Queen of the Ashes

Chapter Three

Freesia:
lasting friendship
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"She is doing better, but we'll keep her here just to be sure" Ethan couldn't help but exhale in worry, which caused the doctor to place a callous hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry, we'll have her back on her feet in no time"

Back on her feet. Good one. Ethan thought as his lips turned into a white line as he tried to keep a scoff at bay.

As the doctor identified his mistake, eyes suddenly landing on the wheelchair by her bed, he cleared his throat, even as he was clearly running on an over-dose on arrogance his cheeks unwillingly flared up in a taint pink shade. When he couldn't find a way to cover up his mistake he excused himself. He clearly wasn't one to admit his mistakes. Ethan just shrugged before he turned to look at his mother who was sound asleep, as usual.

"He didn't mean it like that» A voice suddenly snapped Ethans attention to the other side of the bed. He smiled warmly, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. It rarely did in these types of surroundings.

"I-I figured" he replied before shrugging again. The nurse smiled back at him before she continued to write down in a notebook, examining his mothers vitals.

Ethan studied the nurse as she looked rather unusual for a nurse, but he didn't judge. Besides, there was something rather familiar about her.

As his curiosity got the best of him he asked "D-do I know you?"

The nurse, who had lost her smile due to concentration, looked over at him as her lips tugged upwards again.

"I didn't expect you to remember me" she said, tugging a blue straw behind her ear. "I used to take calculus with you in 9th grade, my hair was a lot longer back then" she huffed and shrugged "and blonde"

As if a light-bowl suddenly lit over his head Ethan smiled widely and uttered a name he didn't even know he remembered: "Birgitte" his eyebrows shot up as he took her in.

"Y-you look..."

"Older? More mature?"

"D-different, I-I'm sorry I didn't recognize you! I-I'ts just...y-you're hair used to be straight"

"So did my sexuality, I guess a lot can change over eleven years"

Ethan joined in on the laugh, forgetting all about his mother. But she was so deeply lost in her own imagination to even notice the sounds around her. Not even an earthquake could awake her once she'd settled in.

"H-how did you end up as a nurse? I-It's just.. you always talked about taking over your fathers business"

Birgitte shrugged again.

"Yeah, well, I only considered that because I never thought I was smart enough to pass all the exams to get here. I mean I was failing for quite some time. My teachers didn't even think I'd make it to college"

"I-I always knew you could make it" Ethans said, and Birgitte couldn't help but shy away slightly as she continued to scribble down something that looked greek to Ethan.

"So, how are you doing. I haven't seen you since you dropped out"

"I-I'm fine" Ethan quickly answered, biting his lower lip as the subject brought an uneasy feeling to his gut. Birgitte seemed to notice since she quickly changed subject again.

"She'll be okay. Her vitals are promising and the infection is responding well to the antibiotics" she stated happily "She'll be back home in just a few days. Until then you should rest. Maybe we could grab a coffee or something if you're free?"