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One
Natalie
My heart raced with every conscious step toward the door. I’d left a man I had deep feelings for in a cozy warm bed. Tears spilled from my eyes as I forced myself to open the door and step out into the hallway. I held the door so it was closed with a quiet click. I couldn’t believe he hadn’t awoken from the thunderous sound of the blood racing through my veins.
Somehow I made it out to the street without passing out. I drifted to the subway. The feeling of loss was so overwhelming, I could have glided out into the street without noticing.
I couldn’t say for sure I was in love with Liam. He would be the only person I’d loved beside my mother and Jody. I didn’t have the means to quantify a romantic love. But there was something that had rooted itself inside me for the man I couldn’t shake. If I didn’t yet love him, I was well on the way.
Back at Ms. Allen’s house, I crept through the house like a thief and got my packed bag. I dumped it on the back step and hoped it would be there when I came for it. If Dad had someone watching, I didn’t want them to see I didn’t plan on meeting Dad here later that night.
I left out the front of Ms. Allen’s house, eyeing the street for the limo. It wasn’t there. Call me crazy, I still felt eyes on me. I walked in the direction of the subway. Once I rounded the corner, I turned and jogged behind the houses to get my bag from her back porch where I’d left it. I hadn’t decided if I would run from what Father wanted, but I wanted the option to leave town without him knowing.
I made it to work on time. The ward was busy when I walked in. Any idea of quitting before my shift ended was out. It was an all-hands-on-deck situation. It hadn’t been this busy since my first shift on the job.
I caught up with Ms. Allen before she left. “I just wanted to say thank you.”
Her motherly smile almost pushed me to tears. “No need to thank me. We should have dinner tomorrow. Aren’t you off?”
“That’s the thing. I have a family emergency. I notified my agency that today will be my last day.”
“Oh no! Is everything okay?”
Her kindness nearly broke me. I hated lying to her. “It will be fine.”
She nodded and didn’t press. “Well, you’ve paid through the end of the month.”
“Keep it.” No matter what I chose to do when the night was over, there was no way I would put her in harm’s way.
She took my hands in hers. “If you come back, you can stay with me.”
I patted the back of her hand, willing myself to keep it together. “That’s kind of you. I don’t think I’ll be back.”
“Know you are always welcome.”
Gratefully, the nurse that I was replacing flagged me over. “I have to go.” I rushed away, knowing I was going to have to work through the day somehow.
Christy wasn’t there. She could be working the overnight shift. I considered leaving her a note with Liam’s number. When he called me his replayed in my mind, I couldn’t do that. Not to him and not to me. I wouldn’t diminish that moment. I wasn’t that altruistic. If they got together after I was gone, I didn’t have to know.
Halfway through my shift, I got a text from Doc Love with his address and directions. He offered to send me an Uber. Some woman would be lucky to get him. I really believed that. I texted back an apology with the same white lie. I had a family emergency and would be leaving town. The statement wasn’t a total lie. What it implied was the lie, and I felt like such a fraud.
I’d considered writing that same half-truth in the note I left for Liam but decided not to. I gave him all the honesty I could without telling him the complete truth.
When my shift was over, after trading notes with the oncoming nurse, I got a few hugs from people I was starting to really like.
I had my head down, debating my next move. I nearly smiled with the memory of meeting Liam outside the door. I glanced up to where his truck had been and there he was. Like a vision out of a dream, I smiled. He hadn’t given up on me.
Then, as if I hit a wall, my father materialized in front of me. Fear clutched me like a villain and not for myself. Liam wasn’t the type of man to stand back. He’d rescued me that first night. If he thought I was being taken against my will, he would come to my rescue.
