His Always: Book 1 Rhodes Character Series

Chapter 5: Tate

The next day, after a 24, is perfect for three things; sleep, beer, and football. I already slept half the day away, so now was the time to catch up with James and Eric and chat about things a lot less stressful than our chosen day jobs. As I take the last sip of my beer, I make eye-contact with a group of girls across the bar.

"James, don't look now, but there's a totally stunning brunette behind you. Looks exactly like your type." I smirk. James type is anything with female anatomy and brunette hair. "And this is when our trio becomes a duo. Will you ever change your ways?" Eric chuckles. James has already zoned both of us out. Something he had tons of practice with in college.

"Well, boys, I believe the ladies are calling my name from across the bar. Don't text me if either of you needs anything." He says sarcastically as he walks over to his newest interest. Ever since I met James when he and his dad moved in across the street when we were in 8th grade, he has always had an above average interest in the opposite sex. Eric and I never called him out on his playboy behavior, even when it was at its worst in college. James is one of the most protective people I have ever met. I think a lot of it stems from having never given the opportunity to meet his mom. She had a severe hemorrhage a few minutes after giving birth to James in their home. It is actually why he chose to become an OB-GYN. He wanted to honor his mom by helping families through thier happiest days and through their toughest.

See, I told you - we give him a pass on his playboy ways. "How are Nat and Thomas?" Eric asks, bringing me out of my mental flashback. "Fine, I guess." I shrug as I take a sip of beer. Natalie and Thomas are the last couple I want to think about. My mind has always and will always been drawn to Natalie. I never thought Thomas and her would ever become this serious or I would have put up more of a fight in med school. I thought I was doing the right thing by not pursuing my interests with her right after her parents passed away. Sure, I was there for her during the gut-wrenching year after she suddenly lost the two most important people in her life. I never missed a call. I never missed a text. I never missed a moment to make sure that she was going to make it through the other side.

Her anxiety worsened after their sudden passing. Her fear of common things in life heightening. Sleeping, large crowds, cars, planes, the unknown of anyone outside her small circle creating a crippling fear within her own mind. She is calmest in the OR but most tense inside a hospital. My very first interaction with Natalie was about her fear of hospitals. She had sliced her hand open, carrying a mini-fridge into the dorm she shared with my sister. She thought it was no big deal and was unphased by the deep cut. Only when I mentioned taking her to the ER to get some stitches did I see the panic in her eyes. Since then, I had always teased her slightly about being a kick-ass doctor who is afraid of where she works. But, deep down, it makes Natalie a better doctor than me. The ability she has to put patients at ease is unlike anything or anyone I have ever worked with before. The mixture of her intense beauty and soft personality puts even the most stressed patients at ease.

"Hello?? Do you want another?" Eric asks as he flashes his hand in front of my face. "Yeah, yeah, sorry. I was thinking about a case I had earlier. Anyway, why were you asking about Thomas?" He take a full swig of his beer before saying, "I don't know man. I had some time with Nat at lunch before you paged her on that emergency-c. Thomas called her and let's just say she looked down at his name and seemed weird. I am probably way off - my girly, gossip senses have been off." That's an understatement. Eric's girl senses are always off.

"She is probably just worn down. She has been working a ton of hours and logging a lot of OR time lately. I think she is just trying to distract herself from the anniversary coming up. It's a tough time of year for her." I make a mental note to keep an eye on her, though. I'm always keeping an eye on her. She's my Natalie, even if she wants to be Thomas's Natalie right now, too. Eric's phone buzzes on the table before I can give it another thought.

"Hi Mads, what's up?" He answers. His forehead creases as he looks up at me. The look on his face makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck. "That's Madison? What's going on?" I try to ask, but he puts his hand up and then covers his ear to try to hear her better. Eric signals to the server for the check and swallows the rest of his beer, suddenly looking more alert. "Madison, where are you?" He states as I sign the check and grab my jacket. The look on his face is still too unreadable for me to judge what is going on. We both slide out of the booth as he tells replies, "Mads - Tate and I are on the way. What happ -" He stops mid-sentence and I look at him to put it on speaker. I am tired of hearing half the conversation. Eric looks at me apologetically and puts his hand over the mic of the phone.

"I don't know man, she needs me to pick her up at some bar. She wants me to go alone. I'll text, I promise." He goes back to talking to Madison before I grab his shoulder. "Absolutely not dude. She's my sister too." I move to grab the phone out of his hand, but his forearm pushes into my chest. "She doesn't sound hurt. She just sounds upset about something. I'll go get her and take her home and then I'll call you, okay? I can handle this. You know how good I am with the girl gossip." He argues, playfully.

"Fine, call me as soon as you lay your eyes on her, okay? If I don't hear from you, I will track you both down myself." This is Mads, my only little sister. There isn't anything I wouldn't do for her. Panic settles into my stomach that something is wrong and I am being kept in the dark. I swallow the hurt of Madison calling Eric in a time of need instead of me. Eric mutters a quick reply and hops in an Uber. I pick up my phone to text James that we've both left the bar, and that he was on his own. As I walk home, I dial Natalie to see if she if maybe she has any idea what this is about.

She doesn't answer.