Werewolves in the Big Apple

4

7:59 am.

Julie's feet meandered through the halls of the hospital. The sun had risen and so did some of the other staff, the front-office chatting starting to emerge for the morning.

Her eyes were drooping closed, her brain felt like a load of fog, and her feet felt like a thousand bricks tied to her ankles, slowly dragging with every step.

And, of course, Ryder wasn't far behind her, trailing her every step of the way.

Like he'd done for the entire four hours he was placed under her care.

And like the entire four hours, his looming form was pressed fairly close to her. So close, in fact, that she could practically feel his presence constantly grating on her, constantly pressing into her space.

Every time she tried walking slightly faster to put some distance, his long legs just seemed to eat it up.

Julie grit her teeth. She pushed open the door to management, not bothering to address or even hold the door open for Ryder.

He didn't seem to mind or care.

Even if he was offended by her lack of manners, she couldn't find it in herself to care. She was too tired, too stressed, and-

-and he was the closest person for her to take that stress out on.

Was it professional? No.

Was it nice? Not really.

But did she do it anyway? Absolutely.

The management office she pushed into was lively. Some of the night-time ladies were still hanging around, chatting and gossiping with the morning nurses who were arriving for the morning. It was early enough for their scrubs to be clean, their makeup to be done, and their attitudes to still be perky.

Something within Julie felt even more bitter at the sight.

Upon her entrance into the room, some of the morning nurses caught her attention.

"Julie! I thought you weren't supposed to work today?" Kendra, a dark-haired, dark-skinned middle-aged woman wearing light blue scrubs caught her attention.

Her feet suddenly felt antsy. The last thing Julie wanted to do was sit around and talk, but it was Kendra.

The woman was an absolute angel.

She'd always bake cookies for the patients, and she always, always worked doubles, even with her aging.

So, reluctantly, Julie walked over to her, giving her a small tired smile.

She could still feel Ryder hovering over her.

"I'm not. I had to take up Marie's shift because she broke her arm."

Kendra gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. "Is she okay?"

Julie shrugged. "Far as I know." She jutted her thumb behind her. "I complained to Diane about being stuck with an extra shift on my day off, and she stuck me with Ryder here."

Kendra's eyes flitted to the man behind Julie, and then back to her. Her lips pursed the slightest bit, a slight look of worry on her face. "Just don't overwork yourself too hard, okay sugar?"

This time Julie gave her a real smile. "You got it, Mom."

Kendra wasn't her real mom, but having her as a work mom was close enough. She patted her shoulder, continuing to give her a pitying gaze.

Then with the influx of other workers and some patients flooding the building, Kendra's attention was caught elsewhere. The older woman's loud, booming voice called out to some of the other workers, smiling and waving them down to catch them in conversation.

Meanwhile, Julie slid over to punch out for the day. When she turned back around, she noticed Ryder was still standing stupidly in his spot, his hands in his pockets.

She internally rolled her eyes.

"Clock out."

"I didn't even clock in." Ryder replied.

Oh.

Oh yeah.

Julie had to push through the fog in her brain. Her head was so hectic from the last minute shift. All she wanted to do was drive home and fall into bed.

Her feet shifted awkwardly.

"Well...take that up with your dad. He'll fix it for you. Oh, and you should probably ask him for an ID...you know, since you'll be working here temporarily."

Ryder nodded, listening intently, his light blue eyes piercing into her.

She kept her gaze planted straight at the spot between his eyes. It seemed better than making direct eye contact, somehow.

"Um...well, then, I'm going home. See ya." Julie started to head for the door, but Ryder caught her attention.

"Julie."

"Yeah?"

"When do I come in next?"

"Oh-I guess just come in when I do."

"When do you work?"

"Um, hold on," She fished out her phone, flipping open her new contacts page. She thrusted the phone in his direction. "Put your number in. I'll text you my schedule."

"Okay..."

She waited impatiently as his thumbs tapped on the screen.

"Okay done." He handed the phone back to her. Immediately, she put it in her pocket, not even bothering to check the screen.

"Okay, bye." She then turned back around and fast-walked out of the hospital, trying to get away from that hell-hole and Ryder's prying eyes, as fast as possible.

The entire time she was driving home, her eyes kept drooping, trying to compel her to fall asleep. The truck kept swerving all across the road, barely computing whenever the lights turned red.

But finally, she made it home.

She lumbered her way up the steps, barely remembering to take the keys out of her car. Shoving open the door to her apartment complex, she slammed it shut and started ripping off her dirty clothing.

She stumbled across some of the items strewn about her room before her face was being pressed into her comforter. The feeling had never been better. It felt like literal clouds touching her entire being, lulling her eyes to close against her very own will.

The last thing her mind computed was a buzz from her phone, alerting her of a notification.

She moved to fish it out, but her eyes closed shut before her hand could even touch it.