Page 11 of Piece By Piece

Both of those times and many other similar ones ended with him pushing me away. Every flirty, mean commenthe’d sometimes throw at me was followed by even more distance as soon as he realized what we’d done.

He was a player, he was rude, and he was nothing like the young man he pretended to be around his grandma. Or maybe he’s pretending around us. Either way, I’m about to deliver bad news and I’ve never hated my job more. No matter how expected this was.

“Yes?” the man on the other side prompts, his voice impossibly colder. He knows what’s coming. He must.

“I’m calling about Rosie. I’m so sorry to inform you that she passed away this afternoon.” I can’t keep down my sob this time, memories of the alarm going off in the break room for us nurses as her vitals dropped tormenting me. I don’t think I’ll ever forget how my heart froze over and dropped to my stomach. Or how I started running to her room before anyone else reacted.

I broke down at her bedside and took her hand as if it were my grandmother. Meanwhile, I guess I stole that opportunity from her actual grandson by waiting so long to call him. Maybe he could’ve seen her one last time. By now, they must have brought her away.

The guilt is making me sick. I force the last words out, not unlike how I had at our briefing when we first met. “She went quietly during her nap. I am really sorry for your loss.” Okay, there it was. That’s it.

I cover my mouth again and try not to sniffle too loudly as I wait for his reply. It takes him a few seconds but finally, he snaps, “God, get your act together. What is wrong with you? This is your job, stop crying.” With that, the line disconnects, and I finally set the phone down. Curling in on me like I’ve wanted to for the last hour.

I can’t even blame him for how he just reacted. I couldn’t even tell him about his grandmother’s deathwithout falling apart and making it all about me. It’s like I’m that needy kid on Christmas all over again.

No, he’s hurting too and if the roles were reversed, I’m sure I would have wished for someone more professional to deliver such news. I’ll just take this as a lesson not to ever get this close to a patient again, for one part, and to be what the person losing a loved one needs the next time. I need to stop looking for scraps of affection wherever I can. This isn’t the place.

Chapter 7

Sebastian

There’s no reply from whoever called me for long enough to make me contemplate just hanging up. It’s way past midnight, after all. Certainly not the time to get a call, which is why I’m curious enough to stay on the line. Even though it’s a time when most people would be asleep. A time when I sure as hell should be asleep rather than abusing my punching bag to release some of this undying, unjustified anger within me.

All because of a certain honey-eyed, golden-haired girl and her stupid decision to fuck my best friend in my home. Now, her moans are the only thing I can think of whenever I want to walk down the corridor leading to my room.

Yeah, I’m not getting any sleep tonight. I’ll just stay in my gym until it’s time for my morning run and hope that I can finally pass out after that.

At first, I even contemplated calling the girl I was with earlier tonight, but that idea was quickly discarded. I already turned her down once today. Inviting her over just to do it again would make me a jerk. And there’s no way I wouldn’t turn her down when it’s all I’ve done with any girl for months.

It’s the same bullshit every time, I indulge in flirting and maybe kiss a girl but in the end, I never feel like taking it any further than that even when there’s nothing wrong with her.

Ever since I met that infuriating nurse that turned out to be a lot less sweet than first anticipated. It’s funny how I thought I met an angel only for her to turn up at my party looking hot as sin in the same month.

Of course, she and my friends think that I haven’t changed my ways since I can’t seem to stop picking up girls in front of them. They don’t know that I just get a kick out of the jealousy in Aliena’s eyes whenever I turn my attention to someone else.

It’s only fair I pay her back for how she flirts non-stop with my best friend, for fuck’s sake. Call me stupid but I guess I thought it was just a game we were playing, but as it turns out, we weren’t on the same page about the rules. She confirmed that when she fucked Mattheo while I left my date after watching a movie without so much as a kiss.

My agitation grows and I’m about to either snap at the person over the phone or simply end the call when a soft noise stops me. A sniffle. A sound that’s eerily familiar.

“Seb?” a shaky voice asks. Her voice. Just a much softer, flimsier version of it that triggers all the wrong emotions and instincts in me. I stand up straighter, the hairs on my arms rising.

“Aliena? Whose phone are you calling me from? What’s going on?” I ask, no longer feeling my earlier rage. Just a whole lot of confusion. And maybe a little worry as I squint at the foreign number on my screen.

She sniffles again. “I’m using the telephone booth. Someone stole my phone.”

I’m already moving toward the door when I ask, “Stole your phone? Who stole your phone, Aliena? Someone at the party? And what are you doing out at this hour? Didn’t Mattheo give you a ride?” Too many questions are buzzing in my head. I don’t know what to focus on.

“No. I was walking home when someone attacked me.” She hiccups and I can feel my stomach tighten. Someone attacked her? What the fuck? “Seb, I don’t feel too good.”

Those words have a whole bucket of ice crashing over me and I stop dead in my tracks, giving her my whole attention.

“Are you hurt, Aliena? Where’s the booth, exactly? I’m coming.”

“I don’t know. Um, he hit me and took my bag. And I fell but I don’t know if I hit my head. I’m just really dizzy. I don’t want to walk home anymore,” she says, her words breaking off with a choked sob. I press the elevator button repeatedly, my mind racing.

“You don’t have to, Baby. You don’t have to go anywhere. I’m on my way, okay? Just stay on the phone. Is the booth on your way home?” I ask urgently. What the fuck is wrong with Mattheo for letting her walk home alone at this hour? First, he fucks her, and then he’s too good to make sure she gets home safely. I’ll kill him. Right after I found whoever made her sound so fucking scared and shaken and killed him too.

Finally, the elevator opens slowly and I burst out of it. Everything is moving so damn slowly. “Mhm,” Aliena replies as I get in. She sniffles again. “I’m really dizzy, Sebastian. I think I have to sit down and close my eyes for a second,” she adds. I’m already shaking my head.

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