“Just come after,” Macey suggests.
“You can be a sexy nurse in your scrubs.” Sam shimmies.
“I don’t think sexy is the correct term after a twelve hour shift,” I laugh.
“Oh, please. You’re hot regardless, just accept it.” Sam waves a hand. “So, Halloween we will hunt you down a good fuck buddy.”
I laugh to mask my nervousness because I know when Sam is on a mission, she won’t stop until it’s accomplished.
“We’ll see,” I say.
“Oh no, it’ll happen. I have to pee,” Sam hops off her stool and saunters to the bathroom.
My phone buzzes again and when I go to grab it, Macey’s hand collides with mine.
“Oh, Sorry Mace, I thought that was mine.” My eyes fall to the screen. “You have a text from Cole.”
Macey’s face is unfazed as she grabs her phone. “He’s fixing my parents' car. Something about spark plugs.” She waves a hand, shooting a text back to him.
Macey and I are close, but definitely not as close as Sam and I. She’s blunt while Macey is reserved. What you see is what you get with Sam, but clearly with Macey there’s things that still need to be uncovered, if our history is any indication of that.
She places her phone on the other side where I’m not able to accidentally grab it again. “I admire you, Sunny.” The comment takes me aback.
“Thank you, Macey. But for what?”
“I don’t know the details of what happened with you and Ryan, but I do know he was abusive in all forms. The fact you’re able to come here and just do what you do, just continue.” Macey looks at me.
A knot builds in my throat. “Funny, I thought the same about you.” I trace a finger on a dried spot on my canvas.
Her gray eyes flick to me, and a soft smile pulls on her lips. “I remember.” She nods. “I just, I didn’t want it to be anawkward thing for you. I mean, you were about to meet all of us. That’s already so much. Add one of us being a trainwreck of a patient,” she sighs. “I wasn’t sure if you remembered. You helped me so much that day. Obviously he didn’t do nearly anything close to what Ryan did to you, but still.”
“You had me fooled,” I laugh. “There wasn’t even a glimmer of recognition or shock on your face.”
“I should play professional poker,” she teases.
“Trauma is trauma, Mace. Pain is pain. Comparison is just a losing game.” I shrug. “It doesn’t matter how big or small.”
“I never got to thank you. You’re such a good nurse. Because of Tyler, I won’t ever have to worry about that guy again. He must have scared him off or something,” she says, shaking her head with a chuckle, not realizing the gravity and reality of her statement.
“I knew once Tyler knew, that’d be the first and last time a man would lay hands on me.” She looks back to her paint canvas. “How do you do it, Sunny? How do you stay so strong knowing yours is still out there?”
“I can promise you, it’s not easy and I still battle a lot internally, but I couldn’t waste anymore of my life by letting him have control over me.” A lie, since I’m currently on the run from him. “I can’t give him more than I already have. More than he has already taken.”
“I just wanted to let you know.” Macey gives a soft smile to me.
“That really means so much to me.” And that’s a full truth.
We wrap our arms around one another.
“Hey! I want in!” Sam runs towards us. “Ugh, I needed this,” she says, wrapping her arms around us.
My sisters.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
SUNNY
It’snights like tonight where I’m grateful I don’t work the night shift. Halloween already gets crazy, factoring in the full moon is a recipe for a chaotic time.
