to die for

she was

Life and love isn't meant to be easy, we are here one minute gone the next. It could be the wrong word, the wrong move, anything could remove us from the life that we are unknowingly given.

Irene wasn't used to being happy, the second youngest of 5 was never given much attention. And still. She aspired for a life outside the dilapidated house her father ''struggled to afford', no. She wanted more. She deserved more. So she did what she had to and she became who she wanted to become. Life had always bit her in the ass and threw her out like she was yesterday's special left to rot. Whenever things got better, they got worse.

'Not again', murmured Irene, sitting in her penthouse in Seattle, the view to die for but it was easy to afford with her career as a pathologist. Who would want to examine dead bodies? While staring at the violent red shine of her insulting alarm clock, it read 3 am, she thought of what pushed her to this. What brought it about. The feeling. Something is going to happen today and i really don't want to find out what.

Pushing herself out of bed, nudging her black lab so adoringly named Sally, from her favorite novel, she grudgingly walked to wardrobe and pulled out a form-fitting pair of scrubs, blue with her name beautifully embroidered on the side. 'To the hospital I go S,' she whispered, so used to living with other people with the fear of awakening but one of them.

Bellford, Washington was a small town about a 2 hour drive, not that she minded, and chosen for its connection to a naval base across the country in Virginia, where she was from. Bellford Naval Hospital didn't fully require you to travel to Jasston Riverway, a connection of 5 cities, her previously living in 3, but she wanted it. In case she wanted to run home, to a home that wasn't there to welcome her back. Bellford was a decently sized hospital with decent people. None Irene tried to really speak to. There was Kristina, her pathologist assistant and well, seemingly her personal assistant and that was it.

She waltzed into the front doors and walked towards the lower level elevator, Bellford advocated to be the cheeriest hospital around with their new birthing ward that they'd prefer to hide all the bodies out of sight for potential new mothers hoping for their business.

Business. That term always unnerved her. A new baby was business, a dead corpse was business, a dying mother was business. It was disgusting. As if these humans were measured by the money they have to offer to the seemingly caring Bellford.

Was somebody calling my name?, she thought, who knows.She walked into the coffee shop located directly beside the bright and glaring gift store with extremely overpriced items, things she could buy out never but was never able to afford. She got her usual, Lemonade and Raspberry something not typical for sleep deprived doctors but the crisp taste of lemon and the sweet tinge of raspberry always helped. Right as she was going for her first of many sips her short, ample sized assistant popped up beside her. That explains my earlier question. "Irene!", chirped Kristina, "you have a few files to look over, a phone call from Braxton, a page from Dr Serenity, a few things delivered here instead of your home as usual, and a lunch meeting with Ms Lena.", she rushed through as if she was reading from a list. But Irene didn't hear anything after that godforsaken name.

Braxton

Her damned brother in law.

Once upon a time, he was her best friend but now he was a thorn in her side trying to pull her back. Only a few small exceptions would drag her home, he tried being one of them. She never returned after she received her placement in Medical School, she always paid for them to fly out or met them in Maine, her eldest sister's house.

"I'll call him after my meeting", why would I call him? Just another smooth talk trying to convince me to come home, i didn't come back when my father died, i'm not coming back now., "Irene," Kristina's usually soft eyes turned stern, "it's important enough for him to call at 3am HIS time, it's important enough for you to call back."