Asystole ✷ Mark Sloan

𝟬𝟱𝟭 eleven thirty-four

𝙇𝙄.
ELEVEN THIRTY-FOUR

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good luck with the next few chapters 🖤

tw: gun violence

SEATTLE

HE WAS A creature of habit.

At 7AM, he woke up.

He started his day as Beth showered. He got out of bed, washed his face, brushed his teeth and hummed Stevie Wonder as Beth read her emails on her phone. 

Every morning, she'd lean against the wall, towel wrapped around her and catch his eye in the mirror. She flashed him a smile and he grinned back, mouth full of toothpaste and sparkles in his eyes. He wandered into the kitchen, threw together an omelette and made small-talk about the weather as Beth had her morning coffee. 

He made the woman he loved breakfast and strolled through job advertisements on his computer. Every morning, she'd smile at him in a way that said thank you and she'd make him coffee in return and they'd eat in comfortable silence.

At 8AM, he got dressed and watched as Beth packed her purse. 

She'd taken up the habit of littering the apartment with all of her papers and her psychiatry books and pens. Sometimes it felt weird just watching her, but he was utterly convinced that it was worth it. He just leant against the couch every morning, cell phone in his hand and coffee in the other and watched as she flew around the apartment like a hurricane, sweeping up everything she needed and tossing it haphazardly into her bag. 

One heel on, the other wedged underneath the coffee table, nose and shirt crinkled, lipstick slightly smudged as if she'd rubbed at her mouth.

She was as much of a creature of habit as he was. She worked like clockwork, steaming ahead despite all odds. Sometimes, just watching her exhausted him. He was still recovering from the stress of trying to take her to take a sick day last week. 

He felt like he was constantly sprinting to keep up but luckily, he'd been a pretty stellar athlete in high school. Oddly, it felt like he was constantly trying to keep a toddler under control, one which had the habit of sprinting towards the nearest disaster zone ready to selflessly sacrifice themselves.

"Okay, I'll meet you at 12 for lunch, right?"

Beth was walking and talking. She did that a lot. It was as if she couldn't slow down long enough to do them separately. 

He watched from the corner of the room as she fixed her lipstick and put her hair up into a ponytail. When she looked at him, he nodded, finishing his coffee and rinsing his mug under the faucet. She beamed, letting out a long breath. Her shoulders fell and she stilled for a few moments.

She only slowed down when she was looking at him like that.

Her smile blinded him.

"I know this deli, five blocks over, kinda near that Indonesia restaurant," She moved towards him. This was familiar, at 8:15am Beth would leave for work and she'd hug him and kiss him. It was his favourite part of their morning routine. She placed her arms around his waist and looked up at him and he smiled back. "We'd be able to grab some food, it's usually not very busy. I should be able to get there pretty quick. My last appointment is at like 11:45, so I shouldn't be late..."