1
Ree
"There was no saving them."
She might be right, but facts haven't helped ease the ache in my chest.
With each breath, the pain reminds me of failure. We did everything we could for the man, and while it seems wrong to shove the thought of him aside, I can't let images of him linger in my mind.
And yet they still do.
The long hours of a double shift aren't helping. My limbs are leaden now that I'm no longer in motion, and my mind is losing some of the careful barriers I usually keep in place for moments like these.
I let out a breath and sink farther down into my uncomfortable chair. "Yeah. It's harder when they're young."
I drag a hand across my burning eyes as Tamina lets out a low hum of agreement. I yawn so wide my jaw cracks and when I open my eyes, she is glaring at me.
"You need to stop covering for Sherry. You can't keep up this pace, Ree. ER work is hard enough as it is."
It's a frequent admonishment, and while I should have had plenty of time by now to perfect my response, I don't have a ready argument. It might have something to do with her position being unassailable, but there's no way I'm telling her that. I let out a sigh and run a finger across one of the gouges in the breakroom table to help center my mind.
Unfortunately, nothing pithy bubbles up from the slow morass.
"I know."
"You won't stop, will you?"
I go back to pressing my eyes with the heel of my hands and don't bother responding. She knows the answer.
She lets out a disgusted huff. "Fine. Burn out, then."
I realize she means well, but she never did like Sherry. "She just signed the divorce papers, Tam. Give her a little grace."
"Hell no. She needs to open the sparkle cave and go wild for a nice long weekend. Not mope around while you kill yourself taking her shifts."
I let out a choking laugh. "Sparkle cave? Are you serious?"
She purses her lips and gives me an exaggerated once-over with comically wide brown eyes and raised eyebrows. "I can tell by your tone that yours needs some attention."
She's always had a knack for jolting me out of unhelpful moods, sometimes forcefully if she thinks the situation calls for it. The corners of my mouth lift thinking of some of her more comical tirades.
Well, comical now. Not so much then.
"I love you, Tam, but we aren't talking about my sparkle cave." A groan rises up my throat and to the front of my mouth in self-rebuke. "I can't believe I just said that."
I startle when a deep voice speaks from behind me. "Is that what they're calling it these days?"
A blush spreads from my cheeks down to my chest as Asad walks over to the fridge and pulls out a bottle of water. His muscles flex and not even scrubs can hide how much time he must spend at the gym.
We rarely share shifts, thankfully, because I would constantly make a fool of myself.
He's got those dark, bottomless eyes you can fall down into forever and a smile that promises sin and long nights.
He leans back against the counter and tilts his head back as he takes a drink. I'm mesmerized by the movement of his throat and the shadow of beard against his copper skin for a moment before I make myself look away.
I definitely could do with more of thattype of long night.
I turn back to Tamina. She's smirking and I know I'm in for it as soon as he leaves the room. I widen my eyes at her, silently pleading.
