BenI had expected to hear from Jerrod the moment Mila had let me know he’d been to her place to confront her about our relationship. I couldn’t believe it had come to this. I had been an idiot to think that our being together wouldn’t come out somehow.I had no doubt that it was our stupidity at the bar. We had been flaunting it, all over each other. And Jerrod had been so different when Mila and I had come back from the bar. I had thought it was because he was drunk, but I knew Jerrod almost as well as I knew myself. I knew what he was like when he was drunk, and that hadn’t been it.The only reason I hadn’t realized something was up right away was because I had been arrogant enough to think that just because we wanted it to be a secret, no one would find out, no matter what we did.We had been fools.Jerrod had already confronted Mila, and I was upset that I hadn’t been there to protect her. No doubt, Jerrod had not been pleasant with her. Jerrod had a short temper on a good day, a
BenI shook my head. “You’re not letting me do anything. And you’re not going to let her do anything, either. We’re both adults, and we can make our own decisions. She’s your little sister, but she’s far from being a baby. She’s twenty-five. Or did you forget she’s not in high school anymore?”“Would it have made a difference to you?” Jerrod asked.“Fuck you, man,” I said. “You know this has nothing to do with her age. I know you’re pissed off, but you don’t have to be such a dick about.”Jerrod’s arm shot out, closing the gap between us as he grabbed me by the shirt. He pulled me closer. If it weren’t for the space between us, he would have been right in my face.“It’s my sister, Ben.”“I know,” I said. I wasn’t going to lose my shit. I didn’t want us to come to blows. We had fought before, but it had never been a full-on fight. This time, we wouldn’t stop. If it came to blows now, we would fight until one of us put the other down. I didn’t want to do that to my best friend.When I d
MilaOn Thursday, I finally had a day off again. Even though my days off were still as often as they used to be, it felt a lot longer between them with all the double shifts I was working. At least, the ward was calming down. Most of the accident patients could be moved to regular recovery rooms and beds were emptying in the ICU. It was always good news when we had less work because it meant that people were getting better.Or passing away, but that wasn’t the case, here.My phone rang. It was Danielle. I smiled and answered.“Are you off today?” Danielle asked.“Yes. I really need this break.”“I hear you,” Danielle said. “It’s dull without you, though,” she said.I told her I would be back tomorrow, and we ended the call. Danielle and I had been getting closer over the past week. She was a sweet girl, eager to learn, and her compassion was staggering. But she was young, and she struggled under the pressure sometimes. She was a little squeamish when it came to blood and puss, which
Mila“I guess I can’t blame him. If you were my sister, I would have wanted to protect you from the world, too.”I shook my head. “He can protect me without stopping me from living my life. So, was he pissed off?”“Yeah, he was. He has this ‘I-don’t-care’ attitude that scares me.”I sighed. “He had the same with me. What if he’s done with us?”“I don’t know,” Ben said, and he looked as depressed about it as I felt. Jerrod had been like a brother to him, too. I knew that it was as much of a loss to Ben as it was to me. I thought about something and frowned.“When was this?” I asked. “When did he talk to you?”“On Monday.”“That was three days ago. Why didn’t you tell me about this?” I had called Ben the moment Jerrod had left my apartment. Why was he keeping it from me?“I didn’t know how to tell you. It wasn’t a good conversation at all, and after how upset you were about your conversation with him, I didn’t know how to talk to you about it. I should have, but I’ve been sitting on thi
BenDid I feel like shit for what I did to Mila? Yes, I did. When I had said to her that I was trying to figure out if I belonged in this life, I meant it. Not because I had wanted her to think that she wasn’t important to me, but that was how it had come across.I had had so much on my mind when I had met her for coffee. And I guess that was my fault. I should have pushed it away. But I had been having a bad day. My father and Uncle Dean had died, and it turned out it might have been for a reason, and not just an accident. I had no idea where I was going with the company that had been left to me. Twice. I had no idea who I was supposed to be. Was I going to be the man my dad and Uncle Dean wanted me to be? Or the man that turned them down, even after everything that had happened?And what about Jerrod? If I stayed with Mila, I was sure I would lose him. But if I said goodbye to Mila to keep Jerrod in my life, I felt like I would lose a piece of myself. So, maybe going back to New Yor
BenI had to get back to New York, soon. Not only to meet in person with David but to get away from all the people I cared about. If there really was someone after me to get me the way they had gotten my dad, I didn’t want anyone else in the crossfire. Mila, Jerrod, Paul and my mom. The Castles. The guys at the fire station. I broke out in cold sweat when I imagined anything happening to them.Before I left, I had to mend some bridges. I had to make sure that everything was alright between Jerrod and me. He was my best friend, practically my brother. I had to make right what I had done wrong. Because I had been a total dick, lying to my best friend and not being open with him about what was going on. That was on me, and it was up to me to fix it. He had every right to be pissed off with me.When I called his number, he answered as if he didn’t know it was me. Maybe he hadn’t checked the caller ID.“Can we meet up and talk?” I asked.“No.”“Come on, Jerrod. Let’s take care of this.”“
MilaOn Saturday, I had a rare single shift. I would have worked a double shift, but I asked for a single shift because I was worn out after working so hard. I got it as long as I was on call. I was fine with that. I was always ready to jump in when there was an emergency. And it didn’t happen all too often.Jessica Wright had finally been moved to a regular recovery room, and I was glad about it on so many levels. First of all, she was getting better. In my career, we were happy people left and didn’t come back. It meant they were healthy and safe and that was something we wished for everyone as nurses and doctors. Secondly, I was relieved not to have to deal with Mr. and Mrs. Wright anymore. Of course, they had only been concerned parents. But Mrs. Wright had been harder work than some of the other parents I had dealt with. Having said that, since Jessica had woken up, Mrs. Wright had changed into a calm, nice lady.Stress and fear changed a lot of people.Jessica’s bed might have
Mila“Spending time with you, doing whatever you want.”“Did you know I was going to call?”“Yeah, I did,” Skylar said and laughed. “You’re predictable.”“I wasn’t even supposed to have a single shift.”“I’m in touch with my psychic abilities.”I told her she was being full of shit and invited her over. Skylar and I arrived at my apartment at the same time.“You look exhausted,” she said after she hugged me and we walked in.“It’s been a rough week,” I said. “A lot of double shifts and we have a critical patient that’s getting me down.”We sat down in the living room, and I all but collapsed on the couch.“So, let’s talk about something completely different. How’s Ben?” Skylar asked.I sighed.“That’s not the reaction I expected,” she said. “What’s going on?”I told her what had happened.“Oh, I knew you slept together,” Skylar said when I told her that part.“What? How?”She gave me a look that suggested I was being an idiot.“Do you think I’m blind? You two were all over each other