sore and aching, sure, but the need had swelled back into her after just a few moments each time. She’d never reacted to anyone like this. Never in her life.
“ Nena , you can keep staring, but he isn’t going to come back just because you’re staring.”
Izzy’s voice behind her made her spin. The younger woman had just finished up her week and was supposed to have a few days off. Roxanne was prepared to chew her out for being here when she should be sleeping, but there was something in her voice—she didn’t put it together until she saw the way Izzy was standing, keeping all the weight off her leg. There were tight lines around her mouth from pain. “Izzy,
She drove to the hospital and ended up a solid twenty minutes early for her shift. That would give her enough time to get a cup of coffee that was better than the diner swill, and also get a report from Eva, the night nurse, without her needing to stay late. It was a small thing, but she knew Eva appreciated it, and Eva tended to show her appreciation with baked goods. Really well made baked goods that often involved chocolate. Being friends with Eva was good news.
The report from Eva, however, was missing one specific detail. “What about the man in 24?” Roxanne asked.
Eva looked confused for just a moment, and then nodded. “Yes. He finally told us his name; Julian Greer. And then he walked out.”
“ Walked out? Dr. Alexander had to treat a twelve inch laceration that went an inch deep into the thigh, never mind the cuts that needed to be stitched. He needed to be admitted and watched for infection. How could he even walk?”
Eva gave her a shrug, and the sort of dark look that said it had been a long twelve hours, and there were brownies on the line. “I don’t know about any of that. I got here for the start of my shift, and the man was shouting at Caroline. She said he had to at least sign himself out AMA, and he shoved her out of the way and stormed out. He was moving just fine. Caroline has a concussion, though, she hit the wall so hard.”
“Jesus,” Roxanne said, shaking her head.
“After that, not much overnight,” Eva said. “You’ve got a suicide in 22 who’ll end up inpatient for a few days while she gets hooked in with mental health services, but other than that, nothing much on your plate yet.”
“Thanks, Eva. Get some rest, okay?”
Eva laughed and went on her way. Roxanne poked her head into 22; the girl was turned away from the door, and it sounded like she was crying quietly, but there was a sitter with her so she wouldn’t have to maintain watch. And then she found herself wandering into 24.
The room had already been cleaned, but something of what had happened yesterday still hovered on the edges of her awareness. That feeling of being drawn in, pulled toward something. They hadn’t taken that out with the linens or the mop on the floor.
It had taken ages for the stitches to be completed on Greer’s body. He’d had huge nasty cuts, and Dr. Alexander had stitched for what felt like hours to get the worst of them properly closed. There was no way he’d thrown Caroline, a solid black woman, into a wall and left her with a concussion.
But at the same time, Eva wouldn’t make something like that up, and she wouldn’t have been confused by it. Maybe, after her shift, Roxanne would give her charge nurse a call, make sure she was okay, see if she could stop by with some soup and get the rest of the story.
It was funny; even being in the room made her body heat up again, just a little bit, as if the air was still full of Julian and the easy way his eyes had rested on hers. She shivered thinking of it. And of last night, imagining him over her. That one orgasm had been the first of many; by the end, she could almost feel his weight bearing down onto her as she throbbed with the urgency of her need. She’d never managed to feel done. Sore and aching, sure, but the need had swelled back into her after just a few moments each time. She’d never reacted to anyone like this. Never in her life.
“ Nena , you can keep staring, but he isn’t going to come back just because you’re staring.”
Izzy’s voice behind her made her spin. The younger woman had just finished up her week and was supposed to have a few days off. Roxanne was prepared to chew her out for being here when she should be sleeping, but there was something in her voice—she didn’t put it together until she saw the way Izzy was standing, keeping all the weight off her leg. There were tight lines around her mouth from pain. “Izzy,
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