From Frying Pan to Strange Fire

Grace opened her eyes the next morning to find that Joan was gone from the bedroom.

Although her house was a three-bedroom detached bungalow, she insisted that Joan sleept in her room because of the state of her mind last night.

But alarm bells began to ring in her head the moment she looked around after waking up and did not find Joan in bed or the room.

“Joan?” Grace jumped out of bed, half running to the sitting room, hoping the one she sought would be there.

To her relief, Joan was there. However, to her utmost dismay and confusion, the girl was seated at the bar, downing alcohol so early in the morning, dressed in her scrub.

“What are you doing?” Grace collected the bottle and glass from her, giving her a concerned look. Her eyes were all red and swollen, and her beautiful friend looked like a shadow of her former self. “Don’t do this to yourself, Jo. And what are you wearing?”

“What? I’m dressed for work.” Joan responded, her speech slurring slightly. However, Grace noticed it.

“You took today off, Jo. Moreover, you can’t go to work in this state. You are drunk for heaven’s sake. Why drink so early in the morning? Richard is not worth this pain you’re putting yourself through.”

“I changed my mind. I no longer want to take the day off. This is my worst birthday ever and I swear if I stay alone at home I’ll fall into depression. If I don’t go to work, I’ll die. I need something to take my mind off this pain. I feel like my life is falling apart right before my eyes. All of my sacrifices, my patience, my hope, my family, my entire life is ruined. My mom will be so disappointed.”

“Mom will understand. The only person that will be disappointed is your dad and you know why. It’s because he’s using you to keep his business afloat without caring what you go through for that. If you are taken out of the picture today by any means, your dad will look for another means to keep his business running.”

After Grace said this, Joan nodded her head as if she agreed with what was said. Her face even looked like she felt better after the small talk, and Grace was almost feeling relieved until a few moments later when the most unexpected thing came out of Joan’s mouth.

“I lost my baby.” Joan started a fresh round of crying. “Is it because I lost my baby that Richard and his mother decided to treat me this way?”

And that was it. Grace just knew there was no way she was letting the girl stay home all by herself. She may just end up hurting herself.

Getting pregnant with Richard’s baby was what had led to the marriage in the first place. However, Joan lost the pregnancy a few months later, an event that left her broken beyond words.

Touching the topic of her lost pregnancy meant she was already diving into regret and self-blame for things she had absolutely no fault in.

“Alright, Jo. We’ll go to work together. I just have to make sure you’re not assigned any active duty today. Also, you need to sober up a little before we leave. Don’t touch any of these again.” Grace pointed at the drinks in the bar to drive home her point. “Let me get you breakfast and coffee to keep you alert.” Grace turned toward the kitchen and started walking in that direction.

“I already had breakfast. I made for you too. It’s on the kitchen counter. Coffee would be appreciated. My mind was too preoccupied to think about that.” Joan confessed, and Grace nodded.

She moved to prepare two cups of coffee and handed one to Joan while she moved to prepare for work.Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.

In a few minutes, she was done and ready to go. She sent a worried gaze to Joan, who was standing beside her.

“Are you sure you’re up to this?” Grace asked, and Joan nodded.

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be completely fine in a few hours. Also, the coffee helped. I feel more alert. I’ll be fine.” Joan assured, and stretched her hand to accept the minty candy Grace was extending to her, which would help to mask the smell of alcohol in her breath.

They climbed into Grace’s car and the latter drove them to the hospital, where they both work as nurses.

As soon as they stepped out of the car, a different nurse approached them in a hurry.

“Good morning, nurse Grace, nurse Joan.” She greeted them before focusing her attention on Grace.

“Good morning, nurse Amira.” Grace and Joan greeted her back.

“Nurse Grace, your attention is needed in emergency ward three. Chief nurse sent me to get you immediately.” Nurse Amira disclosed.

“Alright. I’ll be there in a minute. Let me take care of a small problem first.” Grace responded, but Amira shook her head.

“It’s an emergency. You need to come with me immediately. High profile people are involved.” Amira disclosed and Grace became torn.

As a senior nurse, she had the power to influence the level and type of work Joan would be assigned to do and she wanted to use that power today to ensure her friend remain in a safe zone.

“Go on. I’ll be fine. I promise.” Joan reassured her with a smile, already knowing why she was hesitating. After saying this, she started walking toward the main building, leaving Grace to attend to the emergency she was needed for.

Her leg hit a small stone, making her lose balance and almost fall.

“I’m okay.” Joan spoke to reassure Grace.

“Umm… Is she okay? She looks-”

“She doesn’t look anything. She’s fine. Let’s go.” Grace cut Amira off, stopping her from saying or thinking whatever was coming to her mind. She started walking toward the emergency ward and Amira followed her.

As soon as Joan walked in, she was surprised to see the entire place busier than she had ever known. What exactly was going on?

“Nurse Joan, aren’t you supposed to be off duty today?” Joan heard someone speak behind her and from the voice, she knew it was the nurse in charge of her unit.

“Good morning, nurse Beatrice. I changed my mind. I’ll take the break another day.” Joan answered, and a look of relief registered on the older woman’s face.

“Oh, you’re a lifesaver. There was a terrible accident today and we need more hands. Please join doctor Louis in room 408.” Beatrice instructed, and without hesitation, Joan nodded and moved in that direction.

When she reached the room, the doctor was already done and was about to leave.

“Good morning, doctor Louis.”

“Morning, Joan.” The doctor responded, turning from the person on the bed. “The patient is stable. He just needs cleaning as he’s covered in blood which is not his. I’ll be back in an hour to check on him. But should you notice any change in his breathing pattern, do alert me.” The doctor informed her before moving away to the next room.

Joan advanced into the room and her eyes landed on the blood covered, shirtless, unconscious man on the bed.

Shutting the door behind her, she proceeded to the attached restroom to get all the items she would need to do her job properly.

Moving to the side of the bed, her eyes scanned the patient properly, and she needed no one to tell her he was one hell of an attractive man, even in her drunken state.

His muscular chest was rising and falling, an evidence that he was breathing properly on his own, and the fact that the bed did not fully contain him already gave her an idea of how tall he was.

But his face was a different story. She refused to guess until she cleaned that part of his body properly. And when she did, her jaw fell slack.

If beauty was a person, the man she was staring at would be that person. He was drop-dead gorgeous. Sharp jawline, full, long lashes, brown silky hair, a smooth skin worth envying. It looked like he had just been crafted by the best craftsman of all time, and was just laying there waiting to recieve life.

“How can one person be as handsome as this?” Joan muttered, gazing at the heavenly face. “If Richard was half as handsome as this, all the girls of this town would be in trouble.” She muttered again as she moved on to clean the man’s body.

When she finished her work, a sigh escaped her lips as she gazed at the perfect work of art laying on the bed. The creator must be extremely happy the day he crafted this one because how can one person look so good?

She turned away to return to her seat, but then she halted. Wouldn’t it be a crime to ignore such beauty without at least knowing what his smooth skin felt like? While cleaning, she wore gloves. But now, she wanted to feel it with her bare hands. Just feel, nothing more. That is no crime, right?

Before she could stop herself, she was back at the side of the bed, tugging at her glove to take it off. Soon, the barrier gave way, freeing her fingers.

“Go on, have your feel.” A voice in her head whispered. She wasn’t sure if it was her drunken state pushing her or something else, but she knew she had no will or intention to fight or go against it.

So she gently placed her hand on the side of his left cheek, letting out a sigh when it felt even better than the way she expected it would – soft and electrifying, almost addictive. Was this a dream? His skin felt so different to the touch and so good.

Moving south, she felt his neck, chest and advanced lower down to his navel area before she stopped herself, coming back to her senses.

“What are you doing, Joan?” She asked herself, withdrawing her hand.

Turning away from the bed, she made to go get a sheet to cover him up, but Just as she took a step, a hand grabbed hers, startling her to the core and sending her spirit away from her body for a second.