Page 17 of Rounds (Love In Scrubs)

I jerked away from him and went inside the next patient’s room and did my damn job.

By the time I had taken care of all my patients and had come out of the last patient room, my supervisor was on the floor.

I rolled my eyes. This day couldn’t get any worse.

I was mild until Tremeka told me everyone knew what I was doing, and Glover sent those flowers.

My feelings were on my sleeve as is. When I got to the nurses’ station, she gave me a sympathetic smile.

“Are you done with this floor?”

“Yes.”

When I left the computer, she followed me to the elevator. Once we were on, she extended an envelope to me. I frowned. “What’s this?” I asked as I opened it to see cash inside it.

I shook my head rapidly.

“Please take it, Delaney, so you can get a hotel room for a couple of nights. You’re on edge, and I know that’s because of the situation you’re in. Let us help you.”

“No. Take this back,” I said, shoving it into her chest. “I can handle it.”

She stood there, looking sad and confused. It was only lunch time, but I was ready to leave, even if that was to just go to my car. Glancing at her, I asked, “Who called you?”

“Dr. Israel.”

That only pissed me off more. I nodded repeatedly.

When the elevator doors opened, I powerwalked to our department, yanked my badge off and grabbed my purse.

I needed to go calm my nerves. I didn’t need their charity either.

She probably told him why I was on edge.

This shit was so fucked up. The most horrible part about it was that I knew my stress and depression was making the situation worse than what it was.

I didn’t need their fucking help. I needed to be respected as an individual who needed their space.

I hated for people to crowd me when I wasn’t feeling social, but it was even worse when they pushed and tried to assess what they thought I needed.

This shit was going to make me have a nervous breakdown.

When I got outside to the parking garage, I took deep breaths, desperately trying to keep it together.

By the time I got to my car, I could no longer restrain it.

I broke. I cried hard, barely able to even open the door.

This shit was hard to pull myself out of.

I finally opened the door and got in my car, starting the engine and resting my head on the steering wheel.

I turned the A/C on full blast, because I felt like I was about to throw up.

It wasn’t even warm outside. It was actually cold, but apparently not cold enough for my body since I felt like I was about to sweat.

I grabbed napkins from my console to pat my face, then did the unthinkable.

I called my mama. She probably wouldn’t answer.

She was always doing her own thing . . .

living her best life, as she would say. I let it ring until it went to voicemail.

Just like I figured, she didn’t answer. I wiped my face again and blew my nose then pulled out of my parking spot to go get a smoothie.

Life had to get better than this. There was no way I could tolerate another week of this, let alone a month.

I had already checked around at other apartment complexes, but none of them had units available.

Plus, the place I found was the best looking one.

It was spacious, had large windows with views of the mountains and ski slopes, and had a fireplace.

It was gorgeous. Not to mention, it had granite countertops, a washer and dryer, and a spacious closet.

All they had to do was have my shit ready when it was supposed to be ready.

After getting my smoothie, I headed back to work.

Tonight, I had a hotel room reserved, so I didn’t have to worry about no one seeing me.

It was hard enough throughout the week avoiding people and their stares.

I just wished I could disappear for a while.

When I finished my smoothie, I got out of the car and saw Dr. Israel walking my direction. Fuck!

He glanced at my car and frowned. I supposed when he realized what was going on, his eyebrows lifted. I tried to walk past him, but he grabbed me forcefully and brought me back to my car. I wasn’t one to make a scene, so I remained quiet until he pinned me against my car.

“Why the fuck you living in your car, Delaney?”

“Because my apartment isn’t ready. I should have been moving in this week. They pushed my date out to a month from now.”

“That still doesn’t explain why you’re choosing to live in your car.”

“Because I can handle my affairs. I take care of me.”

“You so fucking stubborn, man. You can stay with me. I’m rarely there anyway.”

I jerked away from him. “No! I want people to just leave me alone and give me some fucking space!”

He backed away some. “Accepting help doesn’t make you weak. It makes you strong to be able to admit you need it.”

“Then maybe I’m weak. Can you move? I have to get back to work.”

“Naw. I’m not moving. You have thirty minutes left. You’re coming to my house tonight.”

“No, I’m not. Please just stop. I can’t handle all this attention. I’m better off alone right now.”

He stepped out of the way, and I quickly walked past him, wiping tears from my cheeks.

Not paying attention to where I was going, I tripped and fell .

. . like literally rolled on the concrete.

That only produced more cries from me. Everything around me was unraveling.

Stress and anxiety were going to kill me.

Going to a sitting position, I pulled my knees to my chest and rested my head on my breasts.

“Delaney, please, baby. Let me help you.”

I looked up to see Glover leaning over me with his hand extended.

Reluctantly, I grabbed it. My palms were scraped from trying to brace my fall, and my scrubs were torn at the knees.

Before I could say anything, Glover scooped me up in his arms and walked to his SUV.

I remained silent. I was so fucking embarrassed.

There was nothing I could verbalize at this moment, not even a thank you.

Once he unlocked the doors, he set me on the back seat. He went to the front and pulled a first-aid kit out of his glovebox. When he stood in front of me, I avoided his gaze as I swallowed back the tears. He cleaned my knees and put bandages on them, then said, “Let me see your hands.”

I flipped them over, palms up, and he cleaned them. They were scraped a bit, but they didn’t need bandages. Finally, I was able to get out in a soft voice, “Thank you.”

I lowered my head, and he gently picked it up with his fingertips. “Please let me help you, baby. I can promise you I have no ulterior motive. No woman has ever been to my house. So that should tell you how much you mean to me already.”

He gently stroked my cheek with his thumb as he stared into my eyes. He lowered his head and gently kissed my lips. “Please, Delaney. You gon’ make me beg, baby?”

I swallowed hard and briefly closed my eyes, hoping I was making the right decision. When I reopened them, I said, “Okay.”

His eyes widened some and a smile fell on his lips. “Okay. Follow me there. Call your boss and let her know what happened. Are you going to come back?”

“I don’t know.”

“Okay. It doesn’t matter. Let me help you to your car.” He softly kissed my lips again. “Thank you for trusting me.”

I nodded as I got out of the back seat of his SUV. I could only hope and pray that I wasn’t making an even worse mistake.