Chapter Eleven
"Hey Abby, what are you up to tomorrow night?" Neela asked, walking into the doctor's lounge.
"Nothing, I'll probably just stay home. Why?" Abby replied, handing her a cup of coffee.
"Thanks. Ray brought up the idea of checking out this new club, since we're both off. I thought maybe you guys would wanna go?"
"Sounds good to me. I think Luka may be working but I'm sure I can find someone else to come." Abby smiled.
"As long as it isn't Morris." Neela finished off her coffee and tossed her cup in the trash. "Time to start."
"Eww, definitely not Morris." She laughed as they walked out the door to the admit desk.
A few hours later, Neela was getting ready to go upstairs to get Abby for dinner.
"Hey, Pratt? You want anything from Ike's? Abby and I are heading over there in a minute." She asked the man as he passed her in front of the elevator.
"Nah, I'm good. Thanks though." Pratt replied, walking backwards towards the admit desk.
Neela nodded and turned around to see the elevator doors open. She walked in, picked the floor, and stepped backwards.
"Hey Mayday."
"Oh my –. Tony, you scared me." Neela hadn't even realized that Paramedic Tony Gates was in the elevator with her.
"You on dinner?" He asked casually moving closer to her.
Neela gave him a weird look. "Yeah, I'm on my way up to meet Abby."
"I think I have a better idea." He told her, hitting a button on the side of the elevator wall.
"Tony? What's going on?" Neela tried to back up further into the corner.
"I've been thinking about us for a while now." Tony started, now standing only a few inches away from her.
"There is no us anymore. It's over. I'm with Ray now." Neela was starting to get scared. She felt the elevator stop and realized they were at the top floor. "He must have skipped my floor."
"Ray? He's got nothing on me. I can give you so much more than him."
Without warning, Tony fiercely planted his lips on her. Neela tried to fight him but his hold on her was too tight. When she felt his hands reach for the bottom of her shirt, she started panicking and did the only thing she could think of. She brought her knee up hard, causing Tony to break the kiss and stumble backwards in pain.
"Bitch!"
Neela wasted no time and hit the door open button. She took off down the hall towards the stairwell, tears pouring down her face.
She lost count of how many flights of stairs she had run down and when she stopped, she realized that she was on the third floor. "Abby. Abby is in X-Ray. That's this floor." She opened the door and saw Abby standing at a desk, filling out some paperwork.
Hearing the door slam open, Abby looked up. Realizing it was Neela; she dropped her pen and ran over to her friend.
"Neela? What happened?"
Sobbing, Neela fell into Abby's arms.
"It was Tony. He, he… the elevator… can we just go? I can't be here right now, Abby." Neela stammered.
"Sure. C'mon." Abby held the girl in her arms and led her down the stairwell. She didn't know what happened but she knew it happened in the elevator, so she decided to steer clear of that.
When they reached the first floor, Abby opened the door but Neela froze.
"I can't go in there. I can't let them see me like this. What am I going to tell Luka?" Neela rambled.
"Neela, breathe. The doctor's lounge is right across the hallway. We'll walk fast." Abby reassured her.
Neela took a deep breath and nodded. "Okay."
Abby stuck her head out, looked both ways, and stepped back. "We're good. Come on."
The two girls quickly walked out of the stairwell and into the doctor's lounge. Abby led Neela over to the couch and sat her down.
"Okay, sit here. I'll go talk to Luka." Abby told her and walked out of the lounge.
Sighing, Neela leaned back into the couch.
"Neela." A voice came from next to the lockers.
Recognizing the voice, Neela jumped up and backed away. "Tony. Please, just leave me alone."
"No, Neela, we need to talk." Tony stepped forward towards the frightened girl. "I'm sorry about what happened in the elevator, but I needed you to understand how I feel."
"Tony…" Neela pleaded, backing up against the wall.
"Neela, I love you," He stated bluntly, "and I know you feel the same way."
"No, Tony, I don't. I love Ray." Neela tried to stay strong but she could feel the tears forming.
Just like in the elevator, Tony advanced on Neela and went in for another kiss.
"Tony! Stop!" Neela screamed, but, of course, he didn't listen.
Outside at the admit desk, Abby was waiting for Luka, who was just finishing up with a patient in exam one, when she heard Neela scream.
"Luka!" She yelled before taking off down the hall.
Slamming the door open, the sight before her infuriated Abby. Luka had caught up and was right behind her.
Tony had managed to get Neela onto the couch and was on top of the still fighting girl.
"Get off her!" Abby dove onto Tony, pulling him off of Neela and shoved him into the lockers. She pulled Neela into her arms, attempting to calm her down.
"Gates, you need to leave now." Luka said sternly.
"Luka…" Tony started. "I didn't do anything. That… slut –." He was cut off by when Luka's fist connected with his jaw.
"Out, Gates." Luka repeated. "You're suspended."
Scowling and holding his bleeding jaw, Tony left the lounge, leaving just the three of them there.
"Neela? Are you okay?" Luka knelt down in front of her.
Neela didn't respond. She just sniffled and wiped at her nose.
"Can I take her home?" Abby asked, even though she already knew the answer. "Come on, Neela."
Luka opened Neela's locker and pulled out her belongings. After helping the still shaken girl into her coat, he handed her bag to Abby.
"Take care of her, Abby. Don't worry about the rest of your shifts."
"Thanks, Luka." Abby said, pulling her coat on. She stood up on her tiptoes and kissed Luka gently before escorting Neela out of the lounge.
They stepped out into the ambulance bay. It was only four thirty but the days were getting shorter and the nights longer.
"Ray's probably on his way in. You wanna go home or come hang at my place for a while?"
Neela shrugged, not giving an answer.
"We'll go back to my place, but Neela, you need to talk to me, okay?" Abby told her, walking up the stairs to the El stop.
Neela just nodded, wiping away some stray tears.
"It's gunna be okay, Neel. I promise." Abby took her hand in hers and they climbed on the train.