OBSESSED

25

JARROD

Although I'd never been a fan of him, tonight I wanted to kill Dr. Moody for taking me away from Leah.

From what I'd heard down the nurse grapevine, he was off gambling and that was why he refused to answer his phone. His gambling addiction should not have been my fucking problem. He was the resident on call tonight.

The ER was slammed even more than usual for a Friday night. It seemed like every patient was in critical condition and a new one came in very other minute.

Around two o'clock, the traffic slowed and I seized my chance to go home. Thank fuck overtime paid me well.

"Doc, wait up!" Claire called after me. "I'll walk out with you."

Even though I wanted to fall over from exhaustion, I waited for her to catch up. We took the elevator down to the parking deck.

"So," she drawled, "how's life been? We haven't talked much lately."

I shrugged. "Keeping busy is all. You?"

"I've been dying to know—did it work out between you and that patient?"

My cheeks colored a bit but I couldn't refrain from smiling. She read my expression right away and gasped, smacking my arm.

"Oh my god! Tell me everything!"

I rolled my eyes. Jesus, this woman could pry. Normally that would bother the hell out of me, but Claire was harmless. She wasn't like the other gossip-mongering nurses we worked with.

"We had a date tonight, actually," I said. "Before I was so rudely called in."

She covered her mouth. "I had no idea. Damn. Sorry, Doc."

Sighing, I shrugged. "Duty calls."

"So it's going well, I take it?"

"You could say that, yeah," I said, biting back another small smile.

"As long as she's better than your ex," she huffed. "That woman was . . . too much."

I snorted. That was putting it lightly. "She's as opposite to Tiffany as could be."

We reached her car first. She patted my arm reassuringly. "Good. I hope it works out for you two," she said, smiling sweetly. "You'll have to forward her our apologies for interrupting your date."

"I'll do that." I chuckled.

We parted ways and I practically fell into the drive seat. I was so exhausted that I struggled keeping my eyes open on the drive home.

Once I reached my condo, I checked my phone to see if Leah had let me know when she got home. There was nothing new from her, though. She probably just forgot to text me, but I still felt a nudge of concern.

I hoped she hadn't gone out with her friends. It was a Friday night, after all, and I'd bailed on her. Problem was, only bad things seemed to happen when she went out with them.

JARROD: hey honey, u get home? just checking in

As much as I wanted to collapse face-first on my bed, I was covered in an assortment of bodily fluids and felt gross. I took a fast, hot shower before giving into the urge to climb under the covers.

My stomach growled, reminding me that I hadn't eaten since lunch, but I was much too tired to get up and eat. My eyelids were already drooping. I had one last fleeting thought—the reminder that I promised Leah we would grab lunch tomorrow.

Groping the end table for my phone, I texted her one last time.

JARROD: I'll be at your place to grab you for lunch at 11. Sweet dreams beautiful

Then I crashed.