Medically Speaking

Chapter 7

Once I had everything squared away for the guys to take the larger conference room on our floor and texted the information to Axel and Sean, I made my way to the nurse's station. Leah watched my progress, eyeing me curiously as I logged onto the computer and clicked on the trigger that directed my information to the Academy servers. I can feel some of my stress drift away just from being near her—one of the things I miss the most about her being on the same shift as me.

"Patient in surgery?" Leah asked as she turned back to her computer screen to continue charting. My bizarre patient care tendencies aren't foreign to her and I'm still dressed up for my date with day old mascara probably giving me raccoon eyes. Being here for an emergency is a safe assumption.

"In recovery," I tell her. "Should be back up here soon."

Leah was shaking her head, her eyes still on her screen but her attention on me. "I'm sure Miranda loved you leaving your date to come babysit another patient. I still remember her temper tantrum when you picked up my shift last month." Leah is one of my few friends who have actually met my latest mistake in dating. Mandy won't meet my brother because it "feels too personal" meeting family members "so soon." She doesn't want to meet Oli's team because "guys just bring down the vibe." But even the friends she has met, she never got along with. Always finding something to criticize, something to be suspicious about.

Leah, as one of the two women in my life that I would consider a best friend and the only one who lived in South Carolina, bore the brunt of Mandy's distrust although none of my friends were immune. It finally got to the point where they'd only agree to hang out if we were in settings like the club because then they didn't have to interact with Mandy at all. We've all always liked going out dancing, but it hurts my heart to realize that I've been having to live two almost completely separate lives—the one with Mandy and the one without.

Game nights at my house with Leah, her husband Jake, my brother, his team, and any of my friends that could come by. Sunny days spent at the park with half the group playing disc golf and the rest of us just relaxing. Trivia nights at the local bars with all of my friends and brothers. Parts of my life that were special to me that Mandy either refused to participate in or ruined with her attitude.

God, she was pissed when she found out that I hadn't stopped going to trivia nights, I had just stopped asking her to join me.

Things hadn't seemed so bad in the beginning. At first, she'd seemed to have... potential feels like the wrong word, but I don't know what else to call it. She wasn't perfect, but neither am I and I was hoping we'd be able to grow together. The mental gymnastics, thinking up every excuse to explain everything away as shit gradually got worse came later.

Frowning at the memory of Miranda's claim that I must have a crush on Leah since I was helping her out while her family dealt with her grandmother's cancer diagnosis and rapid decline, the reason I covered a shift for her last month, I shake my head. "The date was already over before I got here, Miranda can suck it." Making sure that we're still avoiding eye contact, I add, "Since she insists that we're not a real couple, she doesn't get to complain."

As observant as ever, Leah gasps and turns her full attention to me. "You're breaking up with her!" When I neither confirmed nor denied it, she gave out a soft cheer. "Finally! She's been stringing you along for months." More comfortingly, but definitely not mincing her words, Leah continued, "Miranda never wanted a relationship, she just wanted to be spoiled. She took advantage of your fear of being alone."

Rolling my eyes, I log out and stand up. "Don't be dramatic, I don't have a fear of being alone."

"Liar."