Conceited [H.S.]

SEVENTY

Chapter Song: Happier Than Ever by Billie Eilish

...

ANDREA WILSON

My smile grows as Harry's name pops up on my phone, and I shut my car off before sliding to answer the call.

"Hi, baby," I greet him happily, grabbing my purse off of the passenger seat.

It's almost two in the morning here, so it's almost eleven in the morning for him right now.

"My favorite nurse," his voice instantly comforts me, and my smile widens at the sound, "how was work?" He asks kindly.

I shift to hold my phone between my shoulder and my ear while opening my door and stepping out into the quiet parking garage. My mouth gapes open to respond, but I stop myself.

"It was good," I state simply.

Anything work-related hasn't been a topic I've been dying to dive into with Harry since he left. It's not that I think he's asking just to be polite, but we didn't have time to really talk out our argument entirely. Just enough to enjoy the last hours we had together.

It doesn't help that today was a terrible day to work in the ER. Every case I dealt with was either insanely difficult and exhausting or a lost cause.

Not really conversation-worthy.

"I just pulled into my parking spot, and I'm about to walk up right now," I continue lightly while shutting my car door.

There's a brief silence in the call as I start walking toward the parking garage's entrance into my apartment building, but I'm too distracted trying to grab my keys out of my bag to notice fully.

Once my keys are in my hands, I press the elevator button and wait a moment before the doors open. I barely give them the time to open fully before I'm squeezing between them, anxious to take a quick shower and get into bed.

My body rests against the wall while I press the button for the seventh floor and then the button that makes the doors close immediately after.

"Did anything special or absurd happen today?"

I can hear the hope in his voice, and I hum in contemplation. I'm not sure whether or not I want to get into the details of what would be considered absurd that I saw today. Some of the cases are more gruesome than others.

The amount of blood I watched get mopped off the floors of each trauma bay today will take a while to wipe from my memory.

It can sometimes get difficult to see depending on how severe the patient's condition is, let alone rehash in small talk. I don't enjoy doing that with some of the cases I'm assigned to with other nurses or doctors, let alone with Harry.

Witnessing deaths and terrible illnesses or injuries is a part of the job description, but that doesn't make it any easier.

"Not really, just a steady night," I decide to say with my head resting against the cool steel wall. The elevator starts moving up toward my floor, and I rest my eyes, "Do you have another writing session today? You mentioned this morning that you were struggling with the song you were working on."

I try my best to keep the same energy in my voice, despite having none left in my mind or body. Every minute I get to talk to him is one that I make sure to cherish. We've both had our share of staying up later than we should or almost being late for work while in our temporarily virtual world.

"Yeah, in a little bit," he responds softly.

There's evident disappointment in his voice at my lack of a response or a story to tell, but I'll explain it after I get some sleep, when I have the brain power to do so.