AN: Hey guys, long time no see right? I feel like I've said that before. Knowing me, I probably did. I repeat myself a lot... but whatever. The last few weeks have been really tough for me. I've been going through some things. But that's life. Everyone's going through something, right?
Well anyway, I needed to escape from my life for a few hours, so I fell back on an old crutch. Writing.
So please don't come for me guys about not updating my other stories. I can't. Writer's block won't let me.
The way things are going I honestly don't think those stories will ever be completed.
I've even considered removing them from the site like other people have done to their unfinished stories. I don't know. I haven't decided yet.
Life really hurts right now and I desperately need a distraction.
My writing has gone to shit, guys. I know it and soon you will too, but that's okay. It's taking my mind off things and that's all that matters at the moment.
I'm not promising anything with this story. Those days are over. So whether or not you guys want to risk investing into yet another one of my fics that could possibly not get finished is totally up to you.
So with all that being said, here's my new story entitled Hard to Hold.
Enjoy.
The professors at Georgia State used to drill it into their heads that first year nurses had no life outside of the hospital. All they did was work.
Never had a truer statement been uttered.
Bonnie Bennett had absolutely no social life to speak of. If she wasn't at the hospital working twelve hour long shifts as a RN, then she was at home in her apartment sound asleep with the blinds shut to block out the sun because she worked the night rotation.
Don't get her wrong, Bonnie loved her job... it was the hours she worked that were killing her.
Working from seven in the evening to seven in the morning was no joke. It took some getting use to and after nine months of working this shift, Bonnie still had some difficulty adjusting to the hours.
She worked four days out of the week with three days off, most of which she spent catching up on her favorite nighttime shows, that is when she wasn't sleeping.
Sleep was her new best friend.
Being a nurse was physically and emotionally draining at times.
She wished her professors had delved a little deeper into this aspect of the job.
Working at one of Atlanta's top trauma hospitals was exhausting. She was on her feet the majority of her shift. But it was worth it because she enjoyed helping people and it certainly didn't hurt that she was making really good money doing so, being paid extra on top of an already decent base salary for a first year nurse. It definitely was a great incentive for working nights, so Bonnie wasn't complaining..much.
And at just twenty-two years old, she was able to buy her dream car, a black BMW.
Granted, it was a 2010 certified per-owned vehicle, but it was still gorgeous and in good condition underneath the hood. Her father having inspected the car before she purchased it.
Bonnie Bennett officially felt like an adult.
Having a job, living on her own, and paying her own bills did that for her.
It was rather strange because she didn't feel like an adult when she turned twenty-one, nor when she graduated from college two months later.
Maybe it was because at the time she was still living at home under her parents' roof.
But those days were over. Now she was settled nicely into her own place. Things were good. More than good actually.
The only thing really missing in her life was a man.
But wasn't that always the case for young educated, single black women?
Hell, for single black women of any age!
Trying to find a man, a good man...a straight man, especially in Atlanta was really hard.
Though to be honest Bonnie wasn't exactly looking for one. She didn't have the time. Her career was top priority at the moment.
Love would just have to wait...at least for the next year or two.
Bonnie had fifteen minutes to spare before her shift started, so she sat in her beloved Beamer in the hospital parking lot listening to some music on her phone.
It was Friday and it was so pretty outside. The weather was perfect. Seventy-five degrees with low humidity. Spring was definitely early this year.
It was really nice days like this in Atlanta that made Bonnie wish she worked the day shift.
She imagined herself being at home right now, outside barbecuing in her backyard with friends, laughing and enjoying the evening.
Leaning her head back onto the leather headrest, Bonnie sighed softly to herself.
She looked at the time on her dashboard. Emily, her cousin and very best friend was probably just getting home from work. She was a paralegal at a small law firm. Emily graduated from college last year like Bonnie, except that she went to Spelman, both of their mother's Alma mater.
The girls came from a really good family. The Bennett's were an established family in their community.
Bonnie's father owned his own business and was part of the City council.
Her mother was a teacher.
Both of her grandparents were now retired, her grandfather having served in the military for twenty years before going into law enforcement as an Atlanta City police officer. He was now a pastor of a church, serving the Lord.
And lastly her Grams, her most favorite person in the world, worked for almost thirty years as a social worker for the county.
She now taught Sunday school and loved every minute of it.
So yeah, the Bennetts were pillars of the community.
When the time flashed 6:52 on the dash, Bonnie sighed once again.
She turned off the car and unplugged her phone from the auxiliary cord, placing the devise inside her nursing bag.
It was time to go to work.
Fuck it!
They were actually going to admit him into the hospital.
Damon Salvatore couldn't believe this shit! He felt fine. He really did.
There wasn't a damn thing wrong with him, except for maybe a few little scrapes and bruises.
It was a minor car accident. No one was killed, but that stupid ass doctor in the ER wanted to keep him overnight for observation because he hit his head.
He had a hard head...so he was good.
But the doc didn't want to hear it as Damon tried unsuccessfully to convince him that he was okay.
So now here he sat in a fucking wheelchair waiting to be taken to his room.
Got-dammit! This night couldn't have been any worse. It was a total fail.
Damon felt like smashing his fist through the wall in frustration.
And it wouldn't be long before the news got wind of the accident and swarm the hospital with their lights and cameras.
Those fucking vultures loved juicy stories like this. Even though it wasn't even news worthy.
Damon wrecked his truck swerving off of the road trying to avoid hitting some homeless man who just walked out into the middle of the street.
The guy must have had a death wish or something because who fucking did that?
Damon could just see the headline now.
Atlanta Falcons' quarterback hospitalized after car accident.
An orderly came up to Damon, pulling him from his thoughts.
He saw the exact moment the guy recognized him.
Great.
This was the last thing Damon needed right now, some dude fan-girling all over him.
But the guy seemed to remember he was at work and had a job to do. He put on his professional face.
"Hi Mr. Salvatore, my name is Chris and I'll be taking you to your room."
Damon just nodded his head, sighing in relief.
The guy came around the wheelchair and released the brake, pushing Damon towards the elevator doors.
There was no small talk once they got inside which Damon was very grateful for.
The elevator stopped on the tenth floor and the guy rolled him out and into a room a short distance down the hallway.
The room was very basic with the hospital bed dominating most of the space. There was a not so comfortable looking chair by the bed and a roll-away serving table pushed to the side, out of the way. But what was surprising was that there was a flat screen television mounted to the wall.
"Your nurse will be in shortly...do you need help getting into bed?" The orderly asked.
"I got it." Damon answered, slowly getting up and holding his left side. His ribs were a little sore.
"Alright then." The guy said starting to leave the room, but then he stopped turning back to look at Damon.
"I'm glad you decided to come to Atlanta to play for the falcons, I really enjoyed last season...it was exciting watching our home team finally win for a change."
Damon gingerly sat down on the bed. "Hey man thanks, I appreciate that."
But not everyone was glad he came to Atlanta though.
A lot of people were still pissed off that Matt Ryan got traded to the Patriots. Hell, it wasn't his fault.
Though to be fair once the falcons began winning a few games, some of the fans came around.
The team had a strong season and that was due in large part to Damon. Both the owners and the coaches were happy with his performance and that was all that mattered.
Atlanta was now his home, at least for the next three years.
No sooner had the orderly left, the nurse he spoke of waltzed into the room and Damon's brows quirked in response.
She was pretty.
Nurses were supposed to be plain Janes right? At least that had always been his experience the few times he'd visited a hospital.
But this nurse was smoking hot. Undeniably so. Maybe his night was finally turning around. Things were looking up.
"Hello Mr. Salvatore, my name is Bonnie and I'm your night nurse." She said as she went to the board and began writing on it, filling in the blanks with her information.
"So you're here to tuck me in."
Damon Salvatore was a notorious flirt. He couldn't help it. Beautiful women were his weakness.
She was a little on the short side though, but he could work with that.
"Are you in any pain?" She asked with her back turned to him as she continued to write, effectively ignoring what he said.
Damon frowned. "Um...no."
"Then why were you holding your side when I walked into the room?"
Damon cleared his throat. "I'm a little sore, that's all...I wouldn't exactly call it painful."
Damon watched as the nurse stopped writing, recapping the marker in her hand and placing it down.
She walked over to him and began to lift his shirt, examining his side.
Damn, she really was a pretty little thing. Even up close with not a stitch of makeup on her lovely brown skin and she smelled really good too, like soap.
"Does that hurt?" She asked, pressing gently against him and pulling the football player from his thoughts.
"It's a little uncomfortable."
She frowned at his answer. "Why are you so hesitant to admit that you're in pain?"
"Because I'm not." He answered honestly. "I've experienced much worse., trust me...I'm an NFL quarterback. I play for the Atlanta Falcons."
Damon watched her face carefully, waiting for the change in attitude which happened immediately once people found out who he was.
But there was absolutely no change in her expression. She wasn't impressed...at all.
This was different.
"I'm thinking your ribs are just bruised. But we won't know definitely until your x-rays come back, which should be in another hour or so."
"How old are you?" He asked suddenly.
Bonnie lowered his shirt and straightened up. A second later Damon found a light being shined into his eye.
Again, she ignored him. "More than anything Dr. Tanner is concerned about your head injury. That's why you'll be here for the next few days, for close observation."
"Whoa wait a minute." He said leaning his head to the side and away from the offending light. "...I was told that I'll only be here for a day...max!"
"Well I'm sorry Mr. Salvatore, you were misinformed. Head injuries are very tricky. People have been known to seem fine right after an accident, but then days later fall asleep and never wake up...Dr. Tanner is just being cautious."
Damon was silent.
"If you need anything, just press the red button." Bonnie said before taking her leave.
"What do you mean, he's not your type?!" Keisha practically yelled aloud.
She couldn't believe her ears. Bonnie was crazy!
Keisha Matthews was also a first year nurse at the hospital. She and Bonnie were hired at the same time and went through orientation together, quickly becoming friends.
With her shift officially over, Bonnie was getting ready to go home. It had been a really long night.
She pulled the stethoscope from around her neck and placed it inside her locker.
Damon Salvatore was the talk of the hospital. Among the staff that was, being the only people who knew he was a patient there and she'd just stupidly opened her big fat mouth and told Keisha how the football player was flirting with her.
Big mistake
Bonnie knew she would never hear the end of it.
"Just what I said, he's not my type...I'm not into pretty white boys." Bonnie said simply.
As Emily Bennett once put it jokingly quoting Destiny's Child, if his status ain't hood then Bonnie ain't checking for him.
Though when Emily said this, Bonnie had to correct her cousin.
"He has to have a little bit of hood in him...just a little."
"Oh my goodness Bonnie, you can't be serious!" Keisha exclaimed in shock. "He's F-ing gorgeous...and those blue eyes!" Having gotten saved a month ago, Keisha was trying to changed her ways. She no longer cussed.
Bonnie had to admit that he had really amazing eyes. The prettiest she'd ever seen on a guy. "True, but..."
Keisha rolled her eyes, already knowing what Bonnie was about to say.
"I know I know, he's not your type." After a moment the soulful eyed, dark-skinned nurse paused, her face becoming serious.
"But maybe it's time to try something new, you know...I mean what could it hurt?"
Bonnie scoffed, shaking her head. "Are you kidding me, he's a professional athlete, Keish! They're notorious for cheating! No way am I going down that road. No sir, no ma'am."
Keisha laughed at her friend.
But Bonnie was dead serious.
Never in a million years would she ever date someone like Damon Salvatore. Hell would freeze over first.
Needless to say, hell eventually froze over.