Surviving Love

After All These Years

I had 15 minutes to order food, inhale it, and get back to the ER. I still had six more hours to go but it felt like 15. I ordered a sandwich, picking up a protein bar, 5-hour energy, and double shot of espresso. I had limited sleep under my belt and the first six hours had been nothing short of a shit show. I grabbed my tray and took a seat at an empty table to eat. I had my head down, savagely attacking my sandwich while I thought about my last patient who had flatlined at least twice while we were stabilizing him when I heard my name.

"Jared?"

"Huh?" I muttered, my mouth crammed with food.

I looked up, expecting to see Colleen or Dedee. My jaw went slack, my sandwich half way to my mouth. I'm pretty sure my heart stopped beating and if I hadn't been so dehydrated I probably would have pissed myself.

"Maci?" I managed to croak out.

"How are you? I had no idea you worked here." She said.

She was just as beautiful as I remembered. Her brown hair long and loose around her face and her big brown eyes watching me. She had that wide smile spread across her face, warmth radiating from her.

"Uh. Yeah." I cleared my throat, swallowing the food in my mouth only partially chewed. "What are you doing here?"

I wanted to gag on the lump of food trying to force its way down my throat. Instead I flushed it down with the shot of espresso. Maybe I could kickstart my heart into beating again. I felt my hands shake with nerves.

"Jackie, you remember Jackie right?" I nodded my head, like I could forget Jackie Louis. "She just had a baby. A beautiful little girl, they named her Tressa Lynn."

"Tell her I said congratulations." I replied.

Maci shifted on her feet. I knew I should have asked her to join me but I didn't want her to. Just having her in front of me was enough to send me reeling. Besides I had to get back to work.

"Did you know she married Greg Johnson?" Maci asked me.

I remembered hearing something about it from Levi but I had honestly not cared enough to find out more. With the exception of Skylar and Levi I didn't talk to anyone from high school, not that I had time if I wanted to.

"Yeah I think I did." I gathered up my trash, discarding it in the garbage. "I'd love to stay and talk but I gotta get back to work."  I tapped my watch. "It was good to see you."

I was trying to keep my shit together the best I could. Really I just wanted to sprint down the hallway away from Maci as fast as I could. And maybe have someone shock my heart back into rhythm.

"It was great to see you too."

She leaned in for a hug and my body tensed. I threw my hands up to warn her off.

"I'm full of germs." I blurted, the lamest excuse ever. Everyone's full of germs. "Don't want you to catch anything."

She laughed a little, not sure if I was being serious or not. I wasn't that sure either.

"We should get a coffee sometime, catch up." I watched, unsure of what to say, as she rifled through the black leather bag that hung off her shoulder. "What's your number?"

I heard her pen click as she leaned down to write my number down. My heart was beating again only now it was hammering in my chest so hard I was sure someone would diagnose me with something. I couldn't do coffee, shit I couldn't even handle this.

"Good." Her pen clicked again and she righted herself. "I'll give you a call then."

Wait, what? When did I give her my number? My chest tightened with anxiety.

"I'll let you get back to work. You look great Jared." She gave me a smile before leaving me standing there.

I couldn't get myself to start functioning again. Did she know how bad she screwed me up? How much she still affected me? How I was just starting to get over her? I shook my head, grabbing my protein bar and energy shot off the table. I glanced at my watch, I had two minutes to get back to the ER department. I yanked my phone from my pocket, dialing Levi's number.

"You seriously didn't think it was a good idea to let me know your sister was in town?" I snapped into the phone as I shoved the protein bar in my mouth.

I was in the middle of a 12 hour shift, coming off of another 12 hour shift the day before. I was crashing with a whole lot of panic in there. Maci was the last person I had thought I'd run into.

"Hey man, yeah sorry, slipped my mind." Levi replied.

"Really? It slipped your mind she was in town to see Jackie in the hospital that I work at?" I couldn't keep the agitation out of my voice.

"I'm sorry. What more do you want?" He asked.

"How long is she staying?" I asked.

"Uh, not sure. Hey listen I gotta go. We still on for tomorrow night?"

"Yeah." I muttered.

I hung up the phone with Levi, panic settling in my chest. I blew out a breath, running my hands through my hair as I neared the ER doors. I was just starting to believe that there was a life for me without Maci. A life, maybe, with someone else. Why the hell did she have to just walk back into my life like that? Like she hadn't been the one to destroy me in the first place.

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Well here it is. The moment we've all been waiting for. Can you believe we just hit 30 chapters too? I can't. -DBR