persephone ✔

the pervert boyfriend

"Doctor Persephone Kore, how may I help you?" Persephone straightened her white coat as she answered the phone.

"Hey Persephone, do you think you can cover for Pat tomorrow afternoon?" Leanne spoke from the other line, the buzz of the hospital lobby heard in the background.

"Yeah of course, why though?"

"Important family dinner," Leanne replied with a slight scoff.

"Probably going to be another night of lots of drinking huh?" Persephone leant back in her chair.

"Yeah, I think she's introducing her family to her boyfriend."

"Which one?" Persephone laughed lightly.

"Hold on, she's right here I'll ask her," There were some muffled sounds before Leanne returned back to the phone, "she said the pedo one."

"Oh, him? Really?" Persephone twirled the phone cord around her index finger.

"He isn't a pedo!" A voice screeched and the phone was snatched out of Leanne's hand, "Persephone, you don't really believe Harry's a pedophile do you?" Patricia's desperate voice reached Persephone's ears.

"Of course not Pat," Sarcasm dripping in her words, she heard Pat's sigh of relief.

"Wait - you were being sarcastic? You can't be serious!" A light went off on the machine for another call.

"Listen, Pat, you can talk my ear off at lunch ok? There's another call, talk later" Persephone interrupted.

"Yeah yeah, see you." Pat rolled her eyes and handed the phone to Leanne, who brought it to her ear to be greeted by a long beep.

"Doctor Persephone Kore, how may I help you?" Persephone picked up a pen and tapped it on the desk.

"Hey, Pez." Aric's cheerful voice spoke, causing an instant smile on Persephone's face.

"Hey Ric, how are you?"

"I'm doing good, are you busy tomorrow afternoon?"

"Why? What's up?" She checked her schedule absentmindedly, only focusing on the voice leaving the phone.

"Couple of friends and I are going to the club if you wanna come you're always welcome."

"Really? Where?" Heart racing, she couldn't help but fix her hair as if he was there in person.

"The new club, 'Cosmo', it opens tonight but I have a client meeting tonight." Aric was a CEO of a large telecommunication company and was busy quite often.

"Shoot," Persephone muttered as she remembered something.

"What's wrong?" Aric asked in worry.

"I just agreed to cover for my friend for the afternoon shift tomorrow." She groaned, running a pale hand through her black hair.

"Ugh, that's fine though, have fun with that," The disappointment settled at the bottom of her stomach, "alright, bye Pez."

The phone went blank before she could return the farewell.

Heart falling, she stared at the phone, silently reprimanding herself, what else did she expect? A buddy-buddy conversation with her occasional hook-up? She wasn't even that either, she was that girl that he would go to when he was unsuccessful in finding someone to hook up with for those nights they, and a couple of friends, went out clubbing.

Why couldn't he ever see her as more than a friend? More than a hookup?

---

"He's not worth your time." Leanne shook her head as she stuffed her face with chicken salad.

"But - " Persephone started.

"Perse, you have to try and move on, it's been what? 20 years?" Pat advised, daintily cutting her lasagna.

"14," Persephone grumbled, stabbing at her sandwich with a fork.

"You," Leanne pointed a ranch covered fork at Pat, "are in no position to give advice."

"Why not?" she whined in return.

"Well looking at your past 10 boyfriends, you clearly, couldn't be giving useful advice. But, in this one situation, you are right," Leanne turned the fork to Persephone, "try to move on it's been so long already, you deserve better. You're almost already approaching your thirties, you need to find a man who isn't a whore."

Rolling her eyes, Pat gave Leanne a pointed look, the other woman just shrugged in response.

"You're right, I guess." Persephone frowned.

"Damn right I am" Leanne murmured, stuffing her face once more.

While her best friends were busy eating, Persephone observed them. They had all met in high school but weren't that close, but after going to nursing school together and spending many sleepless nights studying together, they had all grown very close and ended up working at the same place.

She was grateful for them.

"Why are you staring at us like a weirdo, eat." Leanne snorted, sauce dripping onto her chin and going unnoticed by the woman as she continued to eat.