Something New

Chapter 16

The next day was a day from hell for Beam. He had two back-to-back surgeries that seemed touch and go for a while and even though he was able to successfully complete both of them, it still put him in a bad mood. Then he got chastised by the Director for something that was the anesthesiologist's fault and refused to listen to reason. Then he spent the rest of the day dealing with not one but two overbearing patients, who were convinced that they somehow knew better than him.

To say that he was in a bad mood would be a big understatement. He just wanted to go straight home and wash off this cursed day. As soon as he got into his car, his phone started going off, it was Forth and his heart felt happy and he felt like he needed to hear Forth's comforting voice, to make him feel better. So, he picked up immediately, "Hello!"

"Wow, babe, you sound so tired." Forth said in a sympathetic tone. Beam replied, "You wouldn't believe the kind of day I had."

Forth said, "Oh no, that bad huh?" and Beam said, "Oh yeah." Forth then hesitated so Beam asked, "What is it?" "Oh no, it's nothing, I am at the grocery store next to the hospital, so I was going to ask if you wanted to swing by, but you sound beat, so, I'll just finish shopping and take a taxi to your place." Beam wanted to go home but he also wanted to see Forth and be in his reassuring presence sooner rather than later, so he said, "No, I'll come there. It's not a problem."

They met up at the store and Beam's mood lifted significantly after meeting Forth. So, they just went around grabbing groceries, while Beam continuously complained, detailing his whole day from hell. He did not pay any attention to Forth's reactions. So, he was startled when suddenly Forth snapped, "Beam, can you just stop, just today, can you not complain about your job." He added, "Did you even ask me about my day? It was long and terrible, not that you care. So, just for today, give me a break. Okay?"

Beam was stunned at the sudden outburst and his mouth was doing an impression of a goldfish because he was moving it, but no sound was coming out. He finally snapped out of the shock and he yelled back, "So what, are you saying that I can't talk to you about my job, where I spend most of my day? Where everything I do is high stakes? Where literally lives at stake?"

Forth, in a softer voice said, "I'm not saying that. I just think that that's all we ever talk about." Beam was pissed off and he said, "Oh so now you're going to tell me what I can and can't talk about and when I can do so?" Forth responded, "I am not saying that at all. I'm just saying that I need a night off." Beam yelled really loud, because he was way past his breaking point, "WELL FORTH, DOCTORS DON'T GET NIGHTS OFF!"

At this point, a lot of people had stopped what they were doing and were just looking at them. Forth dropped his head and shaking it he said dejectedly, "You know what, you're right, I'll never be enough for you, whatever I do won't ever satisfy you, because you think you're better than me. You think I'm not smart enough to understand your problems and, in your eyes, I'm never going to be your peer. Maybe we should just call it quits right now, before we get any deeper.

Beam was trembling, trying to keep his tears from falling. He sighed and looked Forth in the eyes and said, "Maybe we should." Both of them were breathing heavily and the crowd that had gathered, had grown bigger. That's when they both looked around and realized that they were at a public place and a bunch of strangers just witnessed their argument. Forth then abandoned the cart and angrily walked out, leaving behind an equally angry and shaking Beam.

As soon as Forth left, he couldn't keep angry tears from falling. He furiously wiped at his eyes with his sleeve and ran out of the store and into his car. He angrily hit his steering wheel a bunch of times and just sat there for a while, because he couldn't see past the tears in his eyes. He did not know how he got back home, but he got back in one piece and passed out on his couch.

The next day, he did not have any surgeries lined up, so he called in sick, because just the thought of going to the hospital, made him want to throw up. He continued to lay on his couch, not doing anything. He fell asleep and woke up to the sound of his phone ringing, it was Kit. He considered ignoring it, but he knew that his friend would just show up at his door if he didn't.

So, he groaned and picked up, he croaked, "What do you want?" and Kit was stunned at how wrecked he sounded, "What happened? Are you really sick? Why do you sound like a dying animal?" Beam just said, "I can't do this right now Kit. If you don't have anything important to say, I'm going to hang up. Bye!" and he hung up before Kit could answer.

After the call, he just got up off the couch to use the bathroom and change into T-shirt and some shorts and went right back to sleep on the couch. He woke up to his doorbell ringing and some loud knocking. Beam got up off the couch, groaning and dragged himself to the door. When he opened it, there stood an angry Kit and an annoyed Pha. But as soon as they saw Beam, their faces took on looks of concern. Beam said nothing, he just left the door open and went back to the couch.

Kit and Pha followed him in and Kit took a seat next to Beam and Pha remained standing. Pha broke the silence and said, "Jeez Beam, you look like shit. What's wrong? Have you eaten anything today?" just then Beam's stomach let out a loud rumble, answering his second question. Kit shook his head and mumbled, "Idiot". He then turned to Pha and said, "Pha, go check if there's anything to eat here, and also bring him some water."

Once the both of them made sure that Beam was fed and hydrated, Kit asked again, "What happened?" Beam said, "It's over, with Forth." Kit had suspected it, but still, he asked, "Why? You guys seemed so happy at the party just a couple of days ago." Beam recounted all the events from the previous day and said, "So yeah, that's what happened. Now you guys know, but I'm done. I do not want to talk about it. They both knew how stubborn Beam could be when he was like this, so they didn't push it. They left after making Beam promise that he'd answer their calls and tell them if he needed anything.

A/N - oh no... what have I done 🥺