Chapter Five
Esme
It was official.
The dam had been broken, and the Esme I’d always wished I would be was out in the open. I woke up feeling like complete crap, but one thing I didn’t feel was regret. I didn’t care that I’d grinded on Dorian or told him how he missed his chance. I lived hard last night, and I loved it. I wanted that feeling to never go away, so I drank a big glass of water, took some pain reliever to help with my hangover, then went back to bed and slept it off until I had to get ready for the third shift again.
I was pleasantly surprised to see Dr. Liam working tonight on my floor instead of Dorian. Hopefully he had the night off, and I could enjoy my night without him glaring or making snide comments about me.
Melissa Ann was working with me again, so we were joking around all night between patients, and the shift flew by. After I clocked out, I went down to the cafe for a breakfast sandwich, settling down with some coffee at a small table in the corner. The sound of a chair moving across the floor made me look up, and Dorian dropped down into the chair across from me with a cup of coffee in his hand.
I’d had a very peaceful night without seeing Dorian, and of course he just had to ruin it at the last minute. If I would have gone home instead of eating here, I probably would have avoided him. No matter, I was done letting him get to me, so I sipped my coffee and started eating my breakfast.
He didn’t say anything, and neither did I. We just sort of glared at each other while eating. When I was done and ready to go home to do some laundry and sleep, he rose with me and we walked our separate ways. It was an odd encounter, and I wasn’t sure what to make of it.
I went about the rest of my day trying not to think about it at all. I’d been mostly successful until I fell asleep. I dreamed of his hands coasting over my skin and wanting him to touch me hard, but he wouldn’t. He was just content to tease me.
When I woke, I was so sexually charged that I should have taken care of it myself, but I forgot to set the alarm and had to rush out the door.
One more day, then I would be off for two. I didn’t have any plans, but Lilith had offered to help teach me some defense moves. So, I would see if she was up for it. Couldn’t hurt to learn how to defend myself, just in case.
As soon as I walked into the ER, a fight broke out between two men who already looked banged up. Security had been standing there with them, so they were able to break them up quickly. Dr. Liam was there, checking them over with Melissa Ann, who had taken some steps back to protect her baby bump from the rambunctious men.
I looked over the paperwork from the nurse before and saw I had a few minutes to spare before needing to make my rounds.
When Melissa Ann and the doctor came over to the nurses’ station, she started shaking her head.
“What’s that all about?” I asked, and Liam, with his blue eyes and wavy hair, was the one to answer.
“Two men…one is dating the other’s sister, and the brother accused the boyfriend of using his powers to seduce her. Then they got in a fight. One kid has the power to read minds.” Liam looked over his charts and scribbled down some notes. This was not going to be a good day, if this was the first event of my shift.
“Are they okay?” I asked, and he nodded.
“Some cuts here and there, but that’s it. No broken bones as far as we can tell. Might take the brother in for an X-ray to double-check his wrist. I’ll tell you, things are starting to heat up again. This is the third set of patients in the past twenty-four hours dealing with someone with powers.” He gave me a sad smile, and I knew how he felt. As a person who wanted everyone to be happy, healthy, and safe, this was not going to be good, and we as health professionals could see it coming a mile away. The citizens of Seahill were going to destroy each other.
Melissa Ann was oddly quiet as she sat down in her chair.
Liam gave me another smile before leaving the desk, and I waited till he was out of earshot before asking if she was okay.
“I’ll be all right; it’s just hard thinking about what kind of world I’m bringing this new baby into.” She sighed and started typing her notes on the computer. I could see the worry in her eyes, and I understood it.
I wished there was something I could say to make her feel better, but there was nothing right now. The future wasn’t looking so bright, but I hoped for all of mankind that we could put aside our differences and be a unified world. A pipe dream, but I wished for it every chance I got.
A smile grew on my face when I saw Charles walking through the ER in the early morning hours, on his way to physical therapy. He stopped to chat, and I couldn’t help but grin at his charming ways. He was nice, and now that he had full use of his legs, he had been working out more. The athletic build looked good on him.
His brown hair was a tad bit longer, and I knew some lucky lady was running her fingers through it frequently.
“Everything going okay?” he asked with a big smile on his face.
“Yep. Just saving lives as best as we can. You know.” I winked, and he laughed. It felt good to have these people in my life, that knew all the parts of me and seemed to like me anyway.
“I hear ya. Next time you come to HQ, we need to hook you up with a communicator, and then you should hang out. We’ve been busy, but somehow, we still find that chance to all sit together. It’s nice.”
I would love that.
“Maybe during my next two days off.”
He ran his hand through his hair, and I watched him do it. He was good-looking, and I could appreciate that.
