Page 26 of Hawk

“Eric, stop. I’m fine.” I held up both hands to stop him. “I’m okay.”

“Do they know who you are? Where you live?” He raked a hand through his perma-perfect hair and it—of course—bounced back. “You can stay with me. In the guest room,” he added with a smile that was supposed to be comforting.

It wasn’t. “No, thanks.”

The clench of his jaw was the only expression of his anger, but I caught it, and it served as yet another reminder why we were no longer together. He blanked his expression and nodded. “Okay, fine, but the offer stands. Call me if you need anything.”

I nodded just to get rid of him, but I had no plans on calling him because it would just open a door that took me too damn long to close. “Yeah, sure.” I turned away first because I was done with this conversation and the last thing I wanted to do was remember that horrible day.

“Holy shit, girl, what was that?”

I shrugged. “Don’t know. Don’t care.” That was the truth.

“You’re not tempted, not even a little bit?” The question would have upset me even two months ago, but now it didn’t faze me.

“Nope. All the appeal of Eric is visual, and trust me when I say it wasn’t worth the hype.”

“Stone cold,” Kristy whispered before locking her arm through mine. “Good answer, by the way. He was here to get in your head, you know that right?”

“Yeah. He was hoping to swoop to my rescue and use it as a way to get me to change my mind. Again. I’m done with that dance.” Thankfully, another page sounded to say there was a brawl at the middle school baseball field, which meant dozens of minor emergencies that would keep me busy for the next hour or two.

***

After dealing with angry parents for two hours straight, I was exhausted and ready for a long, hot shower and a few episodes of something on Netflix that would lull me to sleep. I couldn’t handle one more father, pissed off because his boy wasn’t getting enough game time, or I would lose my shit. One more placating mother trying to soothe the angry beast and I’d be the one locked up.

So when my shift ended, I didn’t bother changing out of my scrubs or freshening up like I usually did so that my car didn’t smell like body fluids and disinfectant. I was beyond ready to get home and waiting for Kristy so we could walk to our cars together was taking too long.

“Jeez, girl, did you say goodbye to everyone in the hospital?”

She tossed her head back and laughed. “Someone’s eager to go home. Those baseball parents piss you off?”

“Ugh, I don’t want to talk about it.” I nodded towards the door and rushed out before another emergency could come in and cost me another few hours. “Let’s go!”

“I’m sorry your day was so long, babe.”

“Me too, but it’s over. Ancient history. At least it will be after a hot shower and a mountain of food.”

Kristy stopped and looked at me, gripping my forearm. “What kind of food mountain are we talking about? Pizza or Chinese?”

I laughed at my best friend and shook my head. “You do know there are more cuisines aside from pizza and Chinese food, don’t you?”

“Of course,” she answered in a haughty tone. “But those are the two that matter most.”

We laughed so hard it echoed in the empty parking lot, bouncing off the cars that filled the spaces. It wasn’t even that much of a funny comment, but we couldn’t help but get a bit silly after a long and stressful shift. We were still doubled over laughing when the sound of screeching tires drew my attention. It was alarming to hear considering we were in a parking lot, but it was late and visiting hours were over, so the sound was unexpected.

But it also drew closer and closer. My laughter faded immediately as my nurse’s instincts kicked in and I scanned the lot in search of the impending accident, only to find myself staring down a set of ultra bright headlights. “Kristy,” I called out at the same time the tires began to spin and the car lurched forward at full speed, right in our direction. “Kristy,” I shouted a second time, and spun just in time to see her dive between two cars.

“Move,” she shouted, and I flung myself out of the way and right into the side of a white SUV.

Pain radiated from my elbow and all the way up to the base of my skull. I held my breath, but the car never stopped, and eventually my fear subsided enough to see taillights speeding left out of the parking lot. My heart continued to pound against my chest, but my training had kicked in. “Kristy?”

“I’m here,” she grunted. “A little dirty, but I’m good. You?”

“My elbow hurts like a son of a bitch, but once my heart slows to normal, I’ll be good.” I bent to pick up my bag and realized my hands were shaking. “I just need to get home.”

“What the hell do you mean?” Suddenly she was right in front of me wearing a frown. “You’d better call that sexy biker and tell him what just happened.”

My shoulders sagged because part of me agreed, but the other part was so fucking exhausted she couldn’t think straight. “I will, after I’m home and showered and fed.”

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