Page 8 of Friends with Benefits

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It wasthe kind of night that never seemed to end.

And that was on a regular shift.

Add in the recent heartbreak, and I wanted to lie down in front of the ambulance and let my partner Josh run me over—then back up and do it again. I huddled in the corner of the station and plugged in my headphones to listen to an audiobook, hoping to pass the time without any more interruptions. There’d been nonstop calls since I had clocked in, but not the exciting, heart-pumping kind. It had been the menial, headache-inducing kind instead.

Not that I minded, really. It was better than being stuck at home with my thoughts.

I was damned if I was home, damned if I wasn’t.

Frowning at myself, I tried to focus on the words. Audiobooks helped pass the time when there was nothing else to do. Throughout the night, we’d had several transfers and a couple of regular patients—nursing home residents, elderly people with chest pains, the usual. Now, it was nearing nine at night. I’d finally finished the last transfer and was hoping there wouldn’t be any other calls so I could relax for a few hours and maybe catch a good night’s sleep before I had to be home with the twins.

Trying to focus was useless.

The voice in my ear was a buzzing drone. I couldn’t focus on the words, let alone derive meaning from them. All I could do was check my phone every five minutes, bouncing between hope and sadness. It was pathetic.

Chris was still blocked on my phone and social media. I’d held fast there. But there was a part of me, however small, that thought that he would still reach out. Use someone else’s phone and text me. Try messaging me from a dummy Facebook or Instagram account.

Total idiot.

If he’d wanted to be with me, he would have made an effort to reach me.

Hope springs eternal, I guess.

I started to doze off, my half-unconscious dreams plagued by images of Chris alternately apologizing and laughing in my face. When my phone began to ring, I had almost convinced myself it was him calling to apologize.

Except I didn’t recognize the number on my display. Rubbing at my eyes, I answered, thinking it was probably Mom calling for some emergency or another.

“Hello?” I winced at the sound of my sleep-rusty voice.

“Hi, is this Ember? Ember Stevens?”

I cleared my throat. “Yes, this is she.”

Well, at least it wasn’t my mother. Knowing that didn’t help the anxiety in my stomach.

“Hi, this is your neighbor from across the hall, Lennox Marquette.”

“Hey, Lennox. Is everything okay?”

I’d seen Lennox on occasion in passing. I knew she was working on her master’s at FSU and spent most of her time with her nose buried in books. If she was calling, it couldn’t be good. The only reason she’d get in touch was if there was some sort of emergency.

“Actually, I hate to call, but I heard crying coming from your apartment. When I went to knock on the door, your sisters answered.” I sat straight up, adrenaline pumping through my veins. My first overwhelming thought was that my Mom had had a heart attack and the twins were alone with her dead body. Then Lennox continued, “They told me your mother had left them all alone.”

“She what?” I whispered faintly. It should have been a relief that she wasn’t dead, but this was somehow worse.

“I’m sorry, Ember, that’s what they said. I was able to get your phone number from the contacts list taped to your fridge. I hope you don’t mind me going in your apartment.”

I pushed a hand through my sleep-matted hair. I could hear the girls chattering in the background. At least they sounded normal. “Of course not. My mother wasn’t there?”

Was I hearing her wrong? I knew my mother wasn’t the best in the world, but she’d never deliberately put the twins in danger.

“I checked everywhere. They said she told them to watch TV and she’d be back later, but that was hours ago. They got scared when it got dark.”

Lennox offered to watch the kids until I could schedule coverage for work. Thankfully, my captain was understanding and called in a favor. I’d have to work a double shift next week, but I couldn’t focus on anything but getting home to the girls.

I tried calling my dad, who was rarely home as it was, but he didn’t answer.