This is short but sweet. Enjoy!
I own everything but the characters, S. Meyer has that privilege.
The day has finally arrived. The day that Edward Cullen will be released from my floor and I finally have a few days off. Emmett came through with the accounting department and got my contract shortened by six months. I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel, and it's glorious. Now I'm only truly concerned with the pros and cons list I've been toying with about staying in Oklahoma.
"Bella, are you sad that your newest friend will be leaving you? You know, he will probably act like you don't exist once he is released. You can go back to your dull life and he can go back to his ways as well," Penny states, a matter of factly.
With the knowledge that I have six months left here, my peaceful countenance falters. I turn to her and sweetly reply.
"Oh, Penny. Please don't be jealous of me, it doesn't look good on you. Is this little outburst of yours because I would not do your job for you a few days ago? I can tell by your expression it is. Bless your heart. Well, if it makes you feel better to act like a total fool, go on ahead I will not stop you. In fact, I will help you out," I tell her as I turn to our co-workers who are now very interested in our exchange.
I clear my throat before calling out with a raised voice, "Attention everyone, Penny is jealous of my strictly platonic relationship with Edward Cullen. The same Edward Cullen that dated her and left her last year before he moved on to someone else. Just to reiterate, I am in a platonic relationship with Edward Cullen. We have an understanding and I hope you all can keep your horrid opinions to yourselves about it. Now, does anyone have any questions?" I finish, feeling unusually confident. I take in the other staff member's facial expressions, it is truly priceless. They range from shock to anger to amusement. As what I just said actually sets in, I'm surprised with the sound of hands clapping. I turn in my chair to see Edward standing at the nurse's station, clapping with a huge grin on his face. Everyone else turns toward him after seeing me do so.
"Well, I might as well die now. I do not think I have ever had anyone stand up for me before, especially someone who does not even like me. Now I have seen it all, I can die in peace now," he laughs, flashing a blinding smile while shaking his head.
"What are you standing up here for, go home," I tell him as I reach for the wheelchair to escort him out.
"Yes ma'am, anything you say," Edward responds as he quickly maneuvers himself into the chair. As we enter the elevator I glance back at the nurses' station to find that everyone is still staring at us. I smile at them as the door closes. Edward looks up at me, making me feel self-conscious.
"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"
Edward gives me a soft smile as he softly shakes his head. "No reason Bella. You just never cease to amaze me." We continue to silently stare at each other until the door opens once again.
I arrive back at work a week later, after a much-deserved uninterrupted break. I am determined not to let the opinions of the petty staff I work with affect my mood today. I am on the countdown for this floor, less than six months remaining. I have decided that if an opening comes up for the mother/baby unit I will apply, if not I will begin to look at other hospitals in the tri-state area to apply to. I do not want to return to Florida, there is too much history there for me to go back. I have not dealt with everything that happened there thoroughly yet. Every time I return, the pain intensifies.
"Well, looks like it's the first day back for both of us, right Polly?" a voice I know softly tells me in my ear. I gasp as I turn my head to find Edward Cullen standing next to me with a smirk on his face.
"Why are you here? Aren't you day shift?" I question. He shakes his head.
"I switched with Heather. She just had a baby and her husband works nights, so she asked if I would switch with her so that someone would always be home with the baby. See, I can be a nice guy," he replies, giving me an innocent look.
"I can't believe you would consent to the night shift with no strings attached. What was the trade-off Heather is great, but I can't believe she would seek you out to ask about a trade."
"Ah, you're wrong Bella. She is my friend, probably my best friend. She has always been there for me and when I had an opportunity to return the favor I jumped at it. Besides, I'm kind of partial to this one nurse with messy hair that works on this floor at night." He said as he walked away, turning around once to wink at me. I stood rooted to the floor, my mouth hanging open watching him walk down the hall.
I tried to push what Edward told me from my mind as I went through the motions of my shift. I pondered if I had made an epic mistake by being nice to the philandering pharmacist. Surely, just being nice to him wasn't enough to spur him into thinking he had a chance of winning me over. My daydream was interrupted by Alice who had arrived to take my patient down for a cat scan.
"Girl, you are out of it. I have been calling your name for like five minutes. What is going on, are you okay?" she asks me, her voice laced with worry.
"Yeah, just have a lot on my mind," I honestly tell her. I do have a lot on my plate, between deciding if I am staying here and my worries over Edward.
"Did you hear that Edward switched with Heather and he will now be with us on nights? I guess he ran out of day shift women or he is trying to avoid the Bobbsey twins. Regardless, we are now stuck with him, yeah for us," Alice sarcastically tells me.
"How do you know he traded because of his social life? Heather just had the baby, maybe he was just being nice when he traded."
Alice stops what she is doing and stares at me with wide eyes, making me uneasy. Just as I'm about to question her when a code blue alarms. I rush to find that my patient is the cause of it. I don't even notice anyone else in the room as it fills with doctors and nurses.
"Mrs. Barnes, can you hear me? Mrs. Barnes if you can hear me, squeeze my fingers," I demand in a loud, clear voice. The people in the room and I move in a way to rival a ballet. All of us seemingly glide from place to place, grabbing medications and various machines in order to regain the sweet lady lying in the bed before us. Soon the attempt proves futile and her time of death is called, despite all our efforts. One by one her room empties, leaving me alone with the task of preparing her for her family to come to say goodbye. This is the part of the job that I hate the most. I can handle bodily fluids being thrown on me, but to tell a family that their loved one didn't make it is one of the most painful things I have to endure. As I imagine the phone call that I will soon have to make, I feel a soft touch to my cheek. I gasp and look up to find Edward standing across from me, his face mirroring mine in grief. He had gently wiped away a stray tear that had escaped my eye. I had not even realized that he was in the room during the code, nonetheless stayed behind after everyone else had left.
"What are you doing here?" I quietly ask.
"You seemed to take this one harder than others I've seen. I thought you might need me, but if you would rather have me leave I can," he said as he looked me in the eye.
"You can stay," I whispered to him as I went back to work. He stayed close by, silently helping me. I caught a few glances at him as we worked in synch with one another. I noticed how his light brown hair spackled with reddish tones was mused, and how it shined in the overhead light. His brow wrinkled in concentration as he focused on the job at hand. It was in that moment that I realized that if I wasn't careful, I would be another victim of his ruthless ways.
