Scrubs

Chapter 1; I

A/N: Hello. I would like this to be a warning to all readers that this book contains mature language and topics. There are characters who's behaviors I do not encourage and they are not meant to be examples to follow but only fictional characters I created with flaws and internal dilemmas I feel relfect those that some people struggle with in the real world. With that said, enjoy the story and feel free to like and comment.

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Swiping away the sweat beading on my forehead, I exit the room I'm in closing the door fully behind me and peer down the hall to check for any more call lights. I check my watch to see that my shift is going to end in about five minutes at 10 pm and decided to go sit at the computer and update my patient charts. I'm a nursing assistant in a nursing home and rehabilitation center. We are the forgotten healthcare members. In these types of facilities, we see the patients the most and do the hardest work but recieve the least recognition because we don't have degrees. We are the ants that get stepped on and pushed around.

Yet I wouldn't trade my job for the world. I love my patients and although the work is hard and stressful, it's incredibly rewarding. There's nothing better than coming on shift and seeing the patients face light up because they're happy to see you and know they'll be well taken care of. It's even better when you are scheduled with someone you enjoy working with and can rely on when things get tough. Everything can change in the snap of a finger here. A patient that's stable can turn for the worst in the blink of an eye and you need to have that support system for when it inevitably does.

We primarily work with elderly patients here but one of our wings is specifically dedicated to patients that require ventilators to breathe and that's where I spend most of my time at work. Due to the nature of the wing I work with a wide age range of patients but many are totally dependent on us for all of their day-to-day needs being that they are unable to care for themselves, often they are unconscious for long periods or indefinitely. Some slowly recover and eventually leave while some remain with us until their last breath. Because of the level of difficulty, the nursing assistants that work this wing tend to be younger and more physically fit.

That leads to how I met him. I trained on an easier wing, one where the main focus was rehabilitation and the patients were able to stand, walk, and care more for themselves. But once I started gaining confidence and working independently, I was quickly moved to the ventilation hall. At first I was too shy and nervous to speak to him much but he pulled me out of my bubble with his hypnotic charm. We worked side by side nearly everyday making it hard to avoid him which just so happened to be exactly what I should've done.

I've always done what I'm told and walked the beaten path, even when every ounce of my being tells me to do something else. I'm a people pleaser. But I'm not sure this is something I can keep up for the rest of my life, especially not when the clock is ticking by so slowly and I feel I am wasting my life away watching others from a foggy window. I have desires but is it too risky? Will I lose everything by creating a path of my own. I'm not sure. So I continue to live each day acting as I should and not as I want, doing what others expect of me, and surviving off of the fantasies brewing in my mind.