Page 15 of Awakening
My time with Knox had been incredible, reminding me of all the love we shared before he decided to uproot his life to Greece for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work alongside and curate a menu with Michelin star chef Lefteris Lazarou. Knox had completed his degree in Nutritional Sciences. Still, it then led him to culinary school, where he discovered his passion and love for food that is so phenomenal it feels like an out of body experience.
My career as an RN was equally as important to me as his blossoming career as a world-class chef. Thus, we opted to end things and get together when the stars aligned, and here we were, 4 years later, making promises I wasn’t sure we could keep. Knox had gone on to become a world-renowned Chef alongside Chef Lazarou. They had not only become mentor and mentee, but friends, his right-hand man, and business partner. I’d done the work andbecome a Nurse Practitioner and the charge nurse for the Winston Hills Memorial ER. Nursing people was more than just medical; I focused on healing the things we couldn’t see on their charts when they came through my ER. I had no plans to leave Winston Hills because it was what I loved to do. Nursing gave me purpose, as helping and healing brought me happiness. Not only had I built a fulfilling career here, but I found the courage to be myself and live out loud right here in Winston Hills. With dread, Knox and I parted ways this morning as he headed back to Greece, leaving a lot unsaid between us.
Work buzzed with the usual chaos, beeping monitors, clipped orders, and the distant wail of a siren, which was typical for a Monday in my ER. However, I could only think of her, the freckled-faced beauty with the unique name.
Ajaih.
Grabbing her chart as she was laid in Trauma Room 3, her breathing steadier now, but her chest still rose and fell with the shaky rhythm of the aftermath. Panic attack. Severe. Her heart rate was like a drumline when they brought her in, fingers clenched into tight fists, eyes wide with a fear that didn’t belong on someone so striking.
I cared for every patient who came through my ER, but the look on her face awakened the protector in me, and I had no idea why.
I remember standing at the nurses' station pretending to read over her chart when I felt it again—that pull. Not just empathy. Not just a clinical concern. Something else. Something unfamiliar and intrusive.
“I know that face,” muttered Dani, one of my favorite nurses, nudging him. “You look like you see something you want.”
I scoffed under my breath, “I’m just trynna finish this shift and take my black ass home,” I gruffed out, causing Dani to laugh.
But she was right, I did see something I wanted, but confusion settled in my chest about wanting it, wanting her.
Ajaih had asked for me, softly, after the Ativan started working. Her voice had been low, hoarse, but her eyes were sharp.
“You’re the one who touched my hand,” she said.
“You grounded me.”
It’d been instinct; I always tried to bring people back with something simple: voice, warmth, pressure. But with her, her fingers had laced into mine, as if she needed me, as if she knew me.
And that damn moment wouldn’t leave me.
Once her vitals were stabilized and paperwork filed, I should’ve gone home, but my feet moved toward the curtain anyway. I needed to be sure she was okay and had a loved one to take care of her.
Pulling the curtain aside quietly, I was completely caught off guard by the scene in front of me as I watched Dr. Layanna Black softly kissing her lips while scolding her gently. Clearing my throat softly, Ajaih sat upright now, eyes still on Dr. Black, curls loose around her face before her gaze met mine, steady.
“You came back,” she said softly.
I cleared my throat. “Just checking in before I clock out.”
She tilted her head, eyes narrowing slightly. “You always check in after your shift ends?”
A smirk graced Dr. Black’s beautiful face.
I hesitated, “No.”
“It’s always good to see your handsome face, Nurse Carter,” Dr. Black said, making me blush.
This woman was insanely fine and thick, but seeing hermarried ass kissing all over my future wife had me intrigued and aroused.
Future wife? Yeah, I was tripping.
“The pleasure is all mine, Dr. Black,” I replied, biting my bottom lip, my thoughts running wild.
“Call me Yanna. I have a feeling I’ll be seeing more of you,” she winked, looking between Ajaih and me as she headed out of the room.
Silence stretched between us like the air before a summer storm. Then she smiled, small but not coy, yet genuine and Honest. “You’ve got this calm energy, you know. I don’t get that a lot.”
“You scared the hell out of me,” I admitted before I could stop myself. “I’ve seen panic attacks before, but… yours hit different.”
Ajaih nodded, “It was a bad one.”
