One Last Shot

chapter thirteen: the basics

• • •
Tayla

Rules are made to be followed, not broken. Twenty six years on this planet and that's one of the biggest lessons I've learned along the way. Any time I've strayed from what I've been taught and broke a rule, even if it was as something as jaywalking, karma came to bite me in the butt.

     When I was six, Owen wanted to play caught when it was supposed to be bedtime, I agreed and the next thing I knew, my mother's favorite vase was shattered on the floor. The age of twelve I wore a big bow in my hair which was against my school's dress code, that day a random kid cut it off, taking four inches of my hair with it. At seventeen the heritage kids convinced me to go to a party with them one night even though I had a big test the next day. Of course that was the night the cops showed up and if it wasn't for our last names, we would of had a tick on our record.

     Needless to say, now I make it a mission in my life to make sure I follow as many rules as I can to prevent the bad karma coming back for me.

     It's been a week. A week since I legally became Noah Hayes girlfriend and you would think this would be the most hectic time of my life right? Wrong. The past few days have been completely jammed backed of utter boringness. After leaving Emily's office I fully expected word to get out that I was dating Noah and my life would blow up in my face, but it feels like the reporters and the articles about me have all just been a fever dream.

I've spotted no cameras following me anywhere and the TV has been reporting crazy cold weather in the south and a man finding an extremely long potato chip he put on Ebay, but nothing with my face on it. I'm extremely grateful, but I suppose I thought signing my name on that paper would be like opening pandora's box, I fully expected everyone in Chicago to know every minuscule detail of my life by now.

To make matters weirder, I haven't heard a single word from my so-called boyfriend. Nothing. Nada. Nil. No intentions to make our own rules on how this 'relationship' works. No calls to tell me what game I'm supposed to go to. Not even a text to see if I'm alive and haven't gone through with that going off the grid and fleeing to France plan.

Relationships are truly magical.

"What's with the eye roll?" I snap my head up and see Lindsey approaching the nurses station. When I said this week has been boring, that includes work. I've had only one surgery this week and a few epidural injections. I've been tasked with filing a bunch of patient paperwork to fill my time while I waited for something, anything, to happen. Yet here I am at the end of my shift and my wishes have most definitely not come true. "Are you unknowingly rolling your eyes again?" Lins asks and places the clipboard she was holding on the counter.

Yes. "No I was not. Just can't believe it's been such a dull week." Partly true. I gotta get some credit for partial truth right?

Now it's Lindsey who is rolling her eyes. "Must suck to have to sit on that booty of yours all day. I just helped wash poop off of my patients back after it trailed up out of his underwear like a baby blowing out their diaper." She sternly tells me.

I can't help but laugh. "And that my beautiful friend is why I am so grateful I went to extra years of schooling." I worked as a RN while obtaining my CRNA certification and I've never been so grateful I pushed myself to get that extra degree because I can't even count how many people threw up on me during that time.