Misconstrue

"NINETEEN. So close."

"Hey." I interrupt Christian's furious typing. "Sorry." I apologize as our eyes meet. 

"It's okay." He takes a gulp of his coffee then tosses the empty cup in the bin under the desk. "This a shift from hell." I nod in understanding since I've had a few of those myself. "Need help with anything?"

I place the anesthesia textbook beside the keyboard. "Thanks. This really helped."

He smiles at me. "You're welcome. I'm still having a hard time believing that you actually needed it."

I could only roll my eyes in response. "Why are you even in the ED?"

Christian lets out a heavy exhale. "There was a nasty accident. The trauma surgeons needed extra hands."

I nod as I try to ignore the hustling and bustling of the emergency room. I know I have more emergency rotations coming up but I really don't think I can handle working in this department. The quick thinking that ED doctors have to go through on a daily basis isn't for me. Although I must admit that the rush you get when treating patients can be a little addictive. And that kinda scares me. 

"We're also a little short staffed today." He grabs the idle iPad. "Wanna shadow me while I do rounds?" I make a face of disgust and he laughs. "You're not that busy. I'll cover for you with O'Connell."

"Fine." I concede. "Fifteen minutes tops."

I remain silent as I observe Christian. I've only ever shadowed more seasoned doctors so it's interesting to witness Christian's way of doing things. I guess there's a generation gap in just about every industry.

"This is our last patient then I'll let you go." I nod then look ahead as we make our approach. I gulp nervously when I spot a police officer standing outside the sliding doors. "This patient caused the accident."

"I see."

"Blunt force trauma to the chest cavity. A few abrasions on his forehead. And a broken arm that's now set." Christian reads from the iPad before him. "We were initially holding him for observation due to his concussion but his tox report is not looking pretty."

Christian hands me the device and I whistle lowly as I read the patient's results. "So, what happens now? We're just going to hand him over to the police?"

He shrugs. "Psych gets to make that call. But our patient suffered from an overdose when he ran that red light. He's lucky to be alive."

We say nothing further to each other as Christian nods at the officer then slides the door to the left. He does the same to the privacy curtain and we're greeted with silence as we enter. 

Christian hums softly as he checks the patient's IV. I take one look at the man lying listlessly on the hospital bed then gasp as shock courses me. "David?"

I flash a quick look at the EKG monitor then sigh softly. "Do you know him?"

I nod. "Barely." The information from David's chart comes back to me. "An overdose." David's right arm is safely in a cast and elevated on a pillow as he sleeps. His hair is dishevelled which is expected given the day he's had. But the one other thing that catches my attention is the shiny handcuffs on his left wrist.

"Is that necessary?" Christian sighs. "The patient we operated on earlier hasn't woken up yet. The surgery wasn't a walk in the park. Your friend here could be facing serious charges."

A shiver runs through me. "I should get back. I'll see you later." I don't give Christian the chance to say anything else as I scurry out of there. 

Guilt consumes me as I ride the elevator to the sixth floor. The memory of David and I's first meeting comes back to me. At first, I thought he was into some freaky shit, and I really didn't want to judge him for his preferences. But after the disaster that was our date, I figured he wanted nothing to do with me.