Choices

2:

"Thought I almost died in my dream again.
Fighting for my life, I couldn't breathe again.
- alone again"

Madison:

I found myself at St. Ann Hospital three months ago. Before that I was hiding out in California as a resident at a hospital that wasn't the best, it wasn't my greatest choice. It was my only choice. I was three months into the residency program when my father was released from prison. The fear inside of me had always been there, since I was a little girl I had feared him. However, the minute I saw the headlines on the front page of the newspaper followed by a mugshot, that fear had multiplied.
I didn't plan on moving to the United Kingdom, I took two weeks off to hide out in a cheap motel and figure out what to do. I guess my uncle may have heard that my father was out because it only took three days into my stay at the motel for St. Ann Hospital to contact me. I was on-board with the transfer even before I had figured out where I was going to live. All I did know was that I needed to get out of California before he found me.
Three weeks later I was in a different country and about to start my residency at one of the best teaching hospitals in the UK. It was an honor to be recognized by St. Ann Hospital, they often bring in residents from all around the world but usually you apply for the position. I knew why I got the position but that wasn't the main focus. The main focus was to lay low and find a way to survive here without anyone knowing the real reason I was in the UK.
I moved in with my childhood family friend, Drake Harper, a week after I started my residency and that was two months and three weeks ago.
For two months and three weeks I've been walking in and out of this apartment with the knowledge that Brooke Harper, Drake's younger sister, and I were the only ones who used the house. Drake is a pilot and often all over the place so he comes and goes. Imagine my shock when I push open the front door to find five huge men hovering over a man on the ground in the middle of the living room.
"Madison." Drake heaves out and all four pairs of eyes find me. The familiar blue ones belong to Nicolas, our next door neighbour. The brown ones are Daniel, he shares the apartment next door with Nicolas. I've seen the pair occasionally when I'm leaving for work and sometimes we are polite enough to greet each other when passing by in the laundry room downstairs. "My friend has been injured, he needs help." I haven't seen Drake for a solid week and the first thing he says to me as I walk through the door, after a 48 hour shift might I add, is that.
"Who is she?" The older looking one of the two unfamiliar faces speaks up first. I am trying to focus on his sharp features but my eyes can't help drift to the unconscious shirtless man on our living room floor.
Blood, there's a lot of it and my natural instincts kick in. My purse meets the floor with a thud as my sneakers take over the silence, the closer I get the more clearer he becomes.
The stranger is a bulky and tall man, I almost didn't notice the fact that he's bleeding all over my fluffy lavender rug. Drake owes me a new one. My knees sink into the soft rug and my jeans begin to feel the slight dampness of blood. Please don't let this man die on my twenty pound rug. I quickly check for a pulse and when I find one I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. I begin to check for the source of bleeding without gloves, not a bold move but I risk it. My fingers run over his side and I use all my strength to turn the guy over. I am a resident, medical school trained me for this. My thoughts and praises come to an abrupt halt when I see a bullet hole. Not just a bullet hole, a bullet to the shoulder.
Fuck my life.
"He's a fucking criminal." I state before grabbing his already bloody t-shirt on the side and using it to apply pressure to the wound.
"What did you just call my brother?" The younger looking one of the two men snarls as he gets down to my eye level and I can one hundred percent assure you that his baby face does nothing to intimidate me.
"Someone take him to the E.R." I look up at the four pairs of eyes looking down at me and I try to ignore the little cub that's growling at me from beside me. "You." I point to his brother with my finger before handing him the bloody t-shirt. "Apply pressure or your brother dies." He immediately does as I say before throwing me a glare. I throw him one back. "I'll call Lawson ahead of time and tell him we're coming in." I rise to my feet before rushing off towards the direction of my purse.
"We?" The cub questions from his position over the bleeding man, also known as his criminal brother.
"Madison works at the hospital." Drake says and before Nicolas can butt in to say something, the older one speaks up.
"Oh, she's a nurse. That explains the whole performance." Normally I am not offended by being called a nurse, but when he pairs that comparison with the word 'performance', all I want to do is rip his head off.
"I'm a first year surgical resident you fucking moron." I state without looking up from my phone. James always answers my texts, except for when he's in surgery. I text him before I call, he answers my emoji with a 'What's up?'
"Resident." The younger one whispers as James phone begins to ring. Two rings, that's all it took for him to answer. I open the door and indicate for the men to gather their friend as I explain the situation to James over the phone. As the five men try to carry the patient down the hallway, while keeping pressure on the wound, I can't help but wonder how the fuck I am going to explain this to the people at the hospital.