Katie was having a hard day all around. She kicked her feet up on the desk of the nurse’s station and fiddled with her phone in an attempt to distract her mind. Yet The second she settled on a game app on her phone, her focus shifted back to Brent. She’d never seen him like that before. The look of dismay that he gave her, still painted fresh in her mind. She tried to hold the tears back, but no matter how hard she tried they still managed to sneak out. The conversation replayed over and over again in her head. “I am so . . unbelievably sorry Nurse Katie” Mr. Martinez's voice broke her train of thought. Katie drew a deep breath and forged a brief half smile.

  “It’s not your fault Mr. Martinez.” Katie replied, holding her finger on the com button that went to his room. “I just. . .I don’t know.”

  “There has to be something I can do to help.” Katie rolled her eyes and glanced back down at her phone, swiping her finger. “I can order you dinner!”

  “I don’t think food will make my problems go away.” Katie replied, leaning over and talking back into the com. Plus it’s getting late. Most of my favorite fast food joints are closing in like 5 minutes.”

  “I digress.” He replied with an air of confidence in his voice. “The right food can be very therapeutic. . “

  “Good night Mr. Martínez!” she replied once more, shaking her head lightly. “I’ll be fine. You need to get some rest So your wounds can heal.” Her own words echoed through her brain as leaned back in her chair. She stared off into space wondering if maybe she should follow her own advice. The guilt Katie felt for even saying those things to Brent was immeasurable. Part of her didn’t regret it though. The part of her that wondered if there really was someone else out there. It wasn’t Mr. Martínez for certain. The more attempts he made, the more annoyed she got. Still she found herself wondering. She slipped the engagement ring from her finger and held it up in front of her eyes. Brent never told her how much it cost, but that didn’t stop her from wondering. A light glimmered from the Diamond’s surface. Katie couldn’t help but admire the ring’s beauty, but the more she thought about it , the more it ate at her.

  The sound of clipboards slamming against the wooden counter of the nurse’s station startled Katie and caused her to drop the ring. "Shit!” she exclaimed, leaning over and feeling around her seat for the lost ring. She found the ring and sat back up, sliding it safely over her finger. “You scared me.”

  “Sorry,” Dani replied, shuffling through the pile of clipboards. “I took care of Mr. Martinez for you. After what happened this afternoon, I’m a little surprised you’re still hanging onto it.”

  “Thank you,” she replied, reaching over and grabbing one of the clipboards. “I’m not ready to give this up yet. I’m sure things will blow over.”

  “You caught him flirting with another girl and saw him take her number.” Dani said, scooting the small stack of clipboards off to the side and leaning up against the desk. “I know you love him, but most girls would consider that a red flag.”

  “Danielle?” she retorted while looking from the computer screen. "I'm not like most girls. If anyone should know that it’s you. You were there with me on the first date.”

  Dani responded with a long sigh, shaking her head and letting her gaze drop to the charts. “You’re right I was there and I remember how hard he tried to get there. He was pushy. He wouldn’t take no for an answer and he tried for weeks to get you to go out with him.”

  “And I adored that.” Katie replied, taking a deep breath, still fiddling with the keyboard. Katie didn’t make eye contact with her best friend. Her eyes were on her patient reports. "Brent can be a little bit of a show off, but he’s a really sweet guy.”

  “Sweet doesn’t pay the bills darling.” Danielle replied, pulling up the seat next to her best friend. "Brent barely makes enough to pay bills. What are you going to do when You’re like a few hundred miles away from home and your car breaks down? Hmm?”

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  “I’ll handle it if it ever happens, when it happens.” Katie replied, clicking away at the mouse and turning to face her friend. "You know how much Brent would hate hearing you say that, don’t you? Brent absolutely despises gold diggers.”

  “I’m just watching out for myself.” Danielle said, clicking the mouth and casting a gaze at Katie. “It costs to look as good as I do.”

  Katie closed her eyes and buried her face in the palm of her hand. “I know exactly what Brent would say to this conversation. He’d say “When did prospectors go from wearing over and beards to wearing makeup and short skirts.”” Katie replied, grabbing her purse from beneath her seat and scooting it over her shoulder. “I need to get going now. I’ll talk to you later. Rose should be here shortly to help out. I have a long conversation with my fiancé to go have now,” Katie said. She turned and walked off toward the elevator before Dani could even say anything in response.

  The Elevator door dinged and Katie walked into it. She pushed the button for the bottom floor and stepped back against the wall, waiting patiently for it to move. The hospital seemed especially quiet at this time of night. Katie’s eyes scanned the empty elevator, coming to a stop on the balloon string and torn teddy bear on the floor in the corner. It was a wonder Maintenance hadn’t thrown it away yet. She bent down and picked up the bear, pinching her fingers around the balloon string. She could recall just briefly seeing the stuffed animal in her fiancé's hands. A rush of sorrow washed over her. She traced the thread where it had torn with her index finger. The stuffing was starting to poke out from beneath the torn seams.

  “Cute Bear!” came a voice that pulled Katie away from her thoughts. “Who gave it to you? Sorry I’m a little late. I got lost and accidentally wandered into pediatrics.” Rose said with a nervous smile.

  “It’s okay sweetheart. You’re still new. I had the hardest time finding things when I first started.” Katie replied, grabbing the balloon and stuffing the bear into her purse just enough to keep it from falling out. “ You’ll get used to it eventually. I need to get home and talk to the person that gave me this.” she said, gesturing toward the stuffed animal.

  Katie pulled into the driveway carefully and turned off the car. The closer she got the more she dreaded the talk that she knew was coming. She lingered in the front seat for a minute just letting her thoughts pile into her mind. She reached into the pocket of her scrubs and pulled out the bottle she had gotten from Dr. Love. The clear colored capsules gave off a faint rainbow colored light as soon as the moonlight hit them. The colors were mesmerizing. She shook her head and pushed the door of her car open. Stuffing the bottle back into her scrubs and walking back into the house.

  The house was dark and all she could see was the light of the tv. Brent’s wrestling was on, but no one was in the chair. “Brent?!” she shouted into the darkened room. Katie flicked on the light switch and scanned the room. Her eyes settled on the window of the back door where the moonlight hit what looked like a shadowy figure that quickly darted out of sight. ‘Brent?!!” she shouted rushing over to the back door. She opened the back door and peered out of it only to catch nothing. Her pupils scanned the backyard but found nothing but the moonlit grass blowing in the wind. She closed the door and turned around as soon as she heard the sound of something hitting what could only be her car. She dashed back to the front door with haste and opened it slowly. All she found was the sight of Brent's car pulling out of the driveway. “Brent!!! Where are you going?!” she shouted after him, but her breath was wasted.

  Katie slinked down at the edge of the bed, closing her eyes and trying to choke back the tears. Why was he in such a hurry to get out? Was he hiding something from her? Tears broke out and rolled down her cheeks. She felt like a mess. The wedding was only a few days away. She collapsed sideways on the bed, letting her tears stain the cotton bed sheets. The rattling of the pill bottle made her open her eyes. She grabbed the pill bottle and opened it slowly. A faint ticking sound emanated from the bottle. She unscrewed the top and let her thoughts drift. What if Dani was right? She hated herself for thinking that even for a second. No matter how hard she tried to chase the thought from her brain, she couldn’t help but think about it. The ticking began to grow louder slowly rising over the silence of the house.

  Katie found herself sitting up at the edge of the bed. Thinking about it more and more, her memories playing through her mind. She could feel the capsule between her thumb and index finger. The ticking like the hands of a clock grew louder and louder. Her mind was lost in memories when she took a huge gulp feeling the capsule slide down her throat. She fell back over closing her eyes slowly as her head hit the pillow. A shimmer emanated from beneath her eyelids and shifted across her eyes. Moments later she was gone. Vanishing from sight.