The sun is bright as hell through the curtains. I feel Denver shifting next to me, wiggling, trying to get me to wake up. I grab my phone and look at the screen, not surprised at what I find;
Cody : 7 missed calls
Mom : 3 missed calls
Dad : 6 text messages
Liam : 12 missed calls
Cody: where are you???
Nick: Bug please call me back
Nick: 5 missed calls
I clear the notifications. I know I have to talk to at least one of them today. But not yet. I read over the text Nick sent me again, my heart pulling at him calling me Bug. He hasn't called me that once in the last year. Nope. I won't let myself get drawn in. I put my phone down and head over to start the shower. I would kill for a bubble bath right now, but the shower will do.
Once I am done, I pack my bag, grab my boy and head to the door. Time to hit the road again. I have at least one more day of driving before I am comfortable stopping. Six states away is enough room to start over right?
- - - - - - -
I've been driving for nine hours, I want nothing more than a hamburger and milkshake. Denver is itching to get out of the car too. I can faintly see lights along the road a few miles ahead, hopeful it will be a restaurant of some sort.
Once I am close, I see it is a small little town with Halloween decorations hung up from the weeks before. I pull off at the diner at the far end, and park the car. Like always, Denver hops out with me. But this time, something odd happens.
As he hits the ground, his ears instantly perk up, his long coat stands tall just between his shoulder blades and along his spine. He stands his ground right between my legs. I slowly turn around to see him focused on a group of young men at the convenience store across the street from the diner. I start to laugh and they throw me a questionable look. Patting Denver on the head, he starts to calm down shifting attention back to me. I lean down to whisper to him "Buddy I think when I told you we are done with men you took me a little too seriously," I laugh again, and the guys across the street laugh too. I look up with a confused expression. I know they could not have heard me, I whispered.
I turned to the front door of the diner and we walk in. The older lady behind the counter tells me to sit anywhere I'd like, so I walk Denver along the wall to the back. Always sit with your back to the wall, and facing the windows, I can hear my dad telling me.
I ordered the same thing I get at almost every restaurant that offers it, a chocolate milkshake and bacon hamburger. Once the waitress brings my food over to the table, I grab a slice of bacon and feed it to Denver under the table. I might be moving to have a fresh start, but some habits will always stick with me.
I finish my meal and pull out my phone, seeing more messages from my brothers. Clearing the screen once again, I open Instagram and start scrolling through posts. I get the feeling someone is watching me...I look up to see the same group of guys from earlier sitting across the diner, all of them look away as soon as my eyes catch theirs. Except one. The second our eyes locked I could feel the food that just settling in my stomach start to swirl.
Is this a good feeling? Is this bad?
Denver senses my anxiety rising, like he always does, and puts his head on my lap. I break eye contact with the unknown man, and look down at Denver while collecting my thoughts. I glance up once more, and this time the man turns his head away. He definitely is not a sight for sore eyes. I can't tell how tall he is from here, but I am guessing he towers over my 5'10 slim figure. He has broad shoulders filling out his t-shirt. The muscles in his arms flexing as he has one hand clasped over the other, with his elbows on the table. His dirty blonde hair curls around the edge of his hat, and his eyes are a honey caramel color.
I snap out of my trance, and can feel the blush rising to my cheeks. I left only 24 hours ago, swearing off men for the near future, and I am already drooling over a man at my first stop? Get it together Myranda, I whisper to myself.
I grab my bag, and stand up to pay at the register. Of course I have to walk right by the table where the handsome stranger is sitting. As we pass them, Denver makes our presence known by booping his nose on the man across from Mr. Perfect. I guess that's what I'll call him, since I haven't a clue what his name is. They all turn to look in our direction, Denver wagging his tail expecting attention from them all. Laughing, he reaches back and pats his head. I give them a small smile, clearly noticing Mr. Perfect's eyes are locked right on me.
I reach the counter to pay, quickly do so and move on to the truck. Loading Denver in, I take one last glance into the diner, and to no surprise his eyes are still on me. I am pretty sure if he wasn't so good looking I would have knocked his teeth in by now for how long he has been staring. Throwing the truck in reverse, I start moving out of his view. As much as I would like to walk up and sit right next to him at that table, introducing myself, that is the last thing I needed right now.
I slowly drive through the rest of the town, noting the forest lining the roads, and back of each building. You know, this is exactly the kind of place I imagined myself in. But, I'm not sure I am ready to stop yet, so I keep driving.
58 miles later, I reach the next town. It's similar to the last town with the diner, but a bit bigger. At this point, I feel as if I am enough distance away from home to stop for a while. Honestly, I was far enough away at the last town, but there were a certain pair of eyes I was probably better off not seeing again.
I come up to a sign labeled "hospital" with an arrow pointing to the left. Perfect. I make the turn, driving towards the large building in a break of trees. My spur the moment plan seems to be falling into place. I am fortunate to have a medical license transferrable to most states, Alabama being one of them. The one good thing that came out of my relationship with Nick, was being left alone so much I had nothing better to do than homework. I graduated Physician Assistant school early, landing a trauma surgery apprenticeship within the month. I moved on to an associate a few months ago, and dove into my work so I did not have to be home alone.
I park the truck in front, leaving the windows cracked and Denver inside. I walk in to the all too familiar smell of disinfectant, oddly comforting for me. The nurse at the front desk raises her head to look at me. "Hello Ma'am, how can I help you today?" she asked.
I give her a smile, "Hi, I am hoping to talk with someone about a job opening?"
She turns to grab the phone on her right, dials a number, and I hear it connect. She relays the message, and hangs up the phone turning back to me, "Someone will be up shortly sweetie" she says returning my soft smile.
I thank her, and turn towards the empty waiting room I noticed when walking in the door. As I reach a seat, I hear foot steps approaching behind me. I turn to see an older woman wearing a white lab coat with dark pink scrubs underneath. "Hello I am Dr. Reese," she says holding her right hand out.
"Hi, I am Myranda Ross" I respond while shaking her hand, "I am new to the area and I was hopeful you had an open position here at the hospital."
"Great!" Dr. Reese says with enthusiasm, "Do you have any experience in the medical field?"
"Yes I do, I am actually a licensed Physician Assistant, and I completed my trauma surgery residency just a few months ago." I say with a smile, I can't help but to be proud of my accomplishments. It means so much to me knowing I did it all without any support from others.
She gives me a surprised look, which honestly I am used to at this point. I look young, and I am young for the profession being only twenty three. Dr. Reese opens her mouth to respond, stops for a moment, then continues, "Wow. That is amazing. We would love to have you on our team, we currently do not have anyone assigned to our emergency department!"
We spend the next hour discussing the terms of my employment at the hospital. I decided it would be best if I started on a part-time basis until I am situated. Once we finished, I filled Dr. Reese in on a bit of my situation, asking her if she knew of any places for rent. Surprisingly, she said her and her husband have a cabin not far off the main road that she would be happy to let me stay in until I find something more permanent. I insisted on paying her some sort of rent, but she continued to refuse. This must be the southern hospitality you always hear about.
Dr. Reese gave me the directions to the cabin, letting me know her husband would be there to give me the keys. I hopped back into the truck and gave Denver a squeeze. "It looks like things will be just fine for us bud" I say to him. I get a big lick to the cheek in response.
I turn out of the parking lot and follow the short road back to the main part of town. It was only about a 10 minute drive to the cabin, and the sight was to die for. The forest here seems to be full of life, and I can't wait to take a walk to explore. I pull up to the cabin and notice two trucks out front. That's odd. Dr. Reese said her husband would be here, she didn't mention anyone else. I shift into park, grab my phone, and hop out. I decide to leave Denver in the car for a moment, at least until I meet Mr. Reese and introduce myself. Denver can be a little much sometimes to new people, I never know how people will react to him.
I walk to the front door and lift my fist to knock right as the door swings open. I look up to meet the eyes of the person who opened the door...Oh fuck.