- Hazel -
"Hazel!"
I heard my name echo down the hall and, of course, it had to be Mabel. She strolled toward me, eyes locked on like she had a mission. Even in her scrubs, she always looked beautiful.
"Girl, I've been searching for you all over this damn hospital. Where've you been, huh?" she said, bumping my shoulder playfully.
"I had to go change Mrs. Smith's sheets. You know how she is with me. I disappear for one second and she's already ringing that call bell for something else," I replied.
"You need to run the way I do when patients get clingy," Mabel said, rolling her eyes. "I can't handle all that shit you put up with. I get migraines just listening to them complain."
She scrunched her face into a dramatic frown, mimicking Mrs. Smith's voice.
I laughed. "We both know that's not why you're here. Yelling my name all around the ER is gonna get you fired one day, you know."
"Me? Fired?" She scoffed. "Please. Every guy in this hospital wants me. They won't do anything like that duhh."
"Spill the tea. I know you didn't come looking for my ugly face just because you missed me."
"Take a guess." She grinned, blushing so hard it looked like she'd been slapped.
"Well, if it's not about that steamy boyfriend of yours, then I'm not interested."
"Oh, it is," she said smiling sheepishly. "Girl… he's too fucking hot. Last night was —was a blast. We almost broke his door down. I can't stop thinking about how he was licking me up like—"
"Mabel!" I laughed, practically choking. "Keep it down!"
"He's all I can think about," she said again, eyes shining.
"Don't even think about showing me a picture of him again," I muttered, nudging her with my elbow as we strolled down the hallway.
"Too late. Already burned the image into my brain." She gave me a wicked smirk.
"You're disgusting."
"And you're just jealous because your love life's drier than the Sahara. Meanwhile, mine is—what did he call it last night? Oh yeah, an inferno."
I groaned, covering my ears. "Please. Spare me."
"Come on, Hazel." She pouted dramatically. "I didn't even get to the part where he carried me—"
"I'm literally in scrubs, holding a patient chart, and four feet away from an open trauma room."
"Which makes this the perfect time to tell you how he lifted me onto the kitchen counter and—"
I shot her a look. She threw up her hands in mock surrender, grinning like the devil.
It was 12:25, and the ER was eerily quiet. Just the hum of machines and Mabel whispering dirty nonsense into my ear. We headed toward the cafeteria for lunch when she bumped me again.
"You should let me set you up on a blind date. Someone hot, rich, tatted up…"
"Hell no."
"What if he owns a car and has a beard?"
"Still no."
She sighed dramatically. "You're gonna die alone in your apartment surrounded by expired oat milk and unpaid student loans."
"That's the dream," I replied.
But honestly… it did sting.
Not because I wanted a setup. But because I was tired of pretending I didn't want something real. Something that made me feel like I was more than just a nurse, more than just the girl who's been numb for years.
But men like that don't exist in my world. And if they did, they'd never look twice at someone like me.
My phone buzzed in my scrub pocket.
"Hold on, Mabel. It's Ma."
I picked up. "Ma, I'll be home soon. My shift ends in two hours. Is there anything you need?"
But it wasn't her voice on the other end. It was male—shaky, young.
"Is this Hazel Rogers?"
My stomach dropped. Something about his tone made my skin prickle.
"Where's my mom?" I asked, already panicking.
"I—uh—I'm your neighbor. Your mom collapsed outside. We called the ambulance. She was breathing, but… she wouldn't wake up. They just took her."
The world blurred. My brain tried to process his words like they were coming underwater.
Collapsed. Wouldn't wake up. Ambulance.
"Which hospital?" I managed, grabbing my stuff.
"St. Mont. They just left. I didn't know who else to call—"
"It's okay. Thank you. I'm on my way."
I hung up.
Mabel must've seen the color drain from my face because she snapped out of flirt mode instantly.
"What happened?"
"My mom," I whispered, voice trembling. "She collapsed."
She blinked, stunned. "Jesus… Hazel—go. I'll cover your patients. I'll tell Sandra."
I nodded, barely hearing her.
My pulse was thunder in my ears. My chest squeezed tight. I couldn't breathe.
I don't even remember grabbing my coat.
I just remember running—straight for the elevator—praying I wasn't too late.