Slowly Callie led the gunman over to the glass doors of the trauma bay. With relief, she could see Melanie was still working on the patient, which meant he wasn’t dead yet. Pressing the button that would open the sliding doors, Callie called out to her friend in what she hoped was a controlled voice. “Doctor Haynes, my patient is hoping for an update.”
Melanie looked up with fear and determination in her eyes. Beside her, the nurses kept their hands firmly in place providing compression on the wounds.
“He’s in rough shape but I’m trying to stabilize him. Are you okay, Doctor Scott?”
“I’m fine.”
“Good.”
The unspoken words between the two women were the words of friendship and love. They were in this together, and they would get out of it together.
When Callie’s captor refused to leave the trauma bay, Callie managed to convince him to let her go and assist Melanie. She walked over to where she could see the patient lying on the stretcher and her heart plummeted. He was already dead. Melanie had silenced all the alarms and turned the monitors around so that the flat line couldn’t be seen. Callie quickly realized her friend was only pretending to treat the patient, in an attempt to buy time for their rescue.
Hoping the gunman would not realize what was happening, Melanie, Callie and the nurses maintained their pretense for what felt like hours. But then, just when Callie was starting to worry that they couldn’t keep the ruse going for much longer, she noticed movement through the trauma bay doors. A team of armed police officers were stealthily making their way through the ER. She discretely nudged Melanie with her foot to ensure her friend had also noticed them, then waited anxiously for their rescue to occur.
Everything happened very quickly. One minute Callie was trying not to be obvious about looking towards the trauma bay doors, and the next minute she and Melanie were lying on the ground covering their heads, with their nursing colleagues beside them. She heard police officers shouting and sounds of a struggle as they subdued the gunman. Then they all were being led outside to safety.
It was over.
When she finally finished reliving those terrifying moments, exhaustion seeped through every cell of Callie’s body. Detective Turner thanked her for her statement and told her she was now free to go. Callie had already been told by the director of the hospital to take the next few days off, so all she had to do was gather her belongings and then make her way home. Only then could she give in to her overwhelming fatigue.
She hadn’t seen Melanie since they’d been separated to give their statements to the police. Hopefully her friend had already left for home. As she walked into the doctor’s lounge to get her keys and jacket, Callie glanced up in shock to hear her father’s voice coming from the television in the corner.
There stood Phillip and Laura Scott, somber looks on their faces, as her father spoke to a news anchor.
“My wife and I are extremely proud of our daughter, Callista Scott, a dedicated physician in the emergency department at Oakville Memorial Hospital. The events tonight have shown to the world what we already knew. She is a brave, intelligent woman. Family means everything to us, and we will be spending our time in the next few days keeping Callista close to help her recover from her ordeal. And voters should be assured that tackling the issue of gang violence will make up a significant part of my campaign platform next year.”
Callie couldn’t avoid the snort of derision that came out as she heard his outrageous statement. The blatant lies coming out of her father’s mouth disgusted Callie, as she saw the proof of how low her parents would stoop in their desire to use her for their own benefit. The truth was, she had not spoken to her parents since the night her mother tried to force her to go on another date with Joseph Crawford. Her parents had never been proud of her, no matter what they said on television. They were simply a greedy couple looking to cash in politically on Callie’s inadvertent fame. This was the final straw. She would not be a pawn in their game any longer.
Reaching into her locker for her bag and jacket, a piece of paper fluttered to the floor. Callie picked it up and felt her heart skip a beat at the sight of Jake’s handwriting.
Callie,
I love you so much. I wish I was there with you right now, I’m outside the hospital as I write this, you have just been freed and I want so badly to run to you and take you in my arms. I’m sorry for what I said that night after the party, I never meant to make you feel you had to choose between me or your parents. I’m here for you baby, no matter what. You mean everything to me, and I swear I won’t let my own jealousy and stupidity get in the way again. Please call me as soon as you can, I just want to hold you and make you feel safe and loved.
Jake
With tears streaming down her face, Callie felt peace in her heart at last. She knew what she had to do. She finally knew how to get the family and the love she had always longed for. It was time for Callie to walk away from Philip and Laura Scott. No longer did they deserve the title of parents in any way except biological. Waiting for her was a man who promised love, respect, and happiness. Jake was all the family she needed.
Callie wanted nothing more than to run straight to Jake. However, she also knew that he deserved to know, without a doubt, that she was committed to him and to their relationship. If that meant waiting just a little bit longer before seeing him, she would do that. She would deal with her parents, then go to the man who filled her heart with more love than she thought possible.
Chapter 18
Jake awoke the next morning, sprawled on his couch fully dressed from the night before. He had spent many hours the previous night pacing his living room, waiting for Callie to call him. Leaving the hospital without seeing her, and not waiting outside her apartment for her to come home had been torture. His mom had been the one to speak reason into him, reassuring Jake that Callie would call as soon as she could, and reminding him that it could be hours before she was home.
Before pulling himself off the couch to go and start a pot of coffee, Jake checked his phone, cursing to himself for possibly missing Callie’s call. His hopes were crushed when he realized there was no missed call or message on his phone. A knock on his door snapped him out of his tired thoughts, and he ran to answer it, anxious to see if Callie was behind the door. But no, it was Ryan, carrying a tray with three large cups of coffee.
“Dude, you look awful. Where’s Cal? Is she still sleeping?”
A frown crossed Jake’s face. No, she wasn’t fast asleep in his bed where she belonged. He had no idea where she was.
“No, she didn’t come here. I still haven’t seen her, and it’s driving me fucking crazy. Maybe her phone died or something, but she hasn’t even called me yet.”
Ryan looked solemnly at Jake before ripping his friend’s already damaged heart into a million pieces.
“Jake, my man, I hate to be the asshole who kicks you in the emotional nuts when you are clearly already feeling like hell, but just remember that you were the one who walked away. You backed off and told her to figure her shit out before moving forward. If she didn’t call you, didn’t come to find you, maybe that should tell you something.”
Jake knew his best friend didn’t mean to be cruel, but his heart was still feeling so vulnerable from the fear and tension of the last twenty-four hours, that every word Ryan spoke was like rubbing salt into an open wound. Regardless, as his friend continued, Jake had to hold himself back from punching him in the gut, just to share the pain he was feeling.
