AllFreeNovel
Share Us
When I left town for nursing school, it was the first time I had ever done something that I felt really, truly proud of. I felt like I was finally doing something big. Something hard. But when I graduated, I didn’t have anyone in the audience as I walked down the aisle to get my diploma. No parents, no brother, no boyfriend. I was proud of me — I had to be — because there was no one else there to be proudforme.
That day, I remember thinking that everyone in the world picks someone or something else over me. I wondered whether that would ever change — whether my important days would ever matter for anyone else.
Connor has thought of me. He called me the best thing that ever happened to him.
But am I still just an afterthought? Am I still just someone who takes last place in his life, like I seem to do for everyone else?
What are we doing now, Connor? Are we back together? For how long?The questions start swirling in my mind again as I take in his words. But I’m too tired to ask any of them.Later,I tell myself.Tomorrow, I’ll sit him down and we’ll talk. I won’t be a coward. I’ll ask him what this is.
Right now, I’m content to let myself sink into this post-sex haze. To drift off to sleep, in a cocoon of warmth and happiness.
18
KAT
The next day, my warm cocoon of happiness fades away as soon as I wake up, and cold reality comes crashing through.
“Psst, sleepyhead,” Connor murmurs, nudging me awake. “I need to get over to the clubhouse in a bit. You’re coming with me.”
I roll over and look at him. “No can do. I have to go to work later.”
He plants a kiss on my forehead. “That ain’t gonna be possible today. Call the hospital and tell them you need the day off.”
Uh-oh.“I have to go to work, Connor. You might not think my presence is very important, but people depend on me there.”
“I know your job’s important,” he says in a voice that tells me he’s trying to be patient, but he’s not about to take no for an answer. “But these are unusual circumstances. Call them.” He grabs my phone off the nightstand and hands it to me.
“Don’t tell me what to do!”Ass.
“Fuck…” he sits up in bed, then drags a hand across his face. “Look, Kat, don’t you have some PTO or something you can take?”
I can sense anger and frustration radiating off of him. Connor wants to keep me safe, I know that. But I don’t want to back down, either. His desire to protect me has escalated crazily in the past few days. Before, it was at least manageable — a little crazy, but manageable — like insisting that he accompany me to and from work. But now, he wants me to stop workingcompletely? Absolutely not. I know he thinks I’m in danger. But this is insanity. I can’t just stop living my life.
I take a deep breath to steady myself. “Connor. I work in an emergency department,” I explain. “My colleagues count on me. Theyneedme there. We’re understaffed as it is. I can’t just take time off for no reason, without giving them adequate warning.”
“It’s not for no reason,” he insists. “You’d do it if you got sick, right? Or if you got in an accident or something. They’d figure out how to cover for you.”
“But I’mnotsick. And it’s not like I got hit by a bus or something. It’s just not right. I can’t do it.” I squeeze my eyes shut, feeling my self-control threaten to slip away. “Being a nurse is a calling, Connor. People depend on me. Staff and patients alike.”
“Kat —”
I open my eyes again, matching him glare for glare. “I can go to work. So I’m going to. End of story.”
“But —”
“Lalalalalala!” I sing, plugging my fingers in my ears. “I can’t hear you!”Very mature, Kat.What has this situation reduced me to, anyway?
Still, I continue to sing-song until Connor grabs my hands and pulls them down.
“You are a giant pain in the ass, you know that?” he scowls.
“Oh yeah?” I shoot back. “Well, you are in competition to be an even bigger one,”
“Fuck me,” he sighs. He drops my hands. “Dammit, woman. I can tell there’s not going to be any reasoning with you on this. Okay, if you’re going to insist on being pig-headed, I guess I’ll have to go to Plan B.”
“What’s Plan B?”
“I’m gonna grab one of the other Bastards and put them on you while you’re at work.”
