SERENA POV
The day never seemed to end.
Never-ending torture if you will.
The doors burst open once more and I walk from behind the desk to approach the newcomer.
"What do we have?" My voice says as if stuck on repeat.
"Male, late twenties, GSW to left leg. Bullet went clean through. Vitals have been stable in the 120s over 90s. He lost consciousness on the way for a few minutes but is GCS 15 now," The paramedic says as I lead them towards an empty ER room.
I have been a nurse at Sonoma California hospital for two years now. I started in the ICU as a new grad from a tech college then was moved down to the ER.
"How did he get shot?" I ask as I pull the stretcher into the room and next to the bed. I met the patient's eyes for a second but he just turned his gaze away from me.
"Picked him up a few blocks from here in the gas station parking lot," The paramedic says and I nod. Another nurse joins me in the room, closing the curtain behind herself. "Manager made the call. Said some guys just dropped him off there."
I nod my head in understanding. This happened quite often. Gang members, criminals, and junkies drop their friends off in random places after things go wrong to be found for medical help. They never stick around long enough to answer questions.
"What's your name?" I ask, looking back at the man on the stretcher as I grab the sheet under him.
"Chester," He says with a thick Italian accent and I flash him a smile.
"Well, Chester, it is good news the bullet went right through. Now we just have to worry about getting that wound patched up, okay?" He gives me a nod in response. "We are going to move you to this bed quickly. On my count," I say as the others grab the sheet. "1,2,3.."
We hoist him over to the hospital bed with a light thud before the paramedics start leaving the room.
"Alright, let's take a look at the wound," I say while slipping some gloves on. I grab scissors from the table and cut his pant leg off above his thigh to expose the full wound. The paramedics did a good job wrapping the wound.
"The wound looks clean and well taken care of," I remark as I lean closer to the wound and lightly pull the dressing away to see the blood had slowed. "Doesn't seem to have nicked anything serious. How long ago did this happen?"
"About an hour before the paramedics came," Chester says and I nod. "How long is this going to take?" I smile at him before looking over at the other nurse still in the room, setting the monitors up.
"Do you mind calling the doctor for me, Loraine?"
She turns and gives me a nod before leaving the room.
When she was gone, I return my look down to Chester.
"It's not going to be a quick in and out. You may need to be monitored after the tests and labs we are going to run," When that doesn't seem to reassure him, I sit in the rolling chair beside him and move closer so his leg was in front of me.
I start removing the dressing as I speak. "Listen, I have seen many people come in and out of here with gunshot wounds, and none of them seem to stick around for long after their wound is patched up."
"I am not going to..." He starts but I shoot him a knowing look and he quiets down, watching me with a curious stare.
"Just let us run the tests to make sure there isn't anything serious happening. After that, we will patch you up and you can leave AMA," I say with a huff. "But when you do, please keep the wound clean and be careful with movements so you don't reopen the wound."
His eyes move over my face, scanning me for a moment. When I finally get the dressing off, I put clean gauze over it and throw the old ones away.
"You seem pretty calm for a guy who just got shot," I say nearly under my breath. When he doesn't respond I let out a huff and sit back down next to him. I look over at the curtains quickly before back at him. "Take two 400mg ibuprofen for the pain every four hours. Don't exceed more than four doses a day. It won't work as well as opioids but it will do."
He was silent as I started to clean the wound.
"Why are you helping me?" His question caught me by surprise for a second before I snap out of it and finish cleaning his wound.
"I am good at reading people," I say with a huff as I threw the swabs away and covered the wound again. I faced him and our eyes connected. He had light blue eyes that seemed to look into a person's soul. "I can tell you are going to run the second you are the least bit stitched up. I just want to make sure you don't get an infection."
I stand up silently, taking my gloves off as I move towards the curtain, opening it up.
"Thank you," He says. I look over my shoulder giving a slight nod before leaving.
* * *
Finally, in the sanction of my own home, I set my bag down by the front door and slide my shoes off.
My feet were killing me from all the hours I picked up these last few weeks.
Smelling something delicious, I walk into the kitchen to see my best friend cooking dinner.
"Hey Joyce," I mutter tiredly. She jumps at the sound of my voice and spins towards me, sending her blonde hair flying over her shoulder. Her brown eyes connect with mine instantly and she shoots me a wide smile.
"Hey nurse Serena," She sends me a white pearly smile as I slump into a chair with a tired groan. "You look tired."
"That's because I am," I tell her with a soft laugh.
"Maybe you shouldn't have picked up all those hours. I'm sure Lance misses you," She says turning around to go stir whatever she was cooking. At the sound of his name, I tense slightly.
"Yeah," Was all I could manage.
I had broken up with Lance last week after things got a little rough between us and I haven't told Joyce yet. I wasn't sure why, it wasn't something I had to hide. But she just seemed so happy and excited these past few days that I didn't want to ruin her mood.
A few minutes later, she sets two plates down on the table with delicious-smelling lasagna.
"Oh, my favorite! This smells so good, Joyce," I say with a thankful look towards her from across the table.
"Well, I think you deserve something good after all those hours you have been working," She says taking a bite. I follow and moan as the flavor hits my tongue. Joyce always had the touch for cooking. No wonder she was a chief.
"So good," I take another hungry bite and feel her eyes on me. I look up to see her nearly jumping out of her seat. Her hair was now up in a messy bun, sending pieces falling over the sides of her face. "What?" I ask with food in my mouth.
"I have a surprise for you," She says jumping out of her seat suddenly. I jump back at the sudden movement and follow her with my eyes as she runs to her room.
Knowing whatever she was getting would interrupt my meal, I quickly scoffed a few more bites into my mouth. By the time the plate was almost empty, she was coming back with an envelope in her hand and a wide smile on her face.
"What, did you win Arianna Grande tickets or something?" I joke. I have only seen her this excited when Arianna's last album dropped a few months ago. Her smile only widens.
"Better," She slides the envelope across the table and I raise an eyebrow at her.
Her eyes just watch me expectantly. I slowly grab the envelope and start opening it.
I pull out two small slick papers and look at them. They were plane tickets. From Sonoma California airport to Cagliari Elmas.
I look up at her in confusion.
"Where is Cagliari Elmas?"
"It's just an airport in..." She taps her chin as if she was trying to remember. "Sardinia Italy!" She screams.
My eyebrows shoot up into my hairline in surprise. I feel my heart start racing as I scan her face.
"Happy birthday!" She screams again and I look at her with shock, not knowing what to say.
I look back at the tickets to see we leave next week.
"I don't know if I can get off work..."
"I already planned it with your boss," She says jumping excitedly.
"Are you serious?" I ask in shock before jumping out of my seat and going around the table, giving her a large hug with the tickets still in my hand. She jumps excitedly in my arms until I let her go.
"Yes, so you better start packing everything you need," She says jumping excitedly. "Oh, and call Lance.."
I freeze at the name and turn to face her.
"He might be wondering where you've gone," She says and my heart sinks.
I should have told her right after we broke up then this could have been avoided.
"Uhm, Joyce?" I ask and she nods with confusion and worry on her face. "We broke up.."
Her mouth drops open. "What? Why?"
I shift in my seat for a second before standing and walking toward the bathroom.
"Where are you going?" She asks and I look over my shoulder.
"I have to tell you something. But first I think it's better to show you," I say. Her face was full of confusion but she got up and followed me anyways.
I take out the makeup wipes as she watched me in the mirror.
"Now before you freak out, let me explain afterward. Okay?" I ask and she nods slowly.
A deep breath of air leaves my lips before I rub the makeup wipe over my right eye and to the side of my face.
A yellowing bruise pops out as the makeup is removed.
I don't make eye contact with her until my face is completely free of makeup.
"I'm going to kill him!" She screams and turns to leave the bathroom. I quickly grab her arm to stop her just outside the hallway.
"Joyce, you said you would let me explain!" I complain as my heart hammers in my chest. She starts shaking under my grip in anger.
"I'm going to fucking murder him for laying a hand on you!" She yells and I shake my head lightly.
"I started it okay!" I mutter and she freezes. I let out a groan. "He proposed!"
The shock on her face was almost comical.
"And I said no. I wasn't ready."
"You have been together for years. I thought you really liked him..."
"I don't know, I just don't feel anything for him. I thought when he first asked me out that eventually the feelings would come but they never did. You know me, Joyce, I don't believe in love or a happy ending so I let myself get comfortable where I was and used him as a scape goat from romance. The reason I finally decided to give up was because he became controlling." I run my hands through my black hair as I squeeze my eyes shut.
She was silent for a moment as her eyes stayed focused on mine.
"I was going to break up with him, that was why I went to his house that night anyway. But when I went over there were roses and shit everywhere. When I went into the kitchen he was already on his knee," I pause as I remember it.
"So that makes it okay for him to hit you? Because you decided to not marry him?"
"Because I embarrassed him in front of his friends," I shake my head at the memory. "They were all there. I tried to pull him away but they demanded an answer. So I said no."
"His friends were there when he did this to you?" She says in a slightly calmer voice. I could tell she was trying to calm herself down but her chest was still rising and falling quickly.
"No, he told them to give us a moment. Then he," I stop, not needing to explain the events. She nods her head as we stand in the hallway in silence for a few minutes. I lean against the wall with my eyes closed.
"Here's what we are going to do," She says and I open my eyes again. "We are going for a girl's trip for two weeks in Italy. When we get back we will handle that piece of shit," I smile at her. "But we are going to do something."
"Yes, mam'," I say with a smile as she walks towards me, giving me a tight hug.
"Don't think about that piece of shit. Think about the white sand beaches, parties, and alcohol. So much alcohol," She says and a laugh escapes my lips.
A week then we would be on a plane to Italy.
A much-needed escape.