Page 26 of Hades

We both fall silent, absorbing the fact that we have something in common. It’s almost as if we were cut from the same cloth. Funny how two people can feel the same thing but act differently. I’ve learned to sit still in the silence and embrace the uncomfortable, whereas she hasn’t. She constantly seeks out the company of others.

I’ve seen it at the clubhouse with the old ladies and the sweetbutts. Then again at work. She’s always checking in with nurses, making sure they have everything they need and offering to step in and help other doctors.

I hate to admit it, but it’s admirable.

I’ll never tell her that, though. It will just go to her head.

Evelyn squirms on the couch, boredom already eating away at her.

“Do you want to go to the clubhouse?” I offer without thinking.

Her eyes light up. “Are you sure?”

I shrug. “I mean, your brother never said we had to stay here, and I have some things to talk to him about. I’m sure one of the girls is around for you to hang with, so why not?”

Evelyn jumps off the couch and starts walking to her room. “It will take me twenty minutes to get ready.”

“Take your time.”

Evelyn pauses and looks over her shoulder at me. “Hey, Hades, thank you,” she says quietly.

“You don’t need to thank me for anything.”

She rolls her eyes and walks away.

Shaking my head, I let out a slow breath. I don’t know what it is about the woman, but she drives me crazy. If we were different people, I would probably try to make a move on her. To see where things would go, but that can’t happen.

Happily ever after isn’t in the cards for someone like me, and a girl like her deserves the white picket fence with a dog and kids in the yard.

Which means this is a problem for me. One I’ll have to face once everything is said and done.

Evelyn

“Have fun,” Hades mutters as we step inside the clubhouse.

Stopping, I stare at his retreating back. I don’t know what happened between leaving my place and getting here, but it’s almost as if he’s shut down.

Just when I thought we were starting to make progress.

“Hey, what are you doing here?” Natalie asks, pulling my attention away from the man in question.

“It’s my day off.”

She nods in understanding. Natalie is used to entertaining me when I’m not at the hospital. Like the damn saint she is, she rolls with it.

“Come on. Harlee is in the kitchen,” she says, waving over her shoulder.

I fall into step behind her, and when we enter the kitchen, Harlee looks up.

“What’s up?” she asks as she jumps up onto the countertop.

“I don’t understand why you love sitting on counters,” I tease.

She shrugs as she bites into an apple after grabbing it from the bowl next to her hip.

“I don’t love it. I mean, it’s hard as fuck, but I love getting a rise out of all of you.” Harlee smirks, making us laugh.

I’ve known Harlee her entire life. I remember the day her parents, Honk and Elenore, had her. Mom let me pick out flowers and took me to the hospital to see her. She was the first baby I ever held. Elenore, may she rest in peace, never got annoyed by my constant questions and fascination with not only baby Harlee but also what it was like at the hospital.