My blood is cold. “How do you know what my apartment looks like?”
He lifts a disdainful brow. “I brought over supplies for breakfast.”
Suddenly, even the amount of money seems to be irrelevant. I had not been counting on other strangers traipsing all over my home, looking at it like it’s no better than a junkyard. My face pales and my stomach feels queasy as humiliation seizes me by the throat.
Matt is still talking. “For all the money you’ve squeezed out of him—”
“Matt, shut the fuck up!” Braden’s words are a snarl and he looks furious, as if he’s ready to jump out of bed and thrash the boy.
I feel small and want to curl up around myself, to hide from the disgust in this stranger’s eyes who had looked at the shabby state of my home.
Matt glares at Braden. “You don’t know the—”
“I know that she saved his life when she didn’t have to, when none of us could.” Braden’s voice has an edge in it. “I know that she is qualified to nurse him back to health. And I know that Damien is grateful to her.” He turns his head to me, looking apologetic. “I’m sorry, Nurse Alex. Matt is a little overprotective when it comes to Damien.”
I don’t meet Braden’s eyes, my entire body feeling cold. My voice is quiet. “Can I have my phone back?”
My heart is tight in my chest and as he hands it to me, my hands are shaking, my eyes feeling hot. In the back of my head, I’m trying to convince myself that I don’t know this man and his opinion shouldn’t matter to me. But I’m only human and I have been through hell and back this past year and to have him mock my broken down home that is all I have left, it tears at something inside of me and I want to leave. I want to go somewhere far away where I don’t have to look at him or hear that judgment in his voice that only serves to remind me of how my entire life is falling apart.
“Nurse Alex?” Braden looks up at my face and his hand tightens on my scratched phone that has clearly seen better days. He looks uneasy and a little worried. “Please ignore Matt. He doesn’t think before opening his stupid mouth.”
A huff comes from behind me.
My lips curve into a smile that is completely false, my eyes carefully blank. “My phone, please.”
He has no choice but to hand over the phone to me and I turn on my heel and walk away, a burning sensation in my chest. It’s really hard to breathe. As I close the door, I hear Braden say, “Damien’s going to kill you for this.”
And not for the last time today, I wonder what the hell I’m doing.
Chapter 5
It’s when I get a call from Lawrence just before my shift ends that I remember that I had somehow agreed to a date with him, yesterday. He sounds apologetic and nervous, all rolled into one as he asks me if I wouldn’t mind postponing it.
He sounds so hopeful and puppy-like that I’m already saying yes before I can think of any other response. I end the call with a sigh and Annie, who is hovering nearby, glances at me. “What’s wrong with you?”
I look down at the tear in my jacket. “Nothing. Just wondering how nice it’d be to be rich.”
Annie laughs as she changes into her street clothes. “Amen to that, sister.”
We walk out together and run into Henry who’s talking to Dr. Greer. The doctor looks over my attire and lifts a brow. “Off duty?”
Since I am the only nurse on this floor that the doctor is remotely civil to, it’s no wonder that Annie doesn’t say a word. “We’re on our way home,” I respond to him.
Henry frowns. “If you wait for another half hour, you can catch a ride on my bike, Alex. I know how the whole mugging incident left you—”
“Mugging incident?” Dr. Greer’s tone is sharp and I curse myself for letting the story slip to the softhearted giant in front of me.
I try to wave it off. “It’s nothing.”
“You were mugged?” Annie grasps my arm, looking worried. “When? Why didn’t you tell us?” Us being her and Mathilda.
I shift, uncomfortably. “I got away, so it’s fine.”
“What if he’s still out there?” she asks, her tone low.
“Did you report it to the police?” Dr. Greer demands.
I shake my head, already tired of this conversation. “It was a few days ago and I don’t even remember what the man looked like. Besides, it’s not like he’s skulking around waiting for me to show up.”
“All the same.” Henry purses his lips, “It’s better to be safe than sorry. If you can wait—”
“I’ll drive you home,” comes the sudden offer from the tall doctor.
I blink in shock. “Oh, you don’t have to—”
“I insist.”
Annie nudges at me, glaring at me to shut up and I wonder what’s wrong with her. “I appreciate the offer but I really have no prob—”
“I’m already leaving so I’m not inconvenienced.” He cuts me off, his tone no-nonsense. He glances toward Annie. “Do you also—”
Annie immediately waves her hands. “I have a ride. Thanks for asking.”
“Alright then.” Dr. Greer gives a brisk nod. “Let‘ s go then, Nurse Alexandra.”
Sighing, I fall into step beside him. “You can just call me Nurse Alex. Alexandra is a mouthful.”
“It’s your name,” he says, flatly, and I wonder if he’s secretly a robot that finds it hard to communicate with human emotions. I’ve never even seen him be friendly with the other doctors; always a polite but detached veneer.
His car is a black Mercedes, a shiny, black beauty that screams wealth and I give a rueful smile. “You have a nice car.”
He pauses as he opens the door for me and I see something like guilt cross his expression before it fades away making me doubt my own eyes. “Thank you.”
“Where do you live?” he asks.
I give out my address. I don’t know why it surprises me that he’s such a careful driver. Everything about this man screams control. It’s kind of funny and sad at the same time.
We drive in silence but it’s not uncomfortable. I’m tired from this whole day. I want to go home to an empty apartment and curl up on the couch and watch TV. But my apartment isn’t empty and the TV has been broken for a really long time.
“I remember you used to have a car.” He suddenly breaks the silence, his eyes on the road, startling me.
“Ah, yeah.” I recall the white clunker that I’d purchased a few years ago.
“You used to be quite fond of it.” His every word is measured and I blink at him, surprised that he would remember that.
I glance out the window, “Yeah. I sold it.”
“Why?”
The question is so rude, so intrusive, so unlike him, that it has me stammering. “I—No particular reason. I prefer walking.”
I don’t want pity. That’s the last thing I need. After the incident from this afternoon, I just—I don’t want somebody to look at me with eyes full of pity.
Poor little Alex.
My teeth grit at the thought.
“Having a car would be convenient, considering you live more than an hour away by foot.”