“Auriela—”
“Get out!” She laughs softly. “Do this for me if you won’t do it for yourself, okay?”
As much as I want to stay, I am exhausted, so after checking with Auriela’s doctor that she’s truly out of the woods, I text the good news to Snow and then collapse in the nearest on-call room.
Sleep takes me almost immediately and I drift in the land of forgettable dreams until a strange alarm buzzes through my thoughts.
It takes a long few seconds for the noise to wake me up fully but when it does, I lift my head and gaze around the dark room in search of the unfamiliar noise.
“Dude,” comes a tired voice from three beds over. “Answer your damn pager.”
Oh. Right.
My pager.
Seeking it out, I press the button to silence it as my stomach drops.
A major vehicle collision has flooded the trauma ward and it’s all hands on deck.
31
SNOW
“Christmas is what, nine days away or something, and I havenothingprepared!” Phoebe massages the bridge of her nose while brandishing a white cocktail. “Honestly, it gets closer and closer every year.”
“That’s how time works,” sighs Gemma.
“I know that,” Phoebe shoots back.
“And it’s at the same time every year.”
“I know that too.”
“So your unreadiness is your own fault.” Gemma pops a tortilla chip in her mouth and smirks. “Your poor planning is your own fault.”
“You’re honestly telling me that time doesn’t move faster at this time of year?” Phoebe scoffs. “I still have Thanksgiving leftovers.”
“Eww, girl. Throw those out!” Hannah groans between sips of her cocktail. “There’s no way those are still safe to eat!”
“They’re in the fridge,” Phoebe replies. “They’re fine.”
“Phoebe, it’s frozen food that stays good for a long time. Not chilled.” Gemma laughs.
“What?” Phoebe’s eyes widen. “It’s the same thing.”
“No, girl, it’s not,” laughs Hannah. “If you haven’t frozen that shit, then it’ll kill you. Ask Snow if you don’t believe me. She’s the nurse.”
I watch my friends bicker back and forth around the table, just loud enough to be heard over the Christmas music thumping through the bar, but none of this brings me the comfort I was hoping for.
Xander staying at the hospital with Auriela makes his apartment oddly cold, and being alone gives me too much space to think about the things I want to avoid.
Like my sore boobs, my tighter jeans, and the bump I’m convinced is absolutely huge on my belly.
If Xander notices, I’ll tell him I’ve been eating too much and he won’t question it. I hope.
Calling the girls was my only option to keep my head busy, but unfortunately, it’s not working.
In the hour we’ve been here, I’ve learned that Hannah’s broken up and taken back her boyfriend,again, Gemma’s new apartment is ruined because the cold made the seal on her freezer burst open, and now Phoebe’s trying to give herself food poisoning.
