Starting from this chapter, we are going back another year into the past to around 2003. I won't mark every single chapter with a timestamp unless absolutely necessary. Let me know if it's posing a problem.
Where the Streets Have No Name
Chapter 7
As things began...
The fateful day Carmen came to him to borrow some money began like any other. He stayed up late the night before to celebrate his acceptance into a residency program at Lenox Hill. Unsurprisingly, he woke up in his bed the next morning with only minutes to spare before he had to show up for his rotation.
The pressure of med school was finally letting up, or he was getting used to it. He had great aptitude for his chosen discipline and earned his professors' confidence without much difficulty. He worked his ass off in college and high school and successfully managed to shave off two solid years in his run to become a doctor. And he was this close to achieving his goal too.
The carefully chalked out plan was about to bear fruit and he was a happy boy as he bounded down the stairs to get to his car. However, he slowed down as he reached the parking lot and spotted Carmen sitting on the curb near his car.
He met Carmen, a journalism major, three months ago when she came to the hospital to make a video for a class project. Edward was trailing his resident supervisor along with three other students from his class when she boldly introduced herself and requested to interview the doctor. She came ready with credentials and presented the permission letter she had obtained from the hospital administrators. She got her interview, as well as a dinner date the following weekend with Edward. Truth be told, the moment her sultry gaze fell upon his chiseled good looks, she had eyes for no one else.
However, their relationship wasn't what legends were made of. Carmen was exotic, passionate, and beautiful with a burning ambition to someday be the next Diane Sawyer or Katie Couric. She was creative, articulate, and more than capable of making clever conversation, but Edward failed to find in her the connection he someday hoped to form with a life mate. She also proved to have a volatile temperament, which Edward discovered after he casually suggested that they cool things off and maybe see other people at the end of their last date.
He hadn't seen her since their heated parting of ways. She looked exhausted as she slouched on the curbside with smudged make-up and wrinkled clothes. This gave Edward a pause. Appearance was important to Carmen. During their short run of courtship, he had never seen her looking anything less than impeccable.
"Carmen, hey," Edward greeted as he came to stand in front of her. "What's up? Are you waiting for me?"
AN: The "War" is over! Check out the stories by the warrior ficsters have written. All except mine are complete.
Thank you Lulabelle98, HeidiJoVT, and Dinx.