Darkest Desire

Chapter 3

I was running in the woods. Someone was chasing me and I could not run fast enough. I could hear a footfalls right behind me and my heart was racing. I was running as fast as I could and I felt like I was not moving at all. All I could hear is a panting. I was so scared I could hardly breathe. I looked behind me to see a figure of a woman. I turned around and ran smack into something. It was hard as granite. I thought I hit into a rock, but hands reached out and grabbed my arms to steady me.

My heart was beating frantically and I was breathing so fast from running. When I looked into her face, my heart stopped and gasped. Her eyes in particular are strange and deep as dark as the night. I couldn't run away from them.

She crashed her lips down onto mine and I lost all train of thoughts. My body was on fire. Her hands moved up and down my arms then moved to my waist. She slid her arms around my back and pulled me tightly into her body. I wrapped my arms around her neck and held on for dear life. I was trembling from head to toe. The feeling of her body so close to mine was something I could not put into words. I did not want her to let me go.

She broke the kiss, looked down at me with those eyes and whispered, "Rhian."

She let go of me then I slid into darkness.

My eyes fluttered open. All I saw was the ceiling. I was in my room and realized it was just a dream.

Glaiza was nowhere to be found. My eyesight flickered as I regained composure and scanned my very bare room to see she wasn't anywhere to be found. I had fallen asleep in her arms and I guess at some point in the night, she had left.

She could have stayed, but I'm glad she didn't. I don't know how am I going to react if I woke up next to someone I don't even know at all.

I turned over on my other side and snuggled back under the covers, trying to go back to sleep. But I couldn't. I could smell her lavender smell over the haze of rosemary on my pillow. The fragrance wafted up into my nose as I ran my fingers across the warm pillowcase, almost feeling the heat from her body even though she had probably been gone for hours.

Suddenly, I heard her voice echo in my mind saying, "I'm straight."

I couldn't believe it.

What we did last night doesn't seem pretty straight to me. That woman must be kidding.

I shook my head, clearing thoughts of that woman away as I looked over at the clock on the bedside table and saw that it was already 6 o'clock in the morning. I threw back the bed covers and sat on the side of the bed, feeling as if a boulder had just rolled over me.

I got up and allowed myself about one hour to get ready for work.

I've been working as a nurse for almost a year now. It's physical demanding, being on your feet all day and at the same time, a lot of people have this idea that nurses act as "doctor helpers" or something "you're just a nurse". It is actually something several people have said to either me or my colleagues. Most patients and their families treat us well but you get a few who are rude, condescending and overly demanding. You sometimes get a crap from management too because in these days of down turning economies, nurses are seen as an expense rather than people who make a difference.

It probably sounds like I hate my job. It's not easy at all but I'd quit if I hated what I do. When I can see I am making a positive difference in someone's life, it makes all the difficulties of my job worth it. Like yesterday, at the end of my shift, one patient took my hand, looked me in the eyes and told me, "thank you" and that's all I needed to feel good after a chaotic day.

**

The morning had been spent trying to resuscitate a man who had been brought in after a road traffic accident.