Falling Perfectly

Chapter 3 | Stalker

3

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ISABELLA

"Julia Lockner is a 23-year-old female hit when she was crossing the street. Already had a CT and MRI, she has no internal organ damage, but she has an mTBI. She has an external laceration to her intrathoracic region, only down to the sub-q. She currently has a piggyback IV of O negative and LR's."

"And her vitals?" I ask.

"Blood pressure was extremely low." The night nurse continues listing off her vitals and tells me she's due for another set. Car wrecks are common in the winter, even some accidental hit-and-runs, especially in Philadelphia. We have had some pretty bad accidents within the last couple of days, even some worse than this morning.

"Thank you," I say, and the night nurse heads out. "Hi, Julia, I'm your nurse today. I'm going to take your vitals." I run another set, and her pressure is slowly stabilizing. After checking in on my other patients, I return to the nursing station to find Addy sitting at a computer.

"Look at the snow coming down," Addy points out the window as I sit beside her.

"I know, there is so much." I sigh, scanning my badge to log in. "I'm ready for summer."

"Yeah, same here. But the snow is pretty," she says.

"Any interesting cases?" I ask.

"Not really, but it's still early." She shrugs. "Oh hey, is your mom in town?"

"Yes, she is. She was asking about you last night."

Addy smiles. "I miss her! How is she?"

We chat about my mom and how she's doing, and I tell Addy she and Jasper can join us for dinner if they don't have plans. During our conversation, Camila joins us at the third computer, telling us about her violent patient, and not long later, so does Max.

"The entire crew is here," Addy says.

"Yes, even though I'm not supposed to be down here right now." Max rests his elbows on the counter. "Izzy, did you tell them about the flowers?"
I glance up from my screen and narrow my eyes at Max. I wasn't planning on telling anyone about Miles' surprise gift he sent to my front door, at least not yet. But it peaks Addy and Camila's interest almost immediately.

"Flowers?"

I swivel my chair and nonchalantly say, "Miles sent me birthday flowers." Addy's eyes widen and Camila claps softly.

"Did he now?" Addy asks.

"He did," I say, and leave the conversation at that. I look at Max again and indirectly tell him to keep his mouth shut with my expression. He raises his brows in response, and we continue charting.

The rest of the day passes at a relatively slow pace. We had no more serious accidents, thankfully, only a couple of sprained ankles and terrible fevers. Nothing that couldn't be taken care of. I text my mom and Max before leaving, asking what coffee they want from Sweetbrew.

When I'm ready to leave, I pack up my things and head to the café. The coffee scent is welcoming and wakes me up after my long, tiring day.

I order three coffees, and then the cashier asks, "Is that all?" I say yes and she walks away to make them. A beat later, she reappears with a cup holder full of coffee. I pay, thanking her, and amble out of the cafe, not wanting to go back out in the cold. But I'm stopped by my pesky curiosity when I the same black SUV sitting in front of the building. Except for today, the man in the black suit isn't handing the coffee cup through the window, he is sliding into the passenger seat.