Cold As Ice

Chapter 1

Allie peeked out at the rain-drenched street below from behind the curtains of her hotel room. Sunrise was just beginning to peak over the tops of the pine trees. It was shaping up to be another gray morning in Forks, Washington.

She sighed deeply, taking a sip of her coffee, the hot liquid making her wince as it touched her tongue. She was up earlier than usual, butterflies dancing in her stomach at the thought of her interview later that afternoon.

Allie had finished nursing school almost three years ago, and since then she hadn't held down a job for more than a few weeks. She couldn't seem to keep it together long enough to stick before she'd have one of her episodes. She always got let go after an episode.  Usually not right after, but within a week or two her boss would call her in and give her some bogus excuse. She wasn't a good fit on the surgical team, staffing changes made her redundant, the hospital's budget didn't turn out the way they hoped... the list of excuses went on. But Allie knew the real reason why. She didn't blame them: no hospital wanted a nurse they couldn't rely on.

It seemed each subsequent job got harder and harder to find. Allie suspected there was enough talk in the medical community that her name had a stigma attached to it by now, if her resume didn't do enough damage on its own. She had at least 6 different employers listed on her resume in the last 3 years, and that didn't include any of the jobs she'd lasted less than two months at.

She'd almost resigned herself to a lifetime of working in coffee shops when Forks General had called her about her application ten days ago. Allie had forgotten she'd even filled one out. The lady she spoke with in HR was very kind and seemed eager to schedule Allie for an interview, almost too eager. Now, Allie knew why. Forks was as dull as she was hopeless. She bet that Forks General had a hard time recruiting new hires.

Out of work and out of options, Allie had gratefully accepted the offer to interview at Forks General for a position as a per diem nurse. Although she'd prefer full-time work, Allie felt happy just to be considered for a job.

And, on a whim, she'd packed up her efficiency apartment in the Seattle suburbs into boxes, told her landlord she was moving out and sub-letting to her cousin who was starting college at Seattle Pacific that fall, and drove the almost 4 hours to Forks WA without a promise of a job or a place to stay. She'd checked in at the Forks Motor Lodge on a cold Thursday night. Spread across the small kitchenette table was the last weeks' worth of Forks Daily Mailers with ads for houses to rent circled in pink highlighter.  Allie couldn't explain why, but something in her heart told her that she'd find her little slice of home here in rain-soaked Forks...

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-hottpinkpenguin