the lover agreement // zauren

ONE.

Lauren blamed herself for not setting an alarm. By now, she thought her body would be accustomed to waking up at 5:30am, but it wasn't. Thanks to her overconfidence, she was running late. Her shift started at 7:00am, and she had less than half an hour to beat morning traffic.

If she drove fast enough, she could make it. However, she didn't want to believe in her skills too much. She wouldn't be in her current situation if she just listened to her gut and not her arrogance.

The elevator chimed, arriving on the ground floor. Lauren rushed out as soon as the door slid open. She wasn't watching where she was going because she knew the building like the back of her hand.

Again, her self-confidence got her into trouble.

She slammed into someone, knocking his coffee down. The dark brown liquid pooled at their feet. Whatever didn't land on the floor, landed on her. Great, just great.

Lauren scowled, horrified at the growing stain on her windbreaker. "Watch where you're going, dickhead!" Coffee was such a hassle to remove, and she didn't have time to spare to get changed.

Whatever, then. She shook her head, charging through the front doors before the man she bumped into could even utter an apology. Just her luck. She would be late, and she would be soaked. Could her day get any worse?

Normani watched her best friend sneak into the Emergency Department right before the clock struck. She said nothing when their attending, Dr. Cynthia Ross, walked by, checking on the doctors who would be working under her for the next eight or so hours. Lauren managed to fish out her lab coat and stethoscope from her locker and greet the petite doctor before her attendance could be questioned.

Relief spiraled from her chapped lips as she made her way to the Nurses' station.

"Morning," chirped Normani, handing her a cup of hot coffee.

Lauren pulled a disgusted face. "Not today, but thank you," she politely declined.

Normani's head tipped in question. "You turned down coffee? Woah, what the hell is wrong with you? You love coffee."

"Yeah, I know, but this asshole bumped into me and spilled his coffee all over my jacket. I'm lucky my scrubs were spared. Cynthia would bite my head off if I came to work looking like a mess." To some degree, Lauren still considered herself lucky. A truly terrible day would result in an earful from her attending, but the day was still young.

"Yikes," Normani flinched, sympathizing with her clearly disheveled best friend. She combed her fingers through Lauren's dark tangles, attempting to salvage what she could. "You need to take it easy. You haven't been yourself lately."

Lauren groaned, hating that it was noticeable. She used to be so on top of things, but the last month had been problematic.

"When I find myself a new roommate, I can relax. Not now. I don't even know if I can afford to pay rent at the end of the month," she admitted, the birth of a migraine gnawing at the edge of her forehead.

"I told you not to trust that Carla." Normani shook her head, lips pursed. "To think she just got up and left one morning without even telling you to your face."

"Right! God. That is by far one of the biggest regrets I have."

After graduating medical school and starting her residency, Lauren moved in with a nurse named Carla. Their lives together weren't horrible; Carla was a friendly person... until she packed her things one day and fled. All Lauren got was an email two days later. She didn't bother to read it and immediately sent it to trash.