Page 2 of Here We Go Again

We pull into the parking garage of Atlanta General and park in our usual spot. “So you’ll be done at seven today?” Mia asks as she turns off the car and hands me my keys.

I yawn and drop them, along with my phone, into my bag. “Should be. Or just before. But I’ll wait for you if I finish early.”

We ride the elevator together, then part when it stops on the fourth floor. “Love you,” Mia says as she steps off, latte in hand. “Have a good shift.”

Up one more floor, I make my way to the surgical lounge where I store my belongings and check my phone before officially clocking in. Unlike Mia, who has no problem ignoring a thousand unread notifications on her phone, I get twitchy if I have even one, so I quickly scroll through them before I clear everything out.

There isn’t much to look at. A “just checking in” text from my mom. An Instagram reel in the group chat I share with my two younger sisters. A reminder that I have sixty dollars of rewards at my favorite retailer that I’ll lose if I don’t spend it before the end of the week.

I leave that notification unread so I’ll remember to check it once my shift is over. There’s a dress I’ve had saved in my cart for weeks, and that sixty dollars will make it close to free.

Before I put down my phone, one more message pops up—this one from my boyfriend, Rory. A weird tightness stretches across my chest. Things with Rory have been a little strained lately. Enough that when his messages come in, I usually feel more trepidation than I do excitement.

If Mia were here, she’d be shaking my shoulders, telling me to end things already.

But it isn’t that simple. I can’t end a year-long relationship because we’re going through a rocky stretch. Especially when we’re on opposite sides of the country.

Rory lives in Southern California, just outside Los Angeles, which is where Mia and I do most of our travel nursing. That’s where we’re paid the most, so we usually jump from one hospital to another, taking whatever contracts will keep us close to the beach and, at least for me, not too far away from Rory.

But then the Atlanta thing came up, and it was too good to pass up, so Rory and I are giving the long-distance thing a go. We aren’t particularly awesome at it, but I have to hope that once I’m back in California, we’ll figure out whatever is wrong and do what it takes to make it right again.

Rory

Hey! Just wanted you to know I’m heading to Tokyo for a few days, so I won’t be around for our evening phone calls.

I frown at my phone. He’s making it seem like we talk every night when we usually only manage two or three times a week. With how frequently he’s out with clients in the evening, it’s been a challenge to sync up our schedules.

Becca

You’re up early. Work trip?

Rory

I never went to bed. But I’ll sleep on the plane. Working on landing a big client. BIG.

I fight the urge to roll my eyes at Rory’s all-caps BIG. He’s a financial advisor working hard to grow his client list, so he’s all about networking and connections. The number of times he’s told me he’s finally met the person who’s going to take him to the next level—it’s too many to count.

I stare at my phone for another beat, suddenly struggling with how to respond. I don’t want to know about his client—they all sound the same to me—so I settle for something politely generic.

Becca

Good luck! Call me when you’re back in the States.

He gives my message a thumbs-up.

Annnnd that’s a pretty solid summary of our relationship these days. Thumbs-ups and promises to call when I have no idea what we’ll talk about when we do.

I sigh and set my phone on the top shelf of my locker. I’m not even sure I’ll miss talking to Rory while he’s out of the country, and that feels like a very bad sign.

I don’t have time to dissect the many warning flags fluttering around my relationship, so I push the thoughts from my mind, take a quick bathroom break, then make my way toward the OR. I pass the nurses’ station and glance up at the board.

Maybe it’s because I saw his face on a billboard this morning, but my mind immediately flashes to the night Theo showed up in the OR. That was back in April, when I’d only been in Atlanta a few weeks.

I don’t usually work nights, but my shift had run long with a surgery that was more complicated than expected, so I was still at the hospital when we received word that a hockey player had just been injured during a game and was on his way in for emergency surgery. My supervisor asked me to stay on and scrub in, and I quickly agreed. But then I saw the digital schedule update with the player’s name.

T. Williamson.

It had to be Theo.