The water felt cool under the fingers of the newly employed Raul. He had just his second heart surgery that day and was beginning to fell dizzy. He leaned against the wall beside the washing basin and began to analyze his life.
At the age of 28, Raul Brians had not yet found a woman he would like to spend the rest of his life with. Most of his friends he had finished college with had married and had been blessed with children. He remembered how the girls he had attended high school with always told him how anti-social he was. He never spoke to anyone unless he was asked a question. Even most of the senior doctors at the hospital, Berbers community hospital advised him to find a wife but he always brushed them off saying, "that's a waste of my time and money!"
"Dr. Raul Brians, you are needed in emergency room 201 immediately!" the metallic voice which emanated from the speaker above him almost caused him to jump out of his skin.
"Not another one," he groaned as he rushed out of the wash room and run to the emergency ward.
Raul reached his neighborhood around 12pm. The estate was very quiet the night. It seemed anything could happen. He made sure he locked his car and the garage before proceeding sleepily to his door. He fumbled with his keys for a while before finding the right one and unlocking his door. He closed the door, left his keys in the keyhole, he jumped onto the nearest sofa and passed out immediately.
He jumped up with a start when he felt something buzz in his pocket. He quickly shot his hand into his pocket and pulled his phone out. With an angry groan, he answered it.
"Hello," he groaned into the mouthpiece.
"Is it Dr. Raul I am speaking to?" the anonymous female caller said in a rather soft and gentle voice.
"Who's asking?" Raul inquired, getting a little frustrated.
"Oh sorry," she apologized "I am Hannah. I am a new surgeon at Berbers. I as told to contact you to find out more about the hospital."
And is this the right time to call?!" he said, suppressing the urge to scream into the mouthpiece. "I just came home from working three shifts. Can't they give me a freaking break?!'
'I'm sorry, sir." She apologized, somewhat surprised at the doctors irritated tone.
"Eh forget it. It's about six right now'" he said, quickly glancing at the Rolex watch which he wore on his right hand. "Come by my house around 10. By then I would be ready"
Without waiting for a response, he ended the call and flung his phone at the wall about 6 feet from him. He swore when he heard the screen of his IPhone crack. He got up and lazily walked to his bathroom, dragging his feet behind him.
He stared at his reflection in the mirror and saw his father staring right back at him. A tear drop escaped from his eye. He tried to kick the memory out of his head. He didn't want to remember what happened that night. He began to frantically splash water in his face in a desperate attempt to forget. That didn't work. He didn't give up. He did not want to remember what happened that night. How his dad was shot in the back and how his mom was killed when she tried to save him by throwing him the lake. He remembered, also, how he was saved by a fisherman when he was ready to give up. He remembered how the fisherman had suffered to get him a good education before finally going to meet his creator.
As he kept recollecting the events of the past, a felt a dark curtain covering him. He felt cold and started to shiver. He felt his heart beating and soon he could feel no more.
Raul felt an extremely cold soft gel like material pressing against his head. He was confused. He began to open his eyes slowly. He could not focus on the image in front of him. He blinked several times before he found himself staring into the deep blue eyes of a stranger. Even though he felt weak and tired, he managed to pull himself up and away from the person. It took him a while before he realized it was it was a lady. Probably in her mid-twenties. When he felt his strength return to him, he slowly got up from the sofa he was lying on and run his hand through his ruffled hair.
"Who are you and how the heck did you get into my house?" Raul asked, getting a little irritated. He winced when he felt a throbbing pain in his head as he tried to sit up.
"I'm Hannah Brown. We spoke on the phone," she said, brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear "I knocked when I got here but no one was answering so I decided to call your phone. I could hear it ring inside your house but no one answered. I got a little worried so I decided to go in. then I found you lying in front of your bathroom. So, uh, I decided to help."
"You still haven't answered the darn question. How did you get in?!" He asked, clearly angry.
"You left your key in the door," she answered, still remaining calm.
"Oh...," he mumbled. Getting up, he asked her if she want ted some coffee. Without waiting for an answer, he walked toward the kitchen and disappeared from sight.
While he was in the kitchen, Hannah decide to look around the doctors' house. It was plain and simple but it looked really clean. The walls were dark grey and seemed to reflect the light from the sun. That would be really uncomfortable, she thought as she shifted her gaze from the walls to his home theater. The fifty inch flat screen T.V was eye popping. Its curved screen was magnificent. Dang, she said quietly. That would cost a lot of money. Looking below the T.V, she saw a Blu-ray player and a huge stack of movies neatly sorted under it. Most of the movies were a little boring for her taste. She shifted her gaze again to the mini bar that was all the way to the right of the huge living room. All the shelves were full. Not filled with bottles of wine or alcohol, but huge 2.5 liter bottles of various brands diet sodas. She giggled quietly.
"What's funny'" a voice behind her asked.
She spun around and saw Raul starring down at her. She was surprised that she had not heard him coming. He had a tray in his hand with two cups of coffee that were steaming. She took a quick glance at him. He looked better than he did when she arrived. There was a little color on his cheeks. His blue eyes were deeper and clearer. His hair, which was now brushed forward, looked slick and shiny. He looked younger than he sounded. Probably in is mid-thirties, she guessed.
"Nothing," she said quickly when she realized he was still at her.
He had also scrutinized her quietly. Even though he wasn't the type of man to fall for girls easily, he was impressed on how she kept her nails. They were beautifully trimmed and were painted blue. His hair was blonde looked silky and shone beautifully under the light of the sun that found its way into his living room. Her eyes were brown and piercing.
"Oh...," he replied and set the tray on the table in front of her.
"Cream?" He asked.
She nodded.
She had read his file in the hospital. He was described as an unsociable man who always kept to himself and rarely spoke to people. She had a feeling the senior doctors had sent her to him as a prank. She didn't appreciate the thought.
She took a sip from her cup and gasped as the hot liquid touched her lips. She quickly dropped the cup and started to fan her mouth. She started giggling when the pain began to subside. She glanced at Raul and noticed he wasn't at all moved by the scene.
After a few minutes of awkward silence, Raul, surprisingly, decided to speak.
"So you want to know more about the hospital huh? We have a guide for newly employed doctors. I also just got employed not too long ago so I don't think I'm the right person for this job." He said, not taking his eye off her.
"I don't know why I was sent here but the senior doctors insisted I contact you. They mentioned both of us learning more about the hospital together since we're new. Or would you prefer doing that alone?" She asked, already knowing his response.
Hmm, he thought. He really didn't want to be seeing this girl every time. Even though she looked dashing, he preferred solitude and quiet.
"Raul," she said, pulling him out of his thought." Don't you want a friend?"
"I...uh... I don't have a problem with that," he said, before he could stop himself.
"But," he continued. "I'm not the right person and I don't want you to regret this decision later." Without waiting for a response, he added: "I have somewhere to be in 15 minutes. You can show yourself out"
She stared after him as he made his way to the stares that led to the upper part of his house.
That was rude, she thought, putting the cup back on the tray and grabbing her purse. "At least he could have thanked me for helping him," she mumbled.
He released a sigh of relief when he heard his door open and shut.
The sun was high in the sky when she stepped outside. The heat was a little unbearable and the bus station was about a mile away. She groaned. She decided to recollect every event that had taken place in Raul's house as she made her way to the station. How can someone be so cold? Must be something that happened to him in his past. That was the only reasonable explanation.
The loud honk of a something behind her almost made her jump out of her skin. She spun around and saw Raul in a huge lifted blue Ford F150. He rolled down his window and asked if she needed a ride. She nodded and climbed into the truck.
"Nice truck," she said.
""Thanks," she replied, forcing a grin.
He dropped her off at her door step and without responding to her goodbyes, took off and left her wondering if he was dropped on his head as a kid.
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Days went by but Hannah had not seen or heard from Raul. She heard from other Doctors that Raul had gone to California, the place of his birth. She hated to admit it, but she missed him. She wondered why he suddenly decided to leave the country without letting anyone know.
After work that day, she walked home sadly, while recollecting everything that happened that Saturday. She caught herself smiling. She remembered how his face had changed when he smiled at her in his truck. He looked so handsome when he smiled. She soon found herself admiring someone she just met. She wasn't surprised. It happened to her all the time. She meets a guy, falls for him and then gets her heart broken. She had dated 4 guys and she was only 27. All those guys just wanted one thing from her. She never gave it to them so they just dumped her like a used tissue. She decided that Raul was not worth it. He would probably hurt her like all those other guys have.
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It was late and Hannah had cuddled up in her favorite blanket and laid on her couch watching her favorite show; C.S.I. A couple of hours later, her eyes began to give in to sleep.
