All characters belong to S. Meyer, I'm just playing with them. Don't forget to leave me some love!
My nap is rudely interrupted by the incessant ringing of my phone, perched on the table beside my bed. I dumbly answer it without first checking to see who it is.
I sigh loudly into the phone, but before I can speak the caller begins talking in a rushed tone.
"Bella, it's Emmett. I need you to come work overtime. I don't have anyone that can come. Can you be here in an hour? Lauren said she can stay until you get here, but only if it's in an hour."
"Huh? Who is this?" I am having a tough time understanding the conversation, it feels like this is a bad dream that I cannot wake from.
"Bella, wake up. It is Emmett. I need you to come to work. Be here in an hour. Do you understand?" Emmett states slowly, clearly perturbed.
I slowly rise to a sitting position, letting the soft gray blanket fall to my lap. I rub my free hand over my face as I ponder what he is asking.
"Emmett, why do I have to come in? If you say because of Edward I will hang up right now!"
Emmett exhales loudly into the receiver. I shiver, knowing the answer to my question without having to hear his words.
"Bella, please do this for me. I got you approved for overtime. I even arranged it so that he will be your only patient tonight. I really need for you to come in," he pleads.
This cannot be happening. Why does that fool have to ruin everything! I cannot even enjoy my nap, let alone my day off without having to deal with that jerk. I decide that I need to get something out of this deal besides overtime pay.
"Fine, but you have to arrange it with the higher ups to lessen my time on the floor for my loan repayment. I'm serious, you do that for me and I will help you out." The contract I signed when I was hired stipulated that I had to work for three years on the Med/Surg unit in order for them to forgive my student loans. I had one year left and I was itching to get as far away from that unit as I could.
"I can possibly do that. Edward has undoubtedly dated someone from accounting, so it shouldn't be too hard to arrange something. I'll have a definite answer on it tomorrow, but in the meantime, I'll see you in an hour," with that he hung up as I threw myself face down onto my pillow, moaning. Fantastic, I had a whole night squarely centered around the narcissistic Edward Cullen.
I forcefully open the door to his room, entering without acknowledging him. I purposefully walk straight to the computer in his room and begin to review his chart from the earlier shift. He watches me silently. I can feel that he is studying me carefully. We have not spoken to each other since our argument yesterday. I was hoping to move forward from that since he knew exactly what I thought of him. Surely, he isn't dumb enough to try to hit on me anymore. I continue to refuse to acknowledge his presence. I know that I'm being childish, but I really don't want to have anything to do with him.
I am hauled from my ornery behavior by the blaring alarm of his heart monitor. I automatically turn to him with my stethoscope in hand to find that he is gripping at his chest, breathing harshly.
"Edward, deep breaths. Deep breaths. Stay with me," I tell him in a tranquil, even voice. His red face full of panic and pain. He suddenly reaches out with one hand and grasps tightly to my wrist. His other hand is tightly gripping the rail of his bed. I reach over him with my free hand to activate the call light, which was answered within moments.
"How may I help you?" came over harshly through the speaker.
"It's Bella, I need you to page the doctor on call to Cullen's room. I think he is having a cardiac event. I need Emmett paged in here also, STAT."
I focus my attention back to Edward. His knuckles are white from the tight grip that he still has on his bed and my wrist. I place my hand gently on top of his, trying to calm him. He opens his eyes, looking at me. I smile as I squeeze his hand in comfort.
"Edward, the doctor is on his way. Hang in there, okay? Everything is going to be fine. I'm not going anywhere, you are stuck with me. Lucky you, right?" I chuckle. Edward tries to crack a grin, but his pain is too much.
"What, no lame comment? I think I'm getting gypped, I'm not getting the full Edward Cullen experience. I even left my comment wide open for you, and nothing! I figured that even you couldn't resist an inappropriate comeback."
The door is hastily opened as Dr. Volturi and several nurses enter the room.
"Nurse, what's going on here?" the ever-arrogant physician asks. Dr. Volturi is well known for treating all medical staff as inferior. He has never bothered to learn any of our names, even though we have worked with him for years.
"Mr. Cullen began having a possible cardiac event. His B/P is 184/102, pulse is 110. He is experiencing chest pain, is unable to speak and is having shortness of breath. His symptoms began approximately five minutes ago and haven't lessened," I relay as Dr. Volturi studies the heart monitor.
"It doesn't appear to be his heart, looks like he is having an anxiety attack. Push Ativan, page me if he doesn't improve," Dr. Volturi states as he walks out of the crowded room. Edward still has a hold of me, which everyone in the room has noticed. Emmett injects the medication into Edward's IV, almost instantly relieving his symptoms. Edward's breathing slows, as does his heart rate. His grip on me loosens as his face relaxes. I absently begin rubbing my wrist as he releases me.
"Geez, you have a death grip. Did they teach you that in pharmacy school? You know what? Don't answer that, I don't want to know," I tell him as I look down at his face. He flirtatiously smiles back, opening his mouth to say something crass I'm sure.
"Don't misunderstand my kindness. I still do not like you, at all. I was simply doing my job," I state as I look away from him to study the heart monitor.
"Your heart rate is 86, blood pressure is within normal limits. What is your pain on a scale of zero to ten?" I ask without looking at him.
"It's a one or two, before it was a fifteen," Edward rasps out.
"I think Dr. Personality was right about the anxiety. Do you have a history of anxiety problems?" I question him while typing my notes in his chart.
He clears his throat and watches as everyone files out of his room. I look at him, awaiting his answer.
"I did in pharmacy school, but not since then. I haven't had an attack in years," he answers honestly while running his hands over his face. This was the first time that I have seen him act in a normal manner. He was being what I guessed was himself, without the pretenses he usually throws around. His hands fall back to his lap as he catches me looking at him.
"Take a picture sweetheart, it will last longer. I'll even buy you a frame if you're nice."
There it is, the jerk. I knew he couldn't be a decent human being for very long.
"Shut up and go to sleep," I scoff. He chuckles as I turn to leave.
When I arrive at the nurse's station I notice that I seem to be the center of unwanted attention. Several nurses including Emmett are staring at me, which makes me extremely uncomfortable.
"What?" I shyly ask while blushing.
Emmett speaks up, the unofficial representative for the catty group assembled before me. "Bella, what's going on with you and Cullen? You were uncommonly nice to him. You're not going to the dark side, are you? Did he finally wear you down? I knew I should have been checking on you more than I have."
I'm blindsided with this. My mouth drops open in surprise, and anger. "How can you think that? Isn't my job to calm my patient and try to keep their condition from deteriorating further? I was simply trying to distract him from what was going on in a semi-professional manner. Shame on you for thinking that I'm batting for his team now! How can you think so little of me?" Emmett's words truly cut me to the core and made me think about how I acted just now in Edward's room.
"Bris, we are just looking out for you. You are like the little sister we actually wanted. We just don't want to see you fall into his trap. You know that, right?" Emmett pleads as he gestures to the other nurses behind him. I look past him, scanning the faces of the group, but I don't see anything but gossips who are trying to get their stories right for when the next shift comes in.
I sigh as I walk toward the break room, "Sure Emmett, whatever you say."
