Spring [Completed]

ONE

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HIM

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"He was the ember of a love long past and consumed, and she was the flame that came and set him ablaze."

—Ariana

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My eyes burn from exhaustion to the point that it hurts to blink. This is not an unnatural characteristic for a normal day of mine. This minor inconvenience simply means that I'm in desperate need of sleep, or the more obtainable alternative, coffee.

I pull my sweatshirt over my head and shrug on my coat, not bothering to change out of my scrubs. At this point, I'm just glad to finally be off, so what I'm wearing when I leave makes no difference to me.

I run my hand through my short curls and frown as I leave the changing room and enter the main part of the hospital. Ducking my head, I turn the corner, silently hoping that I don't run into—

"Oh, Kathy!" I tense when almost run right into the busty blonde haired woman.

Her eyes widen when she recognizes me, and she spreads her dainty hands across my chest. "Oh, Ethan...can I call you Ethan?" She bats her lashes and I grimace.

"Dr. Price is fine." I remove her hands from my chest.

Her face tinges a slight pink color as she nods. "Well, Dr. Price, I'm sorry. I'm such a klutz. I didn't see you there."

I nod, flashing her a closed lipped smile. "It's fine, Kathy. You have a good morning now."

I side step her, but she follows. "Doctor!" She tugs on my shoulder and I stop, taking a deep breath before facing her once more.

"Yeah?"

"Um." She tries to meet my eyes but I glance past her. "Leaving already? What's uh...what's the rush?"

I yawn, my patience wearing thin. "Look, Kathy, I gotta go. I've been here all night. Please, don't you have phone calls to answer or something?"

Her smile falters slightly as she nods. "Yeah, you're right. We're both pretty busy...you should probably go so I can get back to work."

My eye twitches as I tilt my head slightly, debating on whether or not to respond.

Before I can Kathy smiles. "Bye Ethan...I mean, Dr. Price." She winks, before making her way back to the front desk.

Shaking my head, I laugh to myself as I turn to leave. When I get to the clear sliding doors, I sigh. It's raining again. They say you can't move to Seattle and not own an umbrella, and yet after nearly a month of living here, I still haven't gotten around to buying one.

Raising my jacket over my head, I jog to my truck, ignoring the rain as it sloshes against my pant legs and seeps into my shoes. Once safely in my car, I sigh, throwing my head back against the headrest. I rest my eyes briefly and when my head dips, I quickly snap out of my groggy stupor. I need coffee stat. Starting the car, I turn the air on full blast and make my way to the first coffee shop I see.

The drive thru would be ideal, but considering the long line, and my questionable ability to stay awake, I think it'll be better for everyone if I just go inside.

Turning off the car, I raise my arms over my head and make a mad dash to the entrance. My hair is soaked my the time I get there, but the cold rain was the refresher that I needed to stay conscious for another five minutes.