Page 56 of What are the Risks
I hadn’t expected to hear from her so soon. She’d told me she was on shift until midnight.
I could feel my friends watching, waiting to see if I needed her badly enough to break my own no-phones-after-a-game rule.
I wanted to. Ireallydid. But I had to save face.
To make a point, I let it ring out. When it finally stopped, I locked eyes with Evan.
“Elephant,” I told him before picking up my phone and pulling up Gretchen’s DM.
Ryker: Room 824.
She wrote back immediately.
Gretchen: I’ll make you feel better baby.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Friends with benefits
Ruby
I gathered my things, picking up my empty snack container and water bottle before heading for the locker room. It had been a gruelling shift, but the adrenaline outweighed my exhaustion.
This placement had been my toughest one yet, but also the most fulfilling. I was grateful the nursing coordinator had pulled strings to arrange this earlier than was customary. Only a few weeks in, and I already knew it was the path I wanted to take.
“Ruby,” Dr. Spring, the anaesthetist I had just assisted in surgery, called out.
She was still dressed in her scrubs, her surgical mask hanging loosely around her neck.
“Are you done for the day?”
I nodded. I’d swapped my shifts around because I’d hoped to be in Arizona for Ryker’s National Championship game. As much as it sucked that there was no longer a reason to be there, instead of wasting a Saturday night off, I’d switched my flights to visit him at Phil-U instead.
The football team were throwing a party to mark the end of their season. It would be a fly-in-fly-out trip. I’d need to head back first thing tomorrow morning because I couldn’t find anyone to covermy night shift. But after missing his last game, I wasn’t about to miss this too.
“I won’t keep you too long,” Dr. Spring said, slipping her hands into the pockets of her scrubs. “I wanted to congratulate you on these past few weeks. I’ve been impressed by your precision in each surgery, and the experienced nurses have all had nothing but great things to say.”
Heat climbed my cheeks. I always found receiving compliments kind of embarrassing. I never knew the proper way to react. Agreeing felt arrogant, but brushing it off was like I was dismissing all the hard work I’d put in – and it had been hard. Harder than any other rotation.
“I wanted to gauge your plans for what comes next. A close colleague of mine is opening a graduate position in his team to start after the summer. He’s based in Tacoma, a city in Washington, not too far from Seattle.”
Whatever fatigue I’d been feeling instantly disappeared.
“Are you talking about Dr. Jefferson?”
When Dr. Spring nodded, I had to bite my tongue to keep myself from squealing with delight. Dr. Jefferson was one of the most renowned anaesthetists in the country. He was constantly making headlines for new groundbreaking techniques, and he worked with the best of the best to push the boundaries of modern medicine. I’d read an article only last week about his move to Washington.
“If you’re considering a career in surgical nursing–”
“Definitely,” I interjected, unable to contain my excitement.
Dr. Spring chuckled softly. “Then I’d be happy to put in a good word once your placement with me is complete. Keep up the great work between now and then, Ruby, and that recommendation will be glowing.”
My smile didn’t fade even as I showered, then dressed in a knitted set and floor-length trench – my go-to winter fit – or while waiting outside the hospital for my Uber. I was so amped I needed to share this news with someone.
Usually, Noah would be the first person I called. I was still learning to ignore the natural urge to search for his name or text him after a shift.
When I’d returned from Miami, the girls had been waiting for me at the airport. One look from them had been all it took for me to break down. I’d cried the rest of the weekend, and then every morning and night the following week.
