Rules Of Our Own (Rule Breaker Series Book 3)

“WHY DON’T SCIENTISTS TRUST ATOMS?”

I smile at Carl as I check his vitals. He’s an elderly man with pure white hair and big bushy brows that crinkle as he asks his umpteenth dad joke. He came into the hospital this morning with chest pains. After some tests, we decided to keep him overnight. “I don’t know. Why?”

“Because they make up everything.” He winks and steals a laugh from me. “Finally. I was starting to get worried you’d never smile,” Carl says, tone light but concerned.

I tense, my stethoscope hovering in the air above his chest. I thought I’d been good at pretending. Pretending that none of it mattered. It was just a weekend, and my chest doesn’t ache, and it’s definitely not hard to breathe. Clearly, I’m bad at it.

“What are you talking about? I smile all the time.”

His brows pull together. “You smile, but it doesn’t reach your eyes,” he says softly.

Shit.

“Don’t worry. A few more of your jokes will have me fixed right up.” I look away and put the round diaphragm to his chest and listen to his lungs. Strong. Good.

He grins. “I told my wife she was drawing her eyebrows too high. She seemed surprised.”

A chuckle bubbles from my throat. Absolutely ludicrous, but it dissolves when I see Carl’s face.

His eyes are glassy as he stares at the wall. “She sort of looked like you. A few inches shorter, but my Elsie had your hair.”

My chest tightens painfully, and I ask quietly, “When did you lose her?”

He sniffs and shakes his head like he’s shaking off the memory. “Long time ago now. Cancer. You know how it is.”

Unfortunately, I do know how it is. It’s an all too common reality here. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

“Enough of that now. Old man, remember? I’ve lived a good life.”

I nod. It’s clear he doesn’t want to talk about it more, so I plaster on my best smile, hoping it reaches my eyes. “Everything looks good. I’ll be back in an hour—try not to get into trouble while I’m gone.”

He raises a white brow playfully. “No chance I’m getting out of here today?”

“Not a single one.” I’m still shaking my head when I shut Mr. Neman’s door.

I finish punching his notes into the system when someone whistles behind me.

“You’re good to take your lunch. I’ve got your rounds,” Kristie says as she walks up to me. Her light brown skin is mottled with freckles, and she has this endless source of joy that keeps her humming, no matter how many patients we have or how few hours of sleep she gets. When everyone else is walking around like the night of the living dead, she’s practically bouncy with energy.

I’m normally in the pediatric unit, but it’s pretty common for us to be flipped around for rounds. Even though working with kids is my goal, I’m not at the stage of picking my specialty yet. Which means I work wherever they need me. Soon though, I’m hoping to earn my spot.

I walk quickly to the locker room, scanning my work badge for access. In no time, I’m slipping a light sweatshirt over my purple scrubs and grabbing my bag. A quick glance at my phone shows a few texts from an unknown number, which I immediately delete, and another one from Sidney, letting me know she’s almost there.

“You heading out?” a nurse I’m not overly familiar with asks from the door, noting that I’m fully changed.

“Taking an extended lunch break.”

“Fair enough. Come find me when you get back. I’ve got a patient I think will interest you.” She smiles and holds the door open for me to leave. Curiosity bites at me, but she’s already down the opposite hall before I can ask my questions.

Sidney picked a small sandwich shop around the corner from the hospital to meet up. It’s renowned for its bread, and the sweet aroma of freshly baked sourdough wafts through the air, making my mouth water.

I spot Sidney, and she gives me a wave from one of the patio bistro tables. She’s dressed in an oversized blue cardigan, and her deep brown hair is pulled back into a bun. She still looks sun-kissed from our trip, making her olive-toned skin bronze.

She holds up a white paper bag. “I grabbed you your usual. Hope that’s okay.”

I collapse beside her, then unceremoniously unwrap and take a giant bite of my turkey-and-cranberry sandwich. I mumble, “You’re a freaking godsend.”

She grins at me. “Good to see you feeling better.”

My chest constricts, and I ignore the sharp pain. I’d been less than great the two weeks since Napa, but I thought I at least hid it from her. Turns out, I’m completely shit at it. “How’d you know?”Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.

“I’m pretty sure you’ve taken every possible shift available. I literally had to threaten you to meet me here.”

“That was cruel, by the way.” She’d threatened to have the hockey team show up to my work and sing to me. Fucking sing! I was ninety-eight percent sure she was full of it, but that two percent was enough to get me here.

“So you are feeling better though, right?” she prods gently.

Lying isn’t an option with my best friend, so I simply shrug before responding truthfully. “I’m not sure ‘better’ is the right word when I wasn’t supposed to be upset in the first place.”

She places her sandwich on top of it’s bag. “I think it’s pretty natural to be upset with your history.”

Both my brows shoot up. “You’re the one that convinced me that one weekend was a good idea to begin with.”

“Do you regret it?” She raises one perfectly arched brow.

I take another bite and give myself a second. Do I regret it? Thoughts of firm hands and ravenous kisses fill my head. “No. It was pretty spectacular. It just hurts, you know? The three of us have always been the case of the right people at the wrong time.”

A weight presses down on my shoulders, and I put down my sandwich, no longer hungry.

Sidney watches me, and then, to my relief, she switches the subject to her and Jax’s plans for the last two weeks before he has to report back to the Ottawa Senators. They’re going to the Maritimes to do some whale watching and head up the Cabot Trail. She’s pretty excited about her Newfoundland iceberg spotting, clam digging in New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island.

Sidney smiles sheepishly. “I’m rambling. But seriously, Anne of Green Gables? Totally stoked.” Her brows pull together. “You going to be okay while we’re gone?”

I drum my fingers on the table and roll my eyes. “Yes, Sidney. I’m all grown up and able to take care of myself for two whole weeks.”

“Don’t give me that sass. We both know you’ll miss me.” She gives me a cocky grin that she definitely picked up from Jax.

My phone beeps, and I check the time. “Shit. Got to go.” We both stand, and I pull her in for a bear hug, holding her for an extra second before letting go. “Thanks for lunch, and have fun on your trip. Don’t worry about me.”

“I always worry about you. Just promise you’ll call if you need anything.”

I huff out a laugh. “What could I possibly need?”

She places her hands on her hips, and I give in, promising, “I’ll bug you every night if I have to.”

My heart sinks, and my chest tightens with dread as I round the corner and see Jason standing in front of the back door to the hospital that I always use, blocking my path. There’s a deep crease between his eyes, and a muscle ticks in his jaw.

“You scared me.” I take a slow breath to steady myself. It’s daytime. People are around. Unpleasant, but not unsafe. “I don’t have time for this right now.”

“You fucking slut.” Jason closes the ten feet between us, and I stumble back. “This is what you were doing? Whoring around?”

He holds up his phone, and there’s a picture of Sidney and Jax by the pool. In the background, I can just make out Alex with his arms around me from behind and River’s face close to mine. You’d have to really be looking to spot us. “Where did you get that?”

“It’s posted to your friend’s Instagram,” Jason sneers. “I told you not to fuck with me. You think you can go around making me look like a fool? You don’t have time? We’ll see about that.”

“Jason, you need to understand. We’re over, we’ve been over. Please, just let it go.” The back door opens, and I don’t hesitate to run. He’s a spoiled nepotism baby who’s never been told no in his life, and I don’t trust what he’s willing to do next.

I make quick work of stuffing my things into my locker and make my way back to the unit.

“You’re back!” Kristie’s smile drops the second she sees me. “What happened?”

“Just Jason being his typical delusional self.” I play it off, not wanting to get into it, but she doesn’t let it go.

“If he’s bothering you, we should call security.” Kristie grabs the phone off the wall, and I place my hand on her arm to still her.

“Seriously, he just surprised me.”

“Girl, we’ve been working together for months.” Placing her hands on her hips, she stares me down. “Just tell me.”

I run my tongue along my top teeth, trying to think of a way to get out of this, but give up when she quirks her right brow. “He’s being weird. Like, he’s been an ass since we split, but he showed up at my apartment drunk the other night.”

Her mouth drops open. “Holy shit.”

“Yup. He was out there waiting for me to get back from lunch too. I guess he found some photos of me and some other guys while in Napa, and he’s pissed.”

“Okay, I totally need more details on the whole ‘other guys’ thing, but seriously, Jason’s getting creepy as hell. You need to report him. At least security can keep an eye out for him.”

I mull my words over in my head before telling her, “Remember when I told you he helped me with the connections to get this internship?”

“Yeah.” Kristie’s tone has lost some of its pep.

“Well, his dad’s on the hospital board. There’s literally nothing security can do.”

I hate knowing that this isn’t uncommon. That countless women have been in the same position I am now.

“That’s totally messed up.”

I nod. “Nothing like a psycho ex to mess up your day.”