Open Heart: MC X Sienna

Not Holding it Back

I am heading towards my next patient's ward when my cell phone vibrates. I pull it out and look at the text

Can we go for Coffee after the shift? At Charlie's Café? Juts let me know if you can make it...

It is Sienna's text.
What to do?
My talk with Ramsey this morning was quite enlightening and helpful. I was feeling much better before this text came. Now... all seems lost.
I don't know what to do.
Give it a go. It's just Coffee...

See you after the shift ends

And I hit 'send'

I can only hope for the best.

I don't want to see Sienna before this evening and so I decide to skip lunch. She will be there and I don't want that vis-à-vis encounter just yet. I don't feel okay.

Don't worry, you have many hours to prepare your scared heart. You'll be fine!

"I don't appreciate it Aurora!" comes the voice of Dr. Harper from round the corner of the hallway.

"Can you please try and be a bit understanding?" retorts Aurora furiously.

"Listen to me... there is always a price to pay if you have to be the best and this is it!" Harper says in a hushed tone that was almost too hard to hear.

"I... Who's there?" Aurora is referring to me! I am frickin eavesdropping.

Run before they see you!

I quickly run down the hallway before they can catch a glimpse of me.

What price was it? What did Dr. Emery mean? What was she talking about? Why was Aurora so pissed about whatever it was?

I can only see the questions but no answers.

"Alexander!" I turn around and see Jackie jogging towards me.

"Hey! What's up?" I ask

"Kinda busy. Why weren't you at lunch?" she asks

"I was busy running some tests on a patient" I lie. I was getting nasty packaged salted peanuts from the Hospital's vending machine and stuffing them while listening to cringy songs on my phone.

"Yup, pretty busy I was" I say again while shrugging.

"Okay, anyways I wanted to tell someone on the phone but then spotted you here... I will be going out with Aurora tonight and I know that it was my turn to cook dinner tonight but I'm sorry cause I can't" Then she pulls out a few bills from her scrub's pocket and hands them over to me.

"Order pizza, Chinese or whatever you guys want for tonight. I'm sure it will do" she says referring to the money.

"It is alright but... Aurora you said? You are going out with Aurora? When did this start and how come we never knew about it!" I am stunned. Jackie and Aurora! The polar opposites are together? Unbelievable!

Her jaw drops and she covers her eyes with her hand "No, no, no, no not like that!" What is she talking about?

"We are not going out like that. It is a conference held at a newly inaugurated orphanage. It is about disease awareness and importance of vaccinations. Me and Aurora are Edenbrook's representatives. It is not a huge scale event but Ramsey and Emery wanted us to go... and honestly so did we. It is a good cause and I can bare that bitch for good cause... and there is nothing else there!" she explains.

I breathe in "Well... I don't know but I am strangely disappointed. I had kinda started shipping you two pretty hard in the past few seconds" I tease her and she punches me on the arm.