Page 4 of Falling for Ezra Thomas
When Vivien and Beck walked in on us kissing that night, I freaked out. I couldn’t figure out how it happened, nor did I know why; it just happened. But I didn’t hate it. The feelings were scary and surprising, which was not lost on me considering my sister’s dilemma with Beck at the time. It was nice to be held the way Ezra held me, kissed so sweetly with no expectation, not like the other guys I’ve dated. Ezra wasdifferent.
Ezra just changed, stopped talking to me, distanced himself from me in all ways. He still won’t tell Vivien why, except that he’s not ready to talk about it.
I shake the memory from my mind and try to focus on my task—getting medical help for my injury and quitting this horriblejob. Dr. Washington nearly passes me in the hallway but stops just shy and looks me up and down, lip curled in disgust. He sighs and motions over my clothing.
“Lorelai, what happened to you? Hurry and bandage that wound, change your clothes to something more professional, and get back on the floor. We have three more walk-ins and a surgery in waiting.”
“No, thank you,” I mumble.
“Excuse me?” Dr. Washington stands straighter and repositions his stethoscope around his neck. I’d like to pull it a bit tighter, maybe wrap it around his—what am I saying? I can’t resort to murdering my boss because I’m unhappy.
“I quit,” I say, yank my name tag off, and toss it in the trash.
“What?” Dr. Washington’s tone is accusatory, angry, and a lot of other things, but I don’t care. I do not care if I ever practiced medicine another day in my life, not if this is the cost up front. I need more than this, more than seventy hours a week for three straight weeks, more than missed family gatherings and time with my sister, and definitely more than men who kiss me and make me feel things I don’t want to feel, then avoid me like I don’t exist.
“I said, I quit. Good luck.” For some reason, I salute him on my way to gather my things from my employee locker.
“This is breach of contract, Miss Mays,” he shouts to my back.
“No it isn’t. You were too busy to sign my renewal, remember?” I wave over my shoulder and don’t look back. Thank goodness for snotty men withbetterthings to do than review my contract with a raise request included.
He mumbles something else, but I don’t hear what he says. It’s probably better that I don’t. I’m too busy wiping my tears, gathering my things, and rushing out the door, ready to get home and drown myself in a gallon of chocolate ice cream while crying on my sister’s shoulder. In the comfort of my car, I covermy face and let it all go. It’s too much. My chest hurts and a sinking feeling settles in my stomach, but I can’t breathe, let alone figure out how I ended up here, working for a bunch of doctors who don’t care about anything but money. They don’t care about their patients or their staff.
Once I’ve cried all I can, I wipe my cheeks, start my car, and head back to my little two-bedroom apartment where I can avoid everything until my sister gets home with her perfect boyfriend. Nope, her fiancé. A fiancé who happens to have the same face as the man I want to smack, so looking at him is difficult. It isn’t Beck’s fault, though, and I know he’s as perplexed by his brother’s actions as anyone. Still, with the mood I’m in, it would be in Beck’s best interest to avoid any ill-timed jokes, tomfoolery, or generally Ezra-like behavior.
I pray I didn’t miss any red lights on my way home and pull into the lot, thinking about ice cream and how it never makes a girl cry. It doesn’t kiss and run, doesn’t ignore anyone, and if it does, well, then you can eat it and forget about it.
Evidently, it’s later than I realize and Beck’s car is already parked beside Vivien’s when I finally make it home. This means he’s probably snuggled up with Viv, being super sweet and supportive. She deserves it, and I have nothing against Beck at all. I just…need him tonotbe here right now.
I grab my purse and phone, slam my car door, and head upstairs to our apartment. I try to spackle on a smile because there’s no need to drag them down, but the second I open the door, my sisterknowssomething is wrong. She cranes her neck to look at me, her eyes bulging like one of those big-headed cartoon characters once her gaze lands on me.
“Lorelai! You’re bleeding!” she says, nearly taking Beck out to get up from the sofa. She crosses the living room to the entryway, where I’m standing as dejectedly as a human can—slouched, blinking, biting my lip to keep from sobbing. “Lore, what happened?”
I glance at my shoulder that I never treated, and the floodgates open all over again. My shoulder hurts, but not as much as my heart. “It was a stupid squirrel. Mr. Nuts escaped, and he terrorized me.”
“Oh, Lore, come here. I’ll clean it up, and we can snuggle and binge watch old sitcoms, okay?” I nod and let Vivien hug me, then lead me down the hallway toward the bathroom.
Beck stands from the sofa and heads toward the kitchen. “I’ll scoop you ladies some ice cream and head out.”
I sniffle. Why can’t Ezra be as sweet as his brother and read my mind?
“Lore, what happened?” Vivien asks again, maneuvering me to sit on the edge of the tub.
I slip my shoes off and dig my toes into the memory foam rug, working to distract myself from the pain my sister is about to inflict upon me with her less than gentle first aid skills. I wipe my cheeks and my nose, then slide my scrub top off so she can help me clean the bite wound that’s already swollen and purple. “Like I said, Mr. Nuts escaped. There was a three-ring circus. He bit me, and I quit.”
“Why would anyone have a pet—Wait, you quit?” Vivien pauses and glances down at me where I sit on the tub, waiting for her to judge me for ruining my career.
“I’ll get another job and make rent, don’t worry.”
“I’m not worried about rent, Lore. I’m worried aboutyou.I’m glad you quit. You deserve so much more than what you get at that horrible place, and now you can take a breath and find a better clinic.”
I start crying all over again. “They’ll never give me a good reference, and I’ll never have my own clinic or my own sweet boyfriend.” I can’t help myself. I sob like a child while my sisterwipes my wound and bandages it, then sits on the side of the tub and lets me cry it out. I’m so thankful for her, but there is nothing she can do to make this better, not this time. All I can do is find a job I don’t hate for a while, then rest, recover, and figure out how to get over my broken heart.
Because somehow, in a matter of one night filled with laughter and teasing, one kiss, and countless hours thinking about him, I’ve gone and fallen for Ezra. But he doesn’t want me. He’s proven that, and all I have left are squirrel teeth marks, ripped pants, and a bruised ego.
“Lorelai, why won’t you tell me what happened between you and Ez? I want to help, but neither of you will talk about it.”
I shrug. “There’s nothing more to say. I already told you. We kissed, he freaked out, and now he won’t talk to me, end of story.”
