Mixed Signals (Ralstead)

Chapter 2

Will's POV

     I go back to Natalie's apartment. Owen throws a piece of lego at me, Nat laughs. Everything is ordinary. Completely ordinary.   
     Nat doesn't know about Ava yet. Ms Goodwin said nobody is to know yet. I expect the news will be broken tomorrow. I think back to the day Dr Wheeler died. The atmosphere in work that day was awful. It felt so heavy. Like all anyone wanted to do was talk about what happened but nobody knew what to say or what not to say. I wonder if tomorrow will feel the same.

Connor's POV

     My apartment is eerily quiet when I get home. Ava should be here. Not Ava, the Ava I thought I knew. I pour myself a glass of water, change out of my clothes and fall into bed. I can't stop seeing her face.
     Right as I walked into the room, I could tell something was off. She had let the mask disintegrate and disperse, leaving the room with a vague feeling of darkness. It just felt wrong. The second I saw her face, her real face behind the mask, I knew I had lost her. The Ava I thought I knew was gone. Well, she never really existed outside of my mind.
     Eventually, I'm able to drift off to sleep. But I'm still seeing her. 'I did it for you,' she had said. She was right. She did it because, in her twisted mind, I was the prize.

Will's POV

     Nat and I get into work a few minutes late and all the nurses and doctors are swarmed around the desk.
     'Everybody, please be quiet. Dr Halstead, Dr Manning, come over. There's something you all need to know.'
     I feel my throat tighten as Ms Goodwin recounts the horrifying events of the previous day. I can see Connor's Jaw clench and lip trembling. He turns away and runs over to the doctor's lounge. I nearly run after him, but Natalie's arm and mine are interlocked.

Connor's POV

     I lean forward on the couch with my head in my hands. I breathe heavily to try to prevent the tears from getting out. Moments like these are the ones where I would usually call Ava. Or she would already be there. And her presence alone could make me feel better. But that wasn't the real Ava.
     After a few minutes, I hear the door open. It's Ms Goodwin. Her usual sense of authority has been replaced by a sympathetic smile and she sits next to me.
     'Didn't think I'd be seeing you here today.'
     'Yeah, well,' I try to sound sarcastic in order to stop myself from saying too much, 'Dr Latham already lost one surgeon. Can't leave him right now.'
     'I'm sure he'd understand if you wanted a few days off. Dr Rhodes, you lost both your father and Dr Bekker in a very short space of time. And you had to witness both of their deaths.'
     'Better to be here than at home.'
     She looks like she's hiding exasperation, 'Okay. But if you change your mind.'
     I nod and smile as she walks away, making eye contact for the first time.

~

(A/N: Ok, I started writing this partially as a joke and partially just for fun because I'm having trouble writing at the moment so I thought I'd try something new but I'm sort of beginning to enjoy it. Oh god.)