Chapter forty-two
Teegan
“ W hy do you always smell so damn good?” Abbie asked out of the blue as I sat at my desk, and I looked over at her in utter confusion.
“Because I shower?” I questioned, perplexed, and she shook her head as she grabbed my arm and smelled it like a crazy person.
“No. You don’t just shower… you smell like laundry and lavender,” she muttered.
Emma spoke as she typed on her computer. “Leave the poor girl alone, Abnormal.”
“I told you to stop calling me that…” Abbie said in a menacing whisper, and I sighed as I pulled my arm back and pushed her away using her chair.
The door opened, and Jacob entered as he walked over to his desk. I didn’t feel too awkward about the situation yesterday but we hadn’t really spoken about it… and I didn’t feel ready to initiate that conversation with him.
“I got a few more C-sections this afternoon. Gonna grab something to eat now. I’ll see you girls later,” he said, filling the silence, and he locked eyes with me for a moment before stepping out of the room.
“You saw that, right?” Emma asked Abbie.
Abbie nodded quickly and looked over at me. “What happened between you two?” she asked with wide eyes, and I blushed heavily.
“Nothing!” I exclaimed, and Emma shook her head.
“No, something happened. He always tries to touch something by your desk when he comes into the office or attempts to make a joke to get you to laugh. Neither happened,” she deduced like Sherlock Holmes.
Abbie nodded. “And! And he made minimal eye contact but was breathing heavily the second he saw you!”
“Starting to think you guys should’ve gone to Psychiatry instead of OB/GYN,” I said, looking between them. Their eyes never let up as they egged me on. Sighing, I decided to spit it now to get it over with, as they didn’t seem like they were going to go away.
“…Jacob kinda asked me out last night, and I turned him down. I told him we were just friends, and he was a bit upset,” I said softly, and they both looked at me in shock. With my experience with other friends, I half expected them to push me to be with him… kinda like how Beverly did with Alec.
“Wow, he really liked you, though…” Abbie began, and my eyes widened as she continued angrily, “But he is such an ass!”
Emma nodded in agreement.
“Wait a minute… you guys were rooting for us, though,” I uttered, confused, and Emma scoffed.
“Only if you were into him. He’s being a total dick with the way he’s handling rejection. He shouldn’t ignore you or be mean just because you want to stay friends.”
I smiled softly as Abbie grabbed my hand.
“Listen, chief. No means no . And if he has an issue with that, it’s his problem. Not yours, comprende ?” she asked, and I rolled my eyes and pushed her away playfully again.
“You don’t even speak Spanish,” I laughed.
Emma stood as she grabbed her phone. “In honor of Teegan rejecting Jacob, I’m ordering us some Chinese. No need to wallow over a boy getting his heart broken. AGREED, LADIES?!” she screamed, and we agreed as we tried to get her to sit down.
Not only did I have brothers, but these girls were like my best friends… sisters even. I loved them from day one, and as crazy as they are, I would have never made it this far without them.
A few hours passed, and I got a call from the attending regarding a patient coming in for an emergency. She didn’t say exactly what it was about or anything regarding the patient and their current state, so I made my way over as fast as I could.
Upon approaching the ER, I caught a glimpse of a man in a suit walking back and forth as he held a young girl in his arms while she slept on his shoulder. He was on a call, and as I put the gloves on beside him, he dropped his phone from his ear and stared at me.
“Dr. Monroe,” he said, and I nodded my head.
“Yes, hi, Mr.?” I said, trailing off.
He placed his phone in his pocket. “ Russel . My wife is not feeling well and is seven months pregnant with our son. She insisted the pain was nothing, but I didn’t want to take any chances.” He spoke firmly, and I nodded as I approached the curtain.
“Well, let’s look at her condition and see how the baby is doing,” I said, trying to calm him down as he seemed extremely tense. Pulling the curtain slightly, I entered the room to see a woman who was the opposite of him—slightly bubbly, smiling through pain, and a bit timid as well.
“Hi, Mrs. Russel. I am Dr. Monroe, and I’ll be taking care of you this evening. What brings you in today?” I asked, approaching the bedside, and she sighed.
“I am having a bit of mild discomfort, and my husband deemed it necessary to bring me into the hospital… and you can call me Brielle.”
I nodded as I assessed her chart momentarily before I prepped the ultrasound.
“Are you taking your prenatal vitamins?” I asked, and she nodded. “Eating relatively healthy if you are able to and staying away from the big no-nos of pregnancy?” I asked, smiling, and she nodded once again.
As I began performing the ultrasound, Mr. Russel spoke once again.
“Aren’t you conducting research on preterm labor signs and prevalence?” he asked, and I smiled as Brielle glared at him.
“Killian, leave the poor girl alone,” she said angrily, and I laughed as she gave me a sorry look.
“It appears you did your homework on me, Mr. Russel. As a matter of fact, I am. Is that why my attending called me here specifically?” I asked, and he nodded.
“As well as the fact that you were at the top of your class and still outranking your fellow colleagues,” he stated, and I continued smiling as I spotted the healthy growing baby on the scan.
“We were flying back from Virginia to go to New York when we had to land for her safety,” he explained, and I nodded as I looked away from the screen.
“Well, from what the scans tell me, your baby boy is just fine. I will order some extra tests for your hemoglobin, leukocytes, glucose, and a few others as well, just to be safe. But I must warn you, Mr. Russel, your wife is seven months pregnant. She’s bound to feel pain here and there, whether it be from discomfort, nausea, hunger... The more you stress about her safety, the more it jeopardizes her actual health, as it causes her unnecessary stress,” I compromised with him. Brielle sent me a thankful smile as he nodded slowly.
“Understood, Dr. Monroe. Thank you,” he replied, and I nodded, but not before hearing the little girl he was holding speak as well.
“...Thank you, Dr. Monroe,” she whispered, and I “awwed” as Mr. Russel rubbed her back softly as he rocked her slightly on his hip.
“Delilah, sweetie, try to go back to sleep, honey. You’ve been up for a long time,” he whispered softly, and I gave a final smile as I stepped out, giving them some space.
As I entered my apartment complex, I noticed Mr. Rivera and Mr. Frank talking by the front desk. They noticed me and went silent for a moment, as I went over to my mailbox.
“Um... good evening, gentlemen,” I greeted softly, and Mr. Frank simply nodded his head. Mr. Rivera didn’t do anything. He looked like he wanted to say something—badly—but it was almost like he couldn’t spit it out.
“Did you manage to do something about the heater? I think we may have some snow later,” I tried to fill the silence, and Mr. Rivera sighed as he looked at Mr. Frank.
“That’s what we’re discussing now, sweet pea. We hope to get it up and running for the night, but it’s been giving us problems… Use the space heaters if you need to, okay?” he said to me, and I nodded politely as I grabbed my things.
“Not a problem. I’ll let you know if anything else comes up,” I said, and Mr. Frank nodded wordlessly again. Mr. Rivera, however, finally said part of what he seemed to be holding back.
“Be careful, okay, Teegan?” he almost pleaded, and I furrowed my eyebrows momentarily before nodding.
“I will be. Have a good night, guys,” I said softly and ascended the steps as I walked to my apartment.
I reached into my bag for my keys when I noticed my door was cracked slightly. Looking around quickly, however, I didn’t see a trace of anyone who may have stopped by. My heart rate quickened as I had slight flashbacks of what had happened before when I thought someone had killed my little kitty… wait…Grayson!
I pushed the door open and stepped inside, only to see one of my favorite candles burning and the sound of slow classical music. Hearing footsteps approach me from my room, I felt frozen as I looked up to see the man who broke me—the man who made me suffer—the man who was able to put me back together—the man who owned my entirety whether I wanted him to or not.
“Hello, Tesoro,” he muttered, and I watched as he held Grayson in his arms and pet him softly.
“Levi,” I whispered, and he looked down at my kitty for a moment.
“Don’t worry, Tesoro… he’s sleeping,” he said nonchalantly, and my hands felt clammy.
Levi looked different. He looked more dominating, more intimidating, even more attractive if that was possible, and I almost felt weak in the knees. After the rejection, after crying my eyes out and vowing to no longer give this man my heart… he still had an effect on me, even though I tried to convince myself he didn’t.
“What are you doing here?” I whispered, and he approached me once again to the point where we were only a foot away.
“...I’m here to see you, Tesoro.”