Jacked (Trent Brothers #1)(16)
Even now, being driven to work with the remote chance that my career could be in the balance was making me beyond anxious. So far none of the local channels had listed my name or the circumstances of them pulling me over but that really didn’t mean anything. The traffic accident made the local section of the news, but fortunately I didn’t see any mention of my name. Regardless, there were three camera crews filming everything so the likelihood of me getting seen, recognized, and then subsequently fired was pretty good.
If Sarah and the girls caught wind of it, gossip would fly at Mach 5 throughout every corner of the hospital from the commotion they’d make.
I wanted to be completely prepared for all of the possible scenarios that could hit me when I walked back into work. I knew that the grapevine was already sharing my family tragedy from last night because I had twenty unanswered texts and several voicemails on my phone when I woke up.
My aunt and uncle’s accident was at the top of the broadcast news reports. Triple fatality on the Schuylkill. The guy who started it was apparently driving a stolen car. Twenty-four-year-old with a seventeen-year-old passenger—both killed at the scene. Senseless; the tragedies that snowballed from some guy’s bad decision.
Sarah glanced over and tapped me in the arm. “Hey, you okay, Erin?”
My body jerked. I’d completely missed part of her monologue. “Huh? Yeah, why?”
“I asked you if you were able to get any sleep.”
I took a deep breath, trying to master my emotions. “Some.” Not nearly enough, though. “My parents have been at the hospital all day. I called the ICU before I took my shower. The CT scans showed subdural hematomas. It’s only a matter of time now before he goes into organ failure.” I held back the burn rolling back up my throat. “My parents are going to be devastated.”
“Oh man,” Sarah groaned.
“My dad was going to pick me up on their way in but I had something I needed to do first.” I looked at my cell still clutched in my hand in case I got the call. “The, ah, priest from their church came by to see the family.”
I felt her hand slide over mine, comforting me. “You need anything, you let me know.”
I nodded, knowing she truly meant it. Little did she know that just being in the same car with her was what I needed. Sarah was a true friend through and through.
The moment we walked into the ER the familiar scents of the hospital hit me, making the pit of my stomach twist. The plethora of smells of antiseptic, bodily fluids, even down to the chemicals used to scrub the floors, blended into the blur of rushing bodies, rhythmic tones of medical monitors, and hurried orders being called out between colleagues.
I felt as if I were a silent witness, viewing the everyday pulse of the ER as if I wasn’t really there. Things seemed to happen around me without need for my intervention.
Two uniformed EMTs pushing an empty stretcher passed by me. One of our RNs rushed into Room Seven. Death happening to the left; miracles of resuscitation happening to the right.
“Erin.”
I blinked from the severity of the tone.
“Earth to Doctor Novak.”
A large hand clasped around my shoulder, surprising me back into reality. I looked up at the handsome face that’d been the bane of my existence for at least three of the last four years.
Doctor Randy Mason.
Tall, lean, wind-blown light brown hair, short-cropped goatee, studious wire-rimmed glasses, and the owner of the most incredible ass to grace our halls in a pair of scrub pants. He shocked me with one of his killer smiles that, unfortunately, quickly dissipated.
His deep hazel eyes narrowed, assessing me as if I were nothing more than a patient. To think that I once thought I saw my entire future in those eyes when he was between my thighs making love to me.
“You okay? Mandy told me your uncle made it through the first twelve hours. Were you up in ICU?”
Hearing that name leave his lips was like a harsh slap to the face and a knife in the back at the same time, instantly knocking me out of my stupor. Being reminded of how my last love had gutted me so effectively with that tramp from Radiology was the last thing I needed while privately suffering through my family tragedy.
Randy and Mandy—what a joke.
An icy chill ran through my bones recalling that final fight, the seething anger and agonizing disappointment, the way I dumped dresser drawers and threw his clothing out of my bedroom and out of my life.
What he ever saw in her, I’d never know. Perhaps if she had some redeeming qualities I might understand the attraction and why he chose to cheat on me with her, but she wasn’t even a nice person. She was the term bitch personified, always snipping at everyone like an overindulged spoiled brat and committing my number one pet peeve by talking about people behind their backs incessantly.
I nodded my answer and wrapped my stethoscope around my neck, confused by his close proximity and the gentle rubbing he was doing on my arm. To think how much I used to crave that touch or any semblance of emotional nurturing from him.
“Yeah, thanks. It’s been… rough.” I pulled my arm away from him before my body caved into the attention. It had taken me months and lots of tears to resolve that the love I thought I had felt for him was totally one-sided and definitely unrequited.
Randy hesitantly reached for me again but I moved farther away. He lost the privilege of touching me a long time ago. “So I, um, I have to get to work, but thanks.”