UNWIND
This chapter's for Charles. I'm going to miss you when you go to New York. You've been the friend I needed when others couldn't be. I can't begin to thank you enough.
-superguy
George hurried up the stairs of Meredith's home and passed the doorway to his bedroom. Thoughts of hatred were pulsating through his veins and he had to get away from everyone before he hurt somebody. His bedroom was no haven right now because there wasn't a lock on the door. Meredith had turned the storage room into a makeshift bedroom; the door had no lock. Frantically searching for an escape with clenched fists, he spotted it as he strode down the carpeted hallway towards the bathroom near the window.
His eyes caught the image of Meredith's bedroom door in the mirror. With a groan, he slammed his own door. Walls shook.
Turning to the faucet, he rested his palms on the counter, leaning forward. The veins on his arms stuck out more with the shift in weight. It reminded him of how heated he was, and he rolled his eyes.
The reflection in the mirror wasn't what he wanted to see. He'd made a complete fool of himself in front of everybody he knew and worked with. How could he have been so stupid?
It had only been a few hours since he'd practically ruined his reputation and humiliated himself in front of his loathsome enemy, Alex. As much as he hated to say that he hated people, he truly did hate Alex. Just the thought of the name shot energy surging through his arms, coming to a halt at his palms, which he was currently digging his fingernails into.
The humiliation began when George had earlier that day discovered that he had Syphilis. The itching and redness on his personal areas only appeared after he'd slept with Olivia. Red hair and the smiling face of the girl he once had a crush on flashed in his mind. Feelings once collected flowed out the puncture deep within him. How he had been hurt. But the hurt was replaced by anger now, and he had to get rid of it.
Olivia had slept with Alex before she had slept with him. Slept wasn't even the word for it. The night with Olivia was still fresh in his mind. The feel of her against him beneath the covers…her scent…the taste of her lips.
Who was he kidding? It was over. Completely. There was no way he was going to crawl back to her let alone sleep with her again.
His eyes flickered to the side, peering over his shoulder to the shower. That was what he needed. A shower would ease some of the stress off his shoulders.
Clothing dropped to the floor as he undressed roughly. The T-shirt came over the head revealing his bare chest and the pants slid down revealing his now-being-treated Syph infection.
The floor was cold without his shoes on. Tile beneath his toes. Everything seemed different when he wasn't wearing the weight of his uniform, clothing or anything else. Testing the water raining down from the spout, he slipped in and pulled the curtain shut.
Goosebumps tingled up his flesh. Running his hands up and down his arms, he tried to get rid of them.
Izzy hurried into the house behind George, concerned. He'd stormed out of the hospital hotter than she'd ever seen him. And he was usually upset with her.
The sound of the shower running floated down the hallway towards her and she knew exactly what he was doing. Her original plan had been to console him – she knew how he was feeling. If she'd been two-timed and given Syphilis by Alex she'd want to kill him! But, she figured walking in on him wouldn't make him any happier. It'd happened before and the results weren't too pleasant.
Loud pangs of water sloshing against the side of the shower reverberated off the walls, echoing through the tiny room. The only thing that muffled the sounds was the door, and even that wasn't too thick. Izzy decided she'd wait until he got out of the shower to try anything and found a spot in front of the door. With her back rested against the rough wood finish, she folded her arms.
Life was getting tough. Not only for George, but also for all of them. The only thing that was holding her up was the talk she'd had with her mother after cracking the missing ingredient in the chocolate truffle muffins. Besides feeling utterly disconnected from life, Izzy was fine.
It just seemed like everyone else had someone that they cared about and who cared about them. Of course, she had her mother, but there'd been a long stretch of hatred and resentment in between and everyone else she knew had someone within the vicinity that they could at least talk to.
"George, are you okay?" Izzy finally called over her shoulder. The sound of George's voice hollered back over the din of the cascading water.
"Go away, Izzy."
Izzy sighed and brushed her hair out of her eyes.
"George, come on. You're being stupid."
Even though she couldn't see him, Izzy knew he was calling over his shoulder, sheltering himself from view even though he was the only one in the bathroom.
"Excuse me, but you aren't the one who was infected with Syphilis by your colleagues!"
"I wouldn't even call Alex a colleague, George, he's just a lowlife."
George chuckled benignly to himself.
"Yeah, you got that right."
Izzy chuckled.
"Hmm…and the truth of the matter is out. I am the only smart person you know. Everyone else is…" She trailed off, thinking of everyone else that she knew. They all seemed to have their problems, many of the avoidable. "Everyone else is everyone else."
The sound of the shower slowly stopped and the crinkling sound that was the shower curtain being pulled back closely followed. Perhaps she'd be able to talk face to face with the guy she had a crush on.
Yeah, the truth was still hidden deep within her. She's always loved George. Most girls wouldn't call it love since she'd only known him for a few months, but she could easily categorize her feelings as love. The feelings that the pouty lips and dazzling blue eyes brought to her stomach were much more than a common crush. Secretly, she'd snuck into the bathroom to see if she could catch a peek. Partly, to see how close she could get to him. It wasn't far, but it was definitely a tad closer than she'd ever been before.
Still, she couldn't let him know how she really felt. That would be social suicide. Rule one in her unwritten book of rules for life; do not let your crush know you like him. If George were to find out, he'd have an advantage on her, using her feelings as blackmail. She'd had it happen once before during medical school, and she vowed then and there that she wouldn't let it happen again.
"You still out there?" came George's voice.
Izzy jumped out of her thoughts and slowly got to her feet, collecting her dirty blonde hair in her hand and tugging it over her shoulder.
"Yeah. Yeah, I am."
"Well, I'm coming out."
Promptly stepping to the side, Izzy watched as the door seeping mist opened and George, clad in a towel, stepped out. His wet hair was brushed back and his hand was just below his stomach, clutching the knot of the white towel. The blue eyes met hers and they quickly diverted to the floor.
"You just going to stand there?" she started with a smile. George didn't take to it the way she'd hoped, and he started off down the hallway.
"Nope. Going to lock myself in my room for eternity."
"You can't do that."
George stopped, turning to face her.
"Why not?"
"You have no lock on your door."
George rolled his eyes.
"I didn't mean literally."
They both shared chuckles after a classic stare that seemed to last forever. Izzy grinned, realizing she had softened up George's mood a bit. George ran his hand across his damp hair and let slip a smile.
"So…" he started as he stood there, not knowing what else to say.
"So," Izzy continued for him. "You wanna go get something to eat?"
"You're hungry now?"
A twinkle appeared in Izzy's eyes.
"I'm always hungry."
George chuckled, and then looked down.
"Would you let me get some clothes on first?"