I See You (Campus Crush series)

4

Brandon Lewis as Avery

I was barely out of the hospital doors when I heard a group of my fellow resident friends call out to me.

"Ayo, Larsen!"

I turned around to see the four of them—Zara, Kamele, Lorenzo, and Lyanna.

"None of you are on call?" I asked as they approached me before we walked out of the building together.

"Nope. We're heading straight to the bar," Kamele informed me, swinging his arm over Lyanna's shoulder.

"Sure that's a good idea? We have to be back here at six in the morning."

"Oh, Casper. My dear," Zara began, resting her soft hand on my shoulder. "When will we ever convince you to have a drink or two? Come with us; it's been a long day for everyone."

I smiled patiently. "I have a husband and two kids waiting for me at home. I don't have the drive or interest to entertain a couple glasses of wine."

"They'll still be there when you go back." Lorenzo winked.

"Ah, leave him alone guys. We all have our own ways to unwind after an exhausting shift. Get some sleep, Cas," Lyanna wished. A beautiful smile graced her precious face. She'd become my closest friend at the hospital ever since we were interns under the same resident, so she understood how picky I was about being with my family.

"I love you guys," I said with a quiet laugh as I parted ways from them in the parking lot.

"Eep!" Zara squealed as the sprinkling rain began to pick up. "Bye, Casper!"

I ducked into the driver's seat of my car and shut the door, heaving a sigh. I immediately started the car up, wanting to get home before the exhaustion hit.

When I arrived home, I went to my children's rooms to give them forehead kisses while they slept before slipping into the master bedroom.

A softly glowing light was on for me whenever I returned, as usual, and I smiled at my husband's form on the bed. I thought he was asleep but he shifted and our eyes met in the dim light.

"Still up?" I asked, approaching him.

"Yeah, I missed you today." We shared a sweet and slow kiss then I straightened up again.

"I should shower and get out of these clothes. I'll be quick; I wanna hear all about your day."

"Okay. I wanna hear about yours too."

One more kiss because we could never get enough of each other, then I went to the bathroom.

It may seem trivial, but taking a simple shower was one of my favorite things to do. I could think, breathe, and wash away the day's hard work. A bath with David was much more rewarding though.

As soon as I was done and dried off, I put on an oversized shirt then climbed into bed beside my beloved. Immediately, his arms encased me from behind and he left a warm kiss on my neck. I giggled as his hand ran down my thigh before placing my leg between both of his.

"You look radiant as usual. You smell good too," he complimented.

"Thank you." I sighed, relaxing my body. "How'd everything go today?"

"Well... Dawn's a star in the making."

"Oh? She's really going for a part in that play huh?" I said with a laugh.

"She told me today that she wants to be Dorothy in Wizard of Oz, so I helped her go through the script."

"No kidding?" I gasped. "That's a perfect role for her. Dani's going to scream when she hears this."

David laughed. "Her number one cheerleader."

"What about Royce?" I inquired about our little boy.

"Eh, he's just been bugging me about these new toys. I'll get them tomorrow."

"You're gonna spoil him rotten; he has dozens of toys already."

"It's my job to spoil our babies. You're the strict one."

"I'm not strict," I laughed.

"Fine, but you're so good at saying no. I look at both of their big innocent eyes and I melt every time. I give them ice cream, you make sure they eat their vegetables. I keep their minds healthy while you nurture their bodies." David pulled me closer as I smiled. "Another reason why I love you: you balance me out."

I rubbed his arm affectionately. "We balance each other out. Look, he has more than enough toys. His room might as well be a dollhouse. Save your money."

Even as those words left my lips, I knew it was a foreign thing to say to a wealthy man. My husband was currently sitting on close to $55 million dollars. Needless to say, our little family had the world at our disposal, especially since he obtained most of his incarcerated father's wealth. I did my best to keep us all grounded because I knew what money couldn't buy. Our lives.

Medicine taught me that every single day.

"He's four, angel. For right now, let's just let him believe the world is a place of rainbows and magic before life inevitably breaks his precious heart."

"David, you're going to that cloudy place again."

He kissed my cheek. "Okay. No more of that."

"Mhm. That's reserved for me. I have to watch patients leave this world and see their loved ones crumble when I break the news."

He grimaced then nodded in agreement. "Yes, that's unfortunate. Does that sum up your day today?" I felt his thumb stroking my skin slowly, a subtle way he was trying to comfort me. He might've been trying to somehow protect me too, as if he wanted to shield my happiness from the morbid reality of the hospital scene.

"None of my patients died today and I'm grateful for that. I didn't have to deliver any bad news, but I was in the E.R for a bit... it was awful."

"I hate that you have to see all of that." His other hand gave my hair a soothing stroke.

I continued to tell him about my day in detail.

But, as would become habit over the next few weeks, I always seemed to skip over the part of my day that included Avery Weppler.