Love In Twenty And Five

DAY FIVE

Guilt.

The raw feeling clung to her, making it impossible to carry out her assignments for that day.

She felt guilty for once again, her patient had died. It was a feeling of guilt and loss, one that pushed her to the coffee shop in hopes that she could sit there and cry without being seen. But she had indeed been seen, and by Mike. With her emotions running wild, she had unleashed her anger on him and had in the process, made light of his intentions to kill himself.

Sighing softly, she pushed the door to her house wide open and stepped inside, her mind plaguing her with the images of the look she had seen in Mike's eyes when she told him suicide was a choice and death by an incurable illness, wasn't. She shouldn't have, she thought, shaking her head and closing the door behind her. The truth was that Mike was suffering, as was every one of those kids. And while it was difficult to compare emotional pain with the physical one, the two of them had one thing in common; pain. She knew, from her time spent working in a hospital, that physical pain could translate to emotional pain and emotional pain could easily translate to physical pain. It certainly explained Mike's desire to want to kill him.

Deciding she would apologize, she was on her way up the stairs, when she heard the phone in the living room ringing. She stood still and waited for the machine to take the call.

"Hey babe, I guess you're asleep right now, or working?" Philip's familiar voice sounded in the building. Slowly, she began making her way down the stairs. "The time difference sucks here in London..."

She reached the phone and picked it up. "Hey you."

"Hey! I didn't think you'd pick up," he was saying as she settled on the couch.

"Yeah, I just got home. Dolly died today. You remember her, don't you?" she whispered, fighting the urge to cry.

"Oh? Well, better luck next time, right? Anyway, how's the wedding planning coming?"

Eden sat still for several seconds, unsure of how to feel about his reaction -or lack of if- to the death of one of her patients.

Convincing herself that he probably meant nothing by his words, or he probably couldn't possibly be able to grasp the emotions that came with losing someone you loved, she shrugged. "We decided to go with the red velvet and vanilla cake, and I'll try out my dress in two days."

"Sounds fun."

She nodded. "When are you coming home to New York?"

"As soon as I'm finished with all these business meetings -which will probably take a while. But it's guaranteed I'll be back in time for our wedding..." he was saying, when a female voice interrupted him. Eden tried to listen to what it was the person in the background was saying, but she couldn't. "Oh, looks like I've got to go. Call you later?"

I'd rather see you, Phil. "Sure. I lov--" The words died on her lips as soon as he ended the call. Sighing, she rose to her tired feet. "Love you," she whispered to the empty living room, "I love you."

Forcing her tired feet forward, she climbed the stairs and settled on her comfortable bed in her bedroom. It didn't take long for her eyelids to fall close and for sleep to take over her entire body.

The next morning, Eden settled on the breakfast table and tried to listen to her grandmother go over the wedding plans with her. But she could barely do anything but think of the conversation she knew she would have to have with Mike.

She reached the hospital, and didn't set her eyes on him until her lunch time. He was seated in the cafeteria, his brown hair certainly needing a trimming, with a woman seated across the table from him. Eden hadn't seen the woman often, but she did appear familiar, and Mike? She thought, a small frown settling on her face. Mike appeared quite comfortable with the blond head.