Sometimes my muse appears at the most random times and I'm looking forward to where she takes me. Please let me know what you think! Enjoy!

Inspired by true events in the day of the life of those who heal.

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Girl Next Door

Another sixteen hour shift in the ICU finally done. I'm both mentally and physically exhausted, and I can barely see the dim lit street ahead of me as I walk home at this late hour. Just a couple of blocks more to go before I step into my cozy little studio apartment and I smile at the thought of a nice tall glass of Cabernet waiting for me in my cupboard. The cool spring air nips at my nose and I pick up the faint scent of a cigarette. My mind takes me back to my insanely long day and the patient that I took care of for sixteen long, tiresome hours with stage four lung cancer. The paleness of his skin, his cracked lips, his long beautiful hair, and the stress marks that marred the skin below his eyes. This was the third time I'd seen him at the hospital in two years. The first time the doctors said he had six months to live since the cancer had metastasized to his spine. He underwent radiation therapy to ease the pain and laughed at the oncology resident when he showed up a year after he was given his so called life expectancy. Today he coded on me at the fourteenth hour of my shift. I pounded on his chest to the beat of Staying Alive while the intensivists shouted orders and other nurses slammed meds through the tiny IV in his arm. He was dead for 45 minutes. But when I left him, although barely, he was very much alive. My heart ached at the thought of his lifeless body lying there all alone on that uncomfortable hospital bed connected to tubes and lines, with only the sound of monitors beeping to aid his rest. Damn, I forgot to call his mother.

In the distance sat a man at the steps fronting my apartment complex. He's staring intently at his phone and he has a lit cigarette in his other hand. I inwardly scoff as thoughts of the patient I left behind comes to the forefront of my mind. As I get closer, he puts it out and goes back to staring at this phone again. At least he's polite I suppose. I offer him a smile as I excuse myself past him and put my key fob up to the door. I hear him stand up and the skin on my ears begin to tingle. I let myself in and I'm praying that the door closes fast enough before he can follow me in. My walk briskly to the elevator and rapidly hit the up button hoping that the cart is here in the lobby, but the smell of stale cigarette smoke gets closer. What in the actual fuck? Did this guy really just follow me in? I fish for my phone in my purse and hold it tightly in my hand ready to send an emergency SOS. The elevator finally arrives and I confirm my suspicions true that it was that guy sitting out on the stairs. We both hit the number 12 and I am counting backwards from a hundred to calm myself down, but I'm sure he can hear my heart thumping in my chest by now. He only peeks at me through his long bangs and goes back to staring at his phone. I watch the lights on the elevator light up 9... 10... 11... 12. The door opens and I wait for him to exit. He waits as well.

"Ladies first," he says in a deep, almost bored tone.

I bow my head in thanks and I hold my keys between my fingers like a weapon ready to stick this guy in the eye if I have to. My steps slow down as does his and I turn to face him. He is still staring at his phone and surprisingly enough he keeps walking. Finally looking up, he knocks at the door next to mine. I pretend to fumble with my keys long enough to see what this is about. My neighbor is a middle aged guy with a cute pug. A professor I think? What business did he have with him? Ohhhh I get it! He's gay! That's why I've never never seen any lady friends come to visit him. This makes perfect sense! Smirking at my newfound realization, I open my door and take one last look down the hall. I see my neighbor open his door and glance over to me at mine. He waves his signature two finger salute and smiles.

"Good evening, Kakashi."

"Hello Sakura-chan. Long day at work?"

"Yeah you could say that. But they all lived today so I'm glad. I'd love to talk more but I'm really tired. Have a good night!"

"Sleep well, Sakura-chan. See you in the morning."

I take another look at the man that is waiting at Kakashi's door. His shoulders are slumped, his head is down, and his phone finally in his pocket it seems. Meh, he's not too bad looking. Too bad he plays for the other team.

"Come on in, Sasuke." — is the last thing I hear before closing the door.

—

Your brother is in the hospital again. Call me as soon as you're back in town. -Mom

I read this text over and over again. It's been two years since he told us about his cancer and it still feels like yesterday when I was tagging along with him in his martial arts classes. He was my world; is my world... my best friend. How did the gods decide that he should have such an awful fate? I take another deep pull from my cigarette, reveling at the calming tingles on my skin as the smoke invaded my lungs. How ironic of me smoking this stick tempting the fates when my brother never smoked a day in his damn life. Ironic indeed. After taking over the family business when my brother got sick, I picked up this stupid habit hoping it would take the stress away. There were so many expectations riding on my shoulders as the younger brother of a so-called prodigy, how could I not? After being handed down CEO of Uchiha Corporations at only the age of 24, how else was I going to cope? It was either drinking or smoking, and my ass picked smoking. What a damn joke.

Your brother is in the hospital again. Call me as soon as you're back in town. -Mom

Looking down at the same text I debated whether or not I should just suck it up and call her. But I really didn't have the heart to call my mom, she already was a wreck. She didn't need any more added stress putting up with me. I'll just call her in the morning and say all the red-eye flights were sold out. So that brings me here, sitting on these cold stairs waiting for the old man to let me in. Kakashi. He's like the father I never had; always there for me no matter how far down the rabbit hole I went, he somehow managed to pick me back up and turn me around. Unlike my real father, who wasn't much of a father at all. All he would ever do was put me down and compare me to him. No matter how great my grades were, no matter how many awards I would bring home, it would never amount to him. As much as it gave me grief for most of my adolescent life, I could never find it in my heart to ever dislike him. Dammit Kakashi just buzz me in already. My thoughts were dark in a place it didn't belong.

Off in the distance I see a pink haired woman in what seems to be hospital scrubs heading this way. She's got some guts to be walking alone at this hour. She seemed to have a lot on her mind as she absentmindedly chewed on her bottom lip. I put out my cigarette out of common courtesy. I bet she's one of those do-gooders that lectures people on smoking, but I'm sure it's warranted though. She's probably seen some shit that couldn't even imagine. As luck may have it she lives in this building. I'll just follow her in and knock on Kakashi's door myself. I hope she doesn't think I'm a crazed stalker or something.

Twelve. She lives on this floor too. I allow her to exit the elevator first and I see the look of disbelief on her face. Really lady, I'm not a stalker. It also seems she's Kakashi's neighbor, interesting. I stuff my phone in my back pocket and finally knock on Kakashi's door. It slowly opens and a tuft of silver hair peeks through before I see his masked face. It seems that he's sick again.

"Flight got delayed."

"Sorry I must have been asleep when you called. This cold has got my ears all plugged up."

I see him glance down the hall and greet his neighbor. Sakura, how fitting. She's fumbling with her keys, she must've been weirded out. There is a different look in her eyes as I watch the exchange between the two, as if some realization has hit her. That smile though, she needs to stop that. Too damn cute for her own good. Come on old man let me in already.

"Come on in, Sasuke. Now tell me how Itachi is doing."