Page 29 of Charmed, I’m Sure (Witches of Bellevue #1)

Turtle Mochasippi with the works

Taylor

I sat in my car in the hospital parking lot, taking a moment to breathe and gather my thoughts.

Exhausted didn’t even begin to describe how tired I felt, and it wasn’t because of work.

I was accustomed to long hours, and I was only on day two of my stretch of three-twelves, so my schedule wasn’t crazy this week.

Yet my mind refused to shut off when I finally had the chance to slow down for the day, spinning stories about how differently Wednesday night could have unfolded under different circumstances.

God, images of Magnolia smiling up at me while we danced played like a movie behind my eyelids.

The sweet sounds she made when I kissed her echoed in my memory, the soundtrack to every quiet moment.

Blowing out a resigned sigh, I hooked my badge on my scrub pocket and grabbed my phone.

Magnolia was in Baton Rouge for the night for her catering gig, and I knew I probably wouldn’t see her until Sunday—at the earliest. But I missed her, so I pulled up our thread and sent her a quick text before heading inside.

Taylor

Good luck tonight, sunshine. Save me some leftovers. *winking emoji*

Magnolia

Those leftovers are paid for, cowboy. But thank you. I just hope everything runs smoothly.

I hope you have a quiet night at work. *smiley emoji*

I groaned at my screen as her text came through.

Did I appreciate that she wanted me to have a nice night at work?

Hell yes. Did she know I was a doctor and that the “q” word was forbidden in the medical field?

Nope. It didn’t matter that it was just a text or that she had no clue; the word had been invoked, and now I was probably in for one hell of a night.

Friday nights in the emergency room usually went one of two ways: either it was busier than a beehive, or it was more dead than a corpse six feet under.

Unfortunately, tonight turned out to be the former.

When I walked in for my seven o’clock shift, chaos reigned.

Code blues blared left and right; ambulance gurneys lined the walls in front of the nurses' station, their patients waiting for rooms to open up; doctors and nurses ran back and forth.

I overheard our charge nurse saying that the waiting room had a wait time of over four hours.

I released all the air from my lungs as I dropped my belongings in the corner that would become my home for the next twelve hours, settling in for what was undoubtedly going to be a long night. And boy, was I right.

By the time I finally sat down to catch my breath, it was nearing ten o’clock, and I was starving.

I would have given anything for some of whatever Magnolia was cooking tonight.

With that thought in mind, I slipped behind the nurses' station to the break room to grab my Dr. Pepper from the fridge, inhale a protein bar, and check my phone. My eyes widened when I saw the little green bubble by my messages indicating ten unread messages, and a red bubble over the phone icon with a two. What in the hell? No one ever texted me while I was at work, let alone called unless it was an emergency. I clicked on the messages first and breathed a sigh of relief at the couple from my mom and Addy, but it was the six next to Magnolia’s name that drew my attention.

Magnolia

I got a flat. *face palm emoji*

There’s a wreck on I-10, and now I’m going to be late.

I swear, if the trip here is any indication of how this night is going to go, I’m screwed.

I know you’re working, but just to keep you updated on the fuckery happening tonight: I burnt my roux. ME! I burnt the roux.

If you’re still following along, that homemade ice cream I made? Yeah, it’s frozen solid because I forgot to put the sugar in it. *crying emoji*

Fuck, Taylor, I’m sorry. Here I am blowing up your phone, and you’re working. I don’t know why I’m doing this. I just... I’m sorry.

I didn’t respond. Instead, I clicked on her picture at the top and called her as I walked down the hall, the din of the emergency room fading into the background.

When she didn’t answer, I hung up and tried again.

.. and again. When she finally picked up on the third ring, I didn’t even get a "hi" out before her tear-laced words came through the speaker.

“Taylor? Oh my god, I’m so sorry. I—I know you’re working, I shouldn’t have called you—”

“Mags, baby, what’s wrong?”

“Everything that could go wrong has. I’ve never had so many dishes fail in one go, and I just—I don’t know what got into me. I just needed to hear your voice. I’m sorry.”

I had to admit, hearing her say she needed me made me preen a little.

This woman who seemed so self-assured, who always wanted to do things on her own, wanted to hear my voice when she was in distress.

“Baby, don’t ever apologize for calling or texting me, especially if you’re upset.

I’m sorry I wasn’t available when you needed me. Are you okay?”

She sniffed a few times before answering with an unconvincing, “Yes.”

“Oh, then those are happy tears coming through the line?” I jested, hoping a small joke would bring some light back to her otherwise dark night.

“Mmhmm,” she hummed, followed by a quick sniff.

“Magnolia.”

“I’m okay, Taylor.” She took a ragged breath and blew out a raspberry before continuing, “Jae pulled me up by my bootstraps, and we figured everything out. I redid my roux, and it was perfect. Then she ran to the store to grab a gallon of Blue Bell while I threw together the bananas foster bread pudding. We just finished cleaning up.”

“You sure you’re alright?”

“Yeah, I’m sure.” She paused for a second, then said so softly that I almost missed it, “At least I am now.”

“Oh?” I couldn’t keep the smile from my face if I tried. “Why might that be, sunshine?”

“Oh, shush you.”

“I think I’m growing on you, Bellevue.”

“Yeah, yeah. Don’t let it go to your head, Hallows.” The levity returned to her tone, and I couldn’t help but wonder if she wore the same smile I had on my face.

“Dr. Hallows, you’re needed in trauma three. Dr. Hallows to trauma three.”

“Shit.” The PA system cut off, and I glanced down the hall to where my nurse, Sam, was waiting with wide eyes that clearly asked, what the hell are you doing? Let’s go!

“Taylor? Is everything okay? What was that?”

“Hey, baby, I’m so sorry, but I’ve got to go. Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. I’ve got to head back in anyway to help Jae haul stuff to the car.”

“Okay. Be careful driving back tonight, and let me know when you’re home safe.”

“Oh, um, we’re going to stay at Mer’s apartment tonight, actually. After the night we had, neither of us wants to drive the two hours back, and it’d be nice to see my sister.”

“Oh, okay. Let me know when you make it there?”

“Checking up on me, cowboy?”

“Just making sure you don’t get kidnapped by someone other than me, sunshine. I’ll talk to you soon.” I started heading back down the hall at a slow jog when Sam threw her hands up in the air, mouthing “sorry” as she rolled her eyes and headed toward the trauma bay.

“I’ll let you know when I’m safely behind Mer’s door with a daiquiri in my hand. Have a good night.”

“You too.” I disconnected the call and tucked my phone into my scrub pants pocket as I followed in Sam’s wake.

“I hope you enjoyed that call, Dr. Hallows, because I don’t think you’ll be getting another chance tonight,” Sam chided as I stopped at the sink to wash up before grabbing my gloves.

“Worth it,” I said with a smile as Sam shook her head and took her place next to the gurney. Scrubbed and dried, I grabbed gloves from the rack on the wall and braced myself for the incoming trauma. Here we go.

The sky was awash in pinks and oranges, and there was a bite to the air when I finally stepped out of the emergency room the next morning.

I was bone tired, but throughout the rest of my shift, the only thing on my mind when I wasn’t with a patient was Magnolia.

When we got off the phone the night before, she seemed to be in better spirits than when I’d first spoken to her.

But I still wanted to make things better, wanted to see the smile on her face and be the one to put it there.

Leaning against the seat while my car heated, I pulled up my messages again.

She’d texted me when she got to her sister’s apartment, then sent a picture of herself, Jaelyn, and Meredith—who I realized was the same woman at the door during the Meat-Cute.

But it was the text from said sister that caught my interest.

Meredith Bellevue

Hey, I stole your number from Mags’ phone when she passed out.

Was that odd? Just a tad, and I had been too busy to respond when I’d received the text. But as I stared at that message, an idea popped into my head.

Taylor

Well, this is my lucky day because I need to ask you something.

Meredith Bellevue

It’s fucking 7 am, and you’re texting me why?

Fuck me, this is what I get for not putting my phone on Do Not Disturb.

What do you want, Hallows?

Taylor

Good morning to you, too. I just got off work, so sorry for waking you up. But if you give me your address, I’ll bring you coffee.

The gray bubble indicating someone was typing popped up and disappeared a handful of times before the response came through.

Meredith Bellevue

Shouldn’t you be bringing Mags coffee?

Taylor

That’s the plan, little Bellevue.

Meredith Bellevue

Ew, don’t call me that.

515 Azalea Park Drive Apt 206.

And if you go to CC’s, I want a GIANT Turtle Mochasippi. Mags will want one too.

Actually, make that three giant Turtle Mochasippis, with the works and an extra shot since you woke me up at the ass crack of dawn.

I chuckled to myself as her texts rolled in, then put the address into my GPS. It would take a little over two hours to get there, and I still needed to head home first to shower and change clothes.