NOAH

Ch. 6

Chapter 6

I groan, my stomach tensing as three heavy bangs shake me from my slumber. "Nicole!"

I slide my hands through the delightfully chilly fabric, almost falling asleep in the perfect temperature, searching for my phone. Danielle continues to bang on the door as my eyes adjust to the screen.

I sigh, ripping the covers from my body and stomping to my door. I yank it open, her distasteful scowl coming into view.

"You do realize it's five minutes before I have to be up?"

"Did you get the job?"

I rub my hands over my face. "No, Danielle. I'll tell you when I do."

I slam the door shut and head into my bathroom. I quickly get freshened before attempting to detangle my hair. I didn't have the tightest of curls, but years of improper care have left them a twisted mess. My comb can barely rake through them and I groan, throwing it at my mirror. They usually work with me. Sighing, I decide to let them be.

Dagger is waiting for me when I make it downstairs. He reaches his arms out and I go to grab him, but my feet snag a firetruck toy and I'm sent flying into a wall. My head smacks against the paint, sending heartbeats of irritation through my skull.

Dagger's wails echo in my head as he cries out, hands still reaching for me. I smile at him, trying to quell his worry, but his face just goes red as he screams louder.

Danielle's heavy steps pound in my head before she reaches the room. She walks over to me, yanking me to my feet as grey clouds my vision and smoke fills my nostrils. "What the fuck did you do to make him scream like that?"

I pull my arm from her grasp as she puffs a cloud of disease in my face. "I fell."

She takes a long drag from her cigarette, sporting a scowl as she puffs more into the air. "You better calm him the fuck down. I was trying to rest."

I grab Dag and fall against the couch, rubbing my hands up and down his back as he whines. His tear filled eyes and snotty nose brings wetness to my own. My nose twitches at the scent of his full diaper. This poor baby.

"Get me a diaper and wipes."

She throws them at me with a huff and stomps back into the back room. I quickly change his diaper and rock him to sleep, laying him on the couch with his favorite blankie. My heart clenches at the thought of leaving him with her, but I push it down and head out the door.

As I head to work, I send Josh a quick text.

Your son needs you.

***

Once again, UMC is packed. My eyes scan the area before landing on Noah who's thankfully not chatting up his friends. Instead, he's chatting up a very bubbly Camry. Noah smiles at her as she babbles on about God knows what and seems genuinely engaged. Maybe Camry has met her match.

A scowl faced Dr. Marsh stumbles his way through many people, patients or not, to get to me. "Jesusss, fuck."

"Morning to you to."

He sniffles, licking his cracked lips. "What a fucking morning."

My stomach twists when he slurs a bit as he instructs me to help around the E.R. I nod quickly, frowning as he walks off. Please don't be what I think. I shake my head, pushing away the bad thoughts.

Dr. Marsh is a wonderful surgeon.

Dr. Marsh is great at his job.

He's a wonderful surgeon.

He is. He is. He is.

I glance back at Noah to see him waving me over, nodding his head up as he does so. As I get closer to them, Noah's face contorts into a hard stare. They both stare at my forehead, frowns mirroring each other. Noah looks at his hands, rubbing them together and I watch as his smile slowly begins to sink.

"What the fuck happened?"

"Yeah, Nicole, what happened to your face?"

I choose to free them of their curiosity and point to my head. "I fell on a firetruck toy."

Noah stares at my forehead as if it will prove if I'm telling the truth or not and I roll my eyes. I'm sure they're both thinking of some crazy story right now. Wondering what happened and Camry wondering how she can fix it. Noah's probably wondering if I got into a fight with my crazy family or whatever the fuck Camry probably told him.

"You want me to get you some ice?"

I sigh, cursing myself for judging her so much. I can't help but feel like she only hangs with me because I'm less than her. Because I am less than her. But, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe, she just acts better because she is.

"Thanks, Cam."

She smiles at me as her hand rests on my cheek. "Anytime."

I'm relieved of her pity as she runs off. Even if she does care, the pity in her eyes is more than enough.

"Arcadia."

My eyes gaze back into Noah's surprisingly unamused stare. He bites the nail of his forefinger and sighs, writing something on a slip of paper.

"Listen, if something is going on at home, you can call me anytime."

He folds the paper and slides it into the breast pocket on my scrubs. I jump as his fingers lightly graze the area, relaxing as he pulls back. Heat rushes through my cheeks as Camry runs back around the corner, ice in hand.

She hands me the ice, eyes falling to my pocket before going back to my forehead. "So, are you going to tell us what happened?"

"Look, I understand the curiosity, but I really did just trip over a toy. The twins leave them everywhere."

"I feel like you're not telling the who-"

Before she can finish her accusation, a man rushes in, blood covering his upper half as he groans. He clutches his throat, blood pouring from his hands as he collapses to the floor with a thud.

My stomach tenses as Dr. Marsh speeds over to him, assessing his situation. He radios for a trauma surgeon, but no answer. We immediately spring over to him, wanting to help in any way we can.

I gasp when I notice the shard of glass stuck inside of his throat. "Holy shit."

"Get O.R. three open! Tell them we have a male stabbing victim! Arcadia and Noah, scrub in."

My heart buzzes at the prospect of watching Dr. Marsh save another life. No firetruck toy sized bruise could make that a bad thing. I could go home in peace, knowing that Danielle may be a bitch, but I watched a life be saved.

But as Dr. Marsh tries to page a trauma surgeon one last time, he slurs his name. And I know that whatever happens next probably won't make my day better.