Introduction: Stella
Not even a full hour into my shift, and I was already looking forward to going home. As if working the five a.m. shift wasn't bad enough; my first patient, a kind yet clearly nervous young girl who had just woken from surgery, threw up in my hair. Then, before even having the time to begin rinsing my head, I received an emergency page from the elderly man recovering from an oscilloscope in room 2703- all the way across the hospital. After the sprint there, I found him standing bare-ass naked in the middle of the room, demanding a blowjob to "make him feel better after the ordeal that he'd just endured". It took two other nurses and a security guard to pull him off of me after I'd refused, and he pounced on me, pinning me to the ground with his old and wrinkly body. Thankfully I was given a small reprieve when another nurse offered to take my next patient, in order to give me time to shower and compose myself- which, of course, I gratefully accepted.
Taking a deep breath and steeling my nerves, I stole a quick glance at myself in the mirror. I was wearing my spare scrubs which were a pretty light blue in color, however to my utter dismay they felt tighter than I had remembered. My brown hair was still dripping as I slicked it back and away from my face, revealing a small cut above my eyebrow which I'd just received in my scuffle with patient number two. My brown eyes were accented by large dark bags underneath them, blatantly emphasizing the fact that I hadn't been able to sleep the previous night. My bottom lip bled ever so slightly as I had bitten down on it too hard in an attempt to stop myself from crying.
Though turning just twenty-one years old in another few months, I felt as if I were in my mid to late fifties. My back and knees constantly ached, my vision was slowly becoming blurry, and I was more than ready to retire. After becoming a Certified Nurses Assistant at seventeen I was accepted into an accelerated nursing program, which I breezed through in the recommended three years. At the current moment, I'd been working at the hospital for nearly a year. While I usually loved my job and adored the people that I worked with, I found myself beginning to dread coming in. These last few months have been rather difficult for me; I had to move apartments and to say that I downgraded would be the understatement of the century. My new apartment isn't in the nicest neighborhood and my new neighbors have been keeping me up for the last week or so with their horrible music and incessant ridiculously loud sex sessions. Not to mention the fact that the only boyfriend that I've ever had has decided that we need a break.
I quickly stopped my train of thought before upsetting myself any further. After dusting myself off one more time and taking a few more calming breaths, I hurriedly put my hair up into a bun and grabbed my charts. A small smile graced my lips upon seeing the name of my next patient, perhaps this day won't be so bad after all. I swiftly put my belongings in my locker and exited the room with a slight pep to my step.
"Good morning, Mrs. Richards! How are you feeling today?" I asked with a genuine smile, always happy to see one of my current favorite patients.
"I'm doing very well, Dear, but the real question is, how are you?" She remarked with a raised eyebrow clearly in reference to my disheveled appearance.
"I'm doing just fine, Mrs. Richards, have you been able to get around on your own today?" I asked while listening to her lungs.
"Yes, I have. How did you get that cut on your head?" She responded as she gently brushed her fingers across my wound, causing me to wince slightly.
"Just being clumsy as usual." I said with a halfhearted chuckle as I began tracking her pulse, though rolling her eyes and clearly not believing me, Mrs. Richards didn't question me further. "Are you excited to be discharged today?" I asked.
"I can't believe that it's finally time for me to head home, it feels like it's been ages!" She expressed giddily, clearly excited to be discharged after nearly three months in recovery.
"I'm so happy for you, but I'd be lying if I said that I won't miss you!" I replied nonchalantly as I continued checking her vitals and reviewing her charts. At my words I heard her sniffle, which brought my attention up to her face. I noticed a slight gleam to her eyes, which only took me a moment to register as unshed tears.
"I'm going to miss you too, Darling, more than I could ever express. You've treated me so kindly these last few months... and I've come to think of you as the daughter that I never had." She explained sadly as a few tears slipped from her eyes, which she hastily wiped away. "It can get so lonely out in the homestead. Even when I'm surrounded by my boys, I just... company like yours is exactly what I need." The melancholy tone in her voice seemed to squeeze my heart as I sympathized with her. Mrs. Richards had truly become like a second Mother to me, and it was comforting to know that the feeling was mutual.
"It means so much to me that you feel that way, just try to remember that being discharged is a good thing! I know how much you hate the city, so you'll finally be able to get away from it, not to mention the fact that you'll get to see your boys!" I announced, doing my best to reassure her. Mrs. Richards had mentioned her sons to me a few times, and I could tell that she missed them greatly. In all the months that I've been her nurse, I never once saw anyone visit her, which saddened me to no end- she's by far the sweetest woman that I've ever met.
"I suppose that's true." She said as she drifted deep into thought. "I can't wait for you to meet Beau, he's my eldest, and he'll be picking me up. I think that you two would get along quite wonderfully." She said with a broad smile and a gleam in her eye that I couldn't quite place.
"I'm looking forward to it! Now, lets take one last look at your incision, alright?" I said as I began moving the blanket away from her legs. Mrs. Richards had fallen out of a tree and broken not only her femur, but had shattered her knee and received a large laceration on her arm. She was airlifted to the hospital where she had three surgeries for her leg and received around twenty stitches in her arm. "Everything looks perfect to me! As long as you're not in any pain, I'll go ahead and sign your discharge papers." I exclaimed happily after thoroughly examining her. She clapped her hands together excitedly before pulling me into a bear hug. I hugged her back, enjoying what were to be our last few moments together. I then signed her discharge papers and said that I'd be back in around three hours- if she was still here. With that we said our short goodbyes and I continued making my rounds. After a few hours I made my way back to her room with clean sheets, fully expecting her to be gone, but I was instead greeted by her and a very large man.
"There she is!" Mrs. Richards said happily before walking over to me and grabbing my hand, tugging me towards the man. "Isn't she just perfect, Beau!" She exclaimed giddily, I could feel a slight blush rise to my cheeks at her words, and I was shocked to see a slight pink tint to the mans cheeks as well.
I took a moment to look him over: tall, broad and wickedly handsome. He stood at least 6'5" and was donned in a simple white t-shirt paired with blue jeans. Considering his black hair, blue eyes and tan sun-kissed skin he seemed to be straight out of a romance novel. Even his name was sinfully alluring.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss, thank you for taking such wonderful care of my Mother." He said as he reached his arm towards me for a handshake.
"The pleasure is all mine, keep taking good care of her for me, will you?" I said as I took his outstretched hand. My smaller hand was entirely engulfed by his larger one as he shook it gently. His touch felt electric, and I was entranced for just a moment before being the first to pull away.
"I'll do my best, but as I'm sure you've learned, she's quite stubborn!" He replied sarcastically as he shone a dazzling smile. The three of us laughed together and enjoyed a few more minutes of conversation before I had to continue working. The goodbyes were short and sweet, and I finished out my shift, only to find out that I'd been scheduled for the four to midnight shift as well.
After going home for a short nap, another shower and some much-needed food I made my way back to the hospital, reminding myself that after tonight, I had four days off. The rest of my day was rather uneventful, and I was ecstatic to finally be heading home. It was just after one o'clock in the morning when I began walking the short distance to my car when I felt more than saw a cloth bag being thrown over my head. I screamed and kicked and struggled with all of my might before feeling a sharp jab in my arm, I figured that it must have been some sort of injection- because before I knew it, my world went black.
But not before I heard a deep, sultry and somewhat familiar voice say, "You're right, she's perfect."
Chapter One: Welcome Home
The throbbing in my head and the churning of my stomach were the first things that I noticed when I began to wake up. Ever so slowly, I opened my eyes and began to sit up. I found myself sitting on a soft bed in a small room, illuminated only by the light of the moon which shone through the small window. To my relief, I noticed that I was still wearing my scrubs.
After standing up on wobbly legs, I took a good look around the room, hoping to find some clue as to my current whereabouts. The room was small, and had very little inside of it; there was the twin sized bed that I had been laying on, a small nightstand and a rocking chair. I noticed an open closet on the other side of the room, which appeared to be empty. Slowly, I made my way over to the window, only to see nothing but water. The pain in my head intensified as I felt the bile begin to rise up in my throat. Panic soon set in as I began contemplating an escape or resigning myself over to my fate- whatever that may be.
