JARROD
Fridays were supposed to be good. Everyone was automatically in a better mood. The day shift was usually nice and slow.
I used to work night shift in the ER on Fridays, but I'd gotten that shift moved to a new resident so that I could spend time with Leah in the evening.
Unfortunately, I learned very quickly that today was not going to be a normal day by any measure.
As soon as I walked into my office, three nurses swarmed me.
"My patient has been waiting two hours to be seen, Dr. Muller."
"Dr. Flagler needs to talk to you about an embolism patient."
"The pharmacy called because one of your patients is forging your signature on written scripts."
The rest of my day was no less hectic. My 10-hour shift felt like 24.
I didn't even have time to eat lunch between cases and I needed a cup of coffee all day, but I never got one. I hadn't been this exhausted since my med school days.
Then, when I had a moment to check my phone, I found several texts from James saying that asshole Dominic abandoned Julia the night before she left the fucking hospital.
She woke up and he was gone. James refused to look for him, though apparently Julia had begged him to. The staff had to sedate Julia again.
James should have let me strangle the bastard when I had the chance.
Despite her episode, Julia was released from the hospital this afternoon at my parents' insistence. They were now taking her back to a daily rehabilitation facility in Charlotte.
By the time I finished seeing patients and doing their records, it was eight o'clock. I checked my phone as I dragged myself down to the hospital parking garage.
Leah had called and thought she didn't leave a voicemail, she did send me a text. I regretted not talking to her more this week but the days escaped me. I was certain she'd also been busy.
LEAH: hey, hope your day is going well🤗
Seeing her text made me realize how much I missed her. I tried to call her back but it went to voicemail.
JARROD: been long, need some reprieve😅hows your day going? Wanna come over tonight? Getting off now
I stopped by Domino's on the way home to pick up a pepperoni pizza. After the day I'd had, I was about to chow down on the whole damn pie.
When I collapsed on the couch in my condo with my second slice of pizza between my teeth, I checked my phone to see if Leah had responded.
Still nothing.
I swallowed back my disappointment and turned a football game on the television. The entire pizza was gone in a few minutes and I stretched out on the sofa so I could breathe around my fullness.
Although I knew I shouldn't, I checked my phone again. Still no response. I decided to shoot her another message.
JARROD: hey baby what're you up to rn
To distract myself from the growing concern, I decided to change out of my scrubs and head down to the gym. I spent extra time stretching to loosen up the tension in my body before hopping on the treadmill.
After pounding out two miles, I switched over to free weights and the bench press. Having a private fitness center inside my condo building was one of the best features. The place was completely empty.
I didn't realize how much I needed some quiet time to myself until I finished my workout. My clothes were soaked through with sweat and I was now exhausted, but I felt like my orbit had been put back on kilter.
My mind was clear as I rode the elevator up to my floor and returned to my place. I showered and toweled off.
The condo sounded eerily quiet except for the steady buzz from the street outside. Reluctantly, I checked my phone again.
Again, nothing.
My annoyance melted into concern.
Was she okay?
Surely, she was off work by now. If she wasn't answering me, she probably wasn't at home with her cat.
I tried calling again but it went to voicemail like before. I paced in the bedroom while I considered my options.
I could go to her house. If she was home, I intended to give her a stern talk about using her phone.
She most likely wasn't home, though. She would have answered me.
And it was a Friday evening. She was probably out with her friends.
I forced myself to breathe and really think.
They were probably at a bar, a few drinks in. There were too many bars to scour in the city so that was ruled out.
I could go to her house and wait for her to come home. If she didn't, though, I was going to lose my shit. I hoped she wouldn't make me go that far.
If she responded sometime soon, her punishment would be less severe. In back of my mind, I understood the fear that motivated me to drive my ass across town just to see if she was home.
She isn't cheating on you. She isn't Tiffany.
Taking a long breath, I forced myself to sit on the bed and stop fretting. I pulled out my phone and opened Instagram.
I scrolled for a few minutes before I got bored. There were things I could do around the condo or I could even go out and have a beer myself. I was too tired to leave but too awake to go to bed.
Besides, I'd never fall asleep without knowing if Leah made it home or not.
The solution seemed obvious enough. After attaching my phone to the flat screen, I found the video of us fucking and lay back on the bed.
I pulled my cock out of my sweatpants and worked it in my hand. Though I was hard just at the thought of Leah's naked body, I could tell I wouldn't be able to come no matter how hard I tried.
What the hell? Why was today so damn terrible?
I sank down against the pillow with a troubled sigh. Maybe I was just exhausted. It had been a long, stressful day. I knew that wasn't the issue, though.
For one, I was worried about Leah. I couldn't just jack off to her luscious body while not knowing she was safe or behaving herself.
She probably wasn't. The woman liked alcohol and did strange things when it was in her system.
Secondly, I'd rubbed myself to this video like six times. I needed fresh content. I wondered if she'd be interested in shooting another video with me.
Or if she'd let me take more photos of her. I wanted to have an entire collection of her nudes, all for my own pleasure.
I shoved my dick back into my sweatpants and slid off the bed. All else failed, so I was going over.
When I arrived at her little house, I found it empty. No car and no lights on. So she wasn't here. I knew she was probably with her friends.
My palms tingled. Or with her asshat ex.
I would rip that fucker open. I had enough fucking scalpels and surgical experience to do it.
After waiting in the car for an hour and several more texts, I called again—unsurprisingly, to no avail.
JARROD: where r u
JARROD: you're worrying me babe. Tell me where you are
JARROD: are you out with friends? Just tell me I won't be upset
JARROD: Just tell me you're okay
JARROD: if you don't respond to this I'm going to call the police
Of course, I didn't call the police and I wouldn't have anyway. I would have said nearly anything by this point if it meant getting her attention.
At last, I decided I would end up asleep in my car if I kept sitting there.
I drive around the city for a few hours and picked up a cup of coffee to keep myself awake. My body was operating on fumes but there was something thrilling about trying to hunt down my little blonde at less than ideal capacity.
She challenged me relentlessly. I loved it as much as I hated it. After an hour or so, I found my way back to her place.
A white sedan was in front of her house, their brake lights on. I frowned and slowly pulled up behind them. The back passenger door was thrust open and two legs poked out.
Leah's blonde hair flashed into view. She pushed herself out of the car and immediately crumpled to the pavement.
Definitely drunk. I turned off my car, parking on the curb in front of her house, and jumped out. Leah was already on her feet again as the sedan pulled off.
"Honey, are you okay?" I called out to her.
She continued trudging up her driveway as if she hadn't heard me. I had nearly caught up to her when she shrieked and fell forward onto her knees. Jesus Christ. I ran the rest of the way and grabbed onto her.
"Leah," I said her name. "Leah."
Her head tilted back in recognition. A glaze covered her eyes as she frowned at me. I pulled her up and glanced over her. She seemed safe and generally unhurt aside from her spill.
"Jarrod, hi." She nestled her face into my chest. "My knees kinda hurt," she whimpered.
"Easy there, honey," I said calmly. In reality, I was dying to demand where she'd been and who she'd been with. Those questions were not going to get her safely inside, though. "Are you okay?" I asked her. "Can you make it inside?"
She nodded vehemently. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine."
Sighing, I grabbed onto her and led her to the front door. I knew the door was locked from when I'd stopped by earlier. "Where's your key?" I asked.
Her eyes blinked slowly, sleepily. When she registered my question, she pointed to the rocking chair. "Over there," she told me. "Under the right leg thing."
I nearly stroked. The key was basically in plain sight. If I was a better criminal, I would've easily found this.
Anyone could let themselves into her house without her knowing. She was not going to make my job easy.
How did this woman survive in the world before me?
"We will be finding a better place for this," I warned her.
Leah was pallid when I came back to the door. Supporting her with my arm, I slid the key in the lock and opened the door.
She rushed in with a relieved groan. I locked the door and turned around to see her leaning forward. She sucked in a gasp.
Without thinking, I lunged forward and grabbed her. My gaze followed to where she'd been leaning towards and I saw her cat. It meowed at me.
I couldn't believe I was doing this shit right now. I'd had a long fucking day. As much as I'd rather be snoring away in bed by now, I knew I would never be able to rest unless I knew Leah was safe.
This was an unwelcome but not unpleasant way to spend my evening.
Once I walked her to the living room, I backed her up against the couch and gently pushed her down onto it.
After I made her a glass of water and found her medicine cabinet in the bathroom, I came out to the living room to a sleeping Leah. I felt more tired watching her.
I set the glass down and shook her shoulders gently but firmly until she stirred. Her hair fell across her face, hiding parts of the scowl directed at me.
She accepted the tablets and swallowed them.
"We need to talk," I told her.
She needed to understand that I couldn't endure her doing this all the time. If we were going to have a successful relationship like I knew we could, she'd have to start checking in with me like we had discussed.
I had to know where she was when she went out. Period.
Leah put on a pouty face and grabbed at her jumpsuit. My eyes roved over her body. She looked edible in the dark orange piece and I was more than a little hungry.
If she wasn't wasted and I wasn't exhausted, I would be tasting that pussy. I'd spank the shit out of her and then make her come until she ached.
Her hands fumbled around behind her, a frustration expression on her face.
"What are you—? Leah, focus." I grabbed her hands. "Stop that."
"It's hot," she complained.
I squeezed her hands and peered down at her. She attempted to wiggle away but I held her still.
"I'll put you to bed in just a minute," I told her. "Where were you tonight? And why didn't you answer my messages?"
"I was with my friends," she said with a sulking glare at the ground. Her arms tightened around the cat who had settled itself in her lap.
My blood boiled. This was a conversation better suited for sobriety, but I wasn't going to let her get away with what she'd done tonight.
She had tortured me and didn't even realize it.
"Why didn't you check your phone?" I demanded.
"I-I did. I just forgot." She avoided my gaze like it was a contagious disease.
"You forgot what?" I pressed through gritted teeth.
Her voice heightened an octave. "To read them. Isabelle fell off the stage and I had to help her."
Fell off the stage?
"What the fuck . . ." I growled under my breath.
She flinched back at my curse and I naturally relaxed a little.
"Can I go to bed now?" she whispered, glancing cautiously up at me.
"Baby . . ." I sighed. "This is why I need you to text me every twenty minutes when you're out. You could've gotten hurt. What if that Uber driver hadn't brought you home?"
Her mouth twisted. I hated to consider it too, but there were bad people in this world. They would be all too eager to put out her delicate light.
"I'm just trying to protect you," I reminded her. Then I stood up. "Come on, let's get you to bed."
After I'd gotten her into the bedroom, I fixed the bed and fought with her until she let me take off her jumpsuit. Her body radiated with heat underneath it.
I worried that she was getting feverish but it was probably just the alcohol.
The jumpsuit puddled to her feet. Before I could stroke my hands over her bare sides, Leah shuffled to the bed and fell on it.
I lifted up her onto the bed and tucked her in. She yawned.
"You're strong," she murmured. "Really strong."
I touched her face with a deep breath. She thought I was strong but this was the most vulnerable I'd ever been.
"You scared me tonight, baby," I confessed. "I was really worried about you."
Her eyes widened and her mouth bent down. "I'm sorry." She was genuinely apologetic.
"It's okay, honey," I assured her. "We're going to talk about this again tomorrow."
She mumbled inaudibly as her eyelids fluttered shut. I leaned over her for several minutes, just admiring her in the darkness of the room.
She was cooling down a bit but I didn't want to risk leaving. I felt so physically and mentally drained. I didn't know how I would make it back to my place in this condition.
Stumbling over to the other side of the bed, I shed my clothes and slid in beside her. My own eyelids pulled down almost instantly, forcing me to sleep.