Enthralled

capitulo seis.

My body ached with every minuscule movement at the end of my impromptu shift. I had ended up working a double shift, taking short naps whenever I could, and it was finally time for me to clock out and go home. Director Tyler had spent most of her time on the floor with the other nurses, rather than up in her cushy office, though her presence wasn't received well by everyone. Thick tension saturated the air in the hospital as everyone was on edge; our overseers were due to start work the following week, and many couldn't digest the idea. Director Tyler tried to talk to me on my way out, but I couldn't spare the time.

"I abandoned my partner and his kid for you and this hospital, so I'm gonna have to respectfully ask you to refrain from speaking to me until I come back to work on Tuesday." I held my hands up in defeat as I walked around her, never waiting for a response.

Guilt ate at me on the way to the parking lot where Mahdi was waiting for me, it hurt me to abandon my plans with Mahdi and Cairo for work, however I did what I had to do. There was no way that I would have been able to be present and attentive with them when I knew that the hospital was understaffed. My job was my everything, I lived and breathed to help others; I couldn't ever shirk my duties like that. It was five in the afternoon on a chilly Saturday as I exited the hospital and found Mahdi's car parked near the entrance. I hopped in and noticed that Cairo wasn't seated in the backseat like I had expected her to be.

"Gabe has her; I wanted to talk to you about some things without her distracting us." Was the first thing that Mahdi had said to me, his tone didn't give much away as he started driving.

I nodded, deciding that it was best if I didn't say anything. Admittedly, I felt anxious about our impending conversation- he was most likely upset over the way I'd dropped everything for work, but I had also been biting my tongue with regards to his daredevil antics on the job. My thoughts had consumed me the entire way back to the house, even with Mahdi absentmindedly rubbing my thigh. I followed him inside and to the bedroom where we both sat on the bed, Mahdi held both of my hands I his lap, with one leg folded on the bed and the other one planted to the floor.

"You can't let this job kill you Arinze." He used my first name; that was never a good sign. "I understand how much it means to you, but they just got you in for a double with no notice whatsoever."

I understood where he was coming from- Director Tyler was used to me being flexible when it came to work, because work had been my whole life for a very long time. With that being said, I knew that some things had to be amended for future reference. "I understand where you're coming from, and I'll work on managing work and family life better in the future." I responded democratically, nothing about what he'd said was unreasonable and I knew that he had my best interests in mind. "Of course, because of the seniority of my position I still need to be somewhat flexible when it comes to going in- but I won't take the shifts unless they desperately need me like they did yesterday and today."

"Wow, okay. I think that's fair." Mahdi smiled with his eyebrows knitted together, "I was expecting a lot of back and forth on this one."

I shook my head while squeezing his hands. "Listen Taylor, this right here is not worth an argument. However... I need to get something off my chest as well, I've been holding it in since that fire last week."

"Go on, I'm listening." Mahdi's face took on a more worried expression as he awaited my response.

As carefully as I could, I began to express my concern for his safety on the job. "I get this sinking feeling in my stomach every time you go to work now. At first, I admired your tenacity and commitment to the job- I still do- but now, I get scared that your next injury will take you away from us forever." I was still in nurse mode, which meant that I'd been able to express my feelings as if they were part of a patient inventory; the information was too important to risk crying at the moment.