Somewhere Only We Know • Ruben Dias

Chapter 8: Starting Over

🎶 Begin Again (Taylor's Version) — Taylor Swift 🎶

Like in every cheesy rom-com, the pillow wall had been destroyed unintentionally overnight, and now I laid there with Ruben spooning me, his arm draped around my waist as I felt something hard and long poking my ass. We weren't completely pressed against each other so the length of his junk to reach me must be... impressive. I laid there a few minutes with my eyes open, waiting for my alarm clock to ring, but before that, I heard some shuffling from his side and I quickly shut my eyes again.

Unfortunately, he removed his arm and we lost contact as he stood up and walked out of his room. I waited a bit before getting out of bed myself and padded over to the kitchen, where Ruben already stood, dressed in running gear.
"Morning" I spoke and he smiled at me.
"Morning! How did you sleep?" he asked before downing some small bottles of... probably some fitness junkie stuff.
"Good, better than expected" I replied, and we both didn't seem to want to touch the subject of the ineffective pillow wall.

"My shift starts in an hour" I announced as I looked at my watch.
"I can drive you... Do you need some fresh clothes?" he asked.
"Not now I guess, I still have some fresh scrubs in my locker" I replied and nodded. "I need to speak with my attending first, I can't go through doing something like yesterday again" I added with a shaky voice. "Do you think I'm weak?" I asked him with a worried look.

Instead of replying immediately, he walked over and hugged me. "No. You are strong. And amazing. And brave. And wonderful. And-" he replied, but I cut him off.
"Ok, ok, enough, or I might think you're not masculine and tough" I teased him and he pinched my cheek, looking down at me adoringly. Why couldn't life just have been easier with him?

After eating some healthy whole grain toast that was disgusting, Ruben drove me to work and I asked him to just drop me off a block away. He had a game this afternoon and I didn't tell him, but I was going to try and come watch it as I only had a morning shift on Saturdays. Unfortunately, as soon as I entered the hospital's atrium, I felt a firm grip on my wrist.
"There you are" Ed said through gritted teeth, but I yanked my arm away from him.
"I don't have time now, I've got patients" I hissed and walked away from him.

Wow, that felt good. I was still on an adrenaline high from that as I stood in the lift, going up to the fifth floor. On the second, the doors opened and Sarah, a girl that started her Foundation Years with me, entered. She acknowledged my presence with just a nod, and I couldn't blame her. I had ignored all of my fellow interns for over a year now, just because of my pathetic boyfriend.
"Morning Sarah" I spoke up, in an effort to make amends. She looked at me surprisedly, probably because these were the first words I really exchanged with her.

"Morning" she replied curtly.
"Want to have lunch together today?" I asked friendly, pretty sure that she was going to start insulting me any moment now. She looked me up and down a few times with furrowed eyebrows.
"I guess we could" she huffed and I smiled widely. This felt like I was taking back control over a life I had been sleeping on. My phone chimed and I pulled it out of my pocket.

Ruben
How are you doing?

Soph 👸🏼
Pushing through 💪🏼

The doors of the lift opened on my floor and I turned around to Sarah.
"See you at the cafeteria?" I asked and she nodded.
"Sure" she replied and I sent her a smile before walking to Dr Moxley's office first. I took a deep breath before knocking at her door and heard her shouting to come in.

"Ah, Dr Corbyn, good morning! Here are your patient files for rounds this morning" she said and handed me over the stack of papers - we really were still stuck in the 80s.
"Thanks. I'll start right away, but first I wanted to apologise for... just leaving yesterday" I told her.
"I can understand that it's a tough procedure" she replied sincerely and I took a deep breath.
"I'd like to file a conscientious objection" I said.
"Oh" she commented, raising her eyebrows.