Chapter 6: No Way

I was having one hell of a time at work.

Mordecai bloody Hart had been a patient at the hospital for two months, and things at the hospital couldn’t have gone any worse than they had. The guy is annoying, and his fans were causing problems for the other patients and actual visitors.

The asshole actually hired a security team to stand outside his door because a fan allegedly fooled everyone and managed to sneak into his very private room. The only thing that had me getting up in a good mood this morning, was the fact that he was leaving the hospital.

“Good morning beautiful,” Alex said as I walked into his state of the art kitchen.

Yes, I’d slept over.

“Morning,” I mumbled.

He laughed. “I thought you’d be happy today.”

“Oh, this is my happy face alright! It’s just too early in the morning,” I replied as I sat at the counter. As expected, he’d already cooked breakfast for me.

“Well, hopefully this will cheer you up,” he said, referring to the breakfast. He’d made the dish he’s been under the impression is my favourite, which it actually isn’t.

Chocolate chip pancakes.

I actually prefer waffles firstly, and secondly, I don’t like having chocolate mixed with my waffles or pancakes, unless if it’s in the form of syrup or sauce, so no chocolate chips for me. Also, Alex can’t make pancakes to save his life.

I forced a smile. “Thank you.”

“I’m going to get ready quickly and then we can leave,” he said before kissing me. He left for his bedroom after.

I looked for a Ziploc bag and when I found it, I shoved the pancakes in it before putting them in my bag. I would have to get something from the hospital- again. Seriously, I’d be saving money if Alex wasn’t making me food.

I decided to check my phone to see what the top news were that day, and I wasn’t all that shocked to find out that #MHartRelease was actually trending worldwide. For someone who I didn’t know all that well two months ago, Mordecai Hart had definitely become a prominent topic in my life these past two months.

I could remember the day I spoke to him about a month ago very well. My name tag pin had broken, which meant I had to leave it at home. To this day, he doesn’t know my name because I asked everyone not to tell it to him.

He annoyed me four times that day because Kim was off sick, which meant he was my patient. The guy is just the devil’s spawn. I have never lost my cool with a patient the way I did with him. Nikki, Fernando and Rachel think I’m out of my mind for even uttering a bad word about him.

“You ready to go?” Alex asked from the doorway.

After eight months, I still can’t get over how good looking this man is. He was dressed in all black and everything on him just agreed with him. I found myself asking myself why he was with me of all people- not that I’m ugly or anything. You just don’t find guys like him with girls like me.

“Yeah!” I replied as I got up.

He grabbed my bag and his stuff, which he all effortlessly carried to the car before opening the passenger door for me. Alex also lives in an apartment, except he lives in those posh apartments that cost an arm and a leg.

I guess being a doctor has its perks.

“So, are you truly excited that Mordecai is being discharged?” he asked on our way there.

Apparently Alex and I have a mutual dislike for the guy though. Alex told me what a dick the guy was to him every time he went to check him out. Apparently he was even bold enough to tell Alex that he’s creepy and something about him isn’t right.

I almost gave him a piece of my mind for that, but Alex begged me to stay calm, so I did that.

“You have no idea,” I responded.

“He’ll be gone and everything at the hospital will be back to normal. You’ll see,” he said before kissing my hand.

When we arrived at the hospital, Mordecai’s fans were even bigger in numbers as they awaited their idol’s release. This was honestly ridiculous, and we had to wait a while before being able to access the staff parking.

Inside the hospital was even busier. Nurses and staffers everywhere looked frazzled, and some even looked panicked. I couldn’t believe it. Alex kissed me one last time before attending to his job. I headed over to the nurses’ station.

I wasn’t all that shocked to see my dad (Dr Dickson) there. He’d been coming around a lot this particular week.

Also, Nellie’s been at the hospital a lot, together with her mom. They told me that they’re visiting a family member, but I haven’t gotten the opportunity to ask which family member. Something seems to interrupt me every time.

“Hey dad!” I greeted him.

“Hey pumpkin! You get through the front alright?” he asked.

I nodded. “It’s insane, but we made it.”

“Insane isn’t even the word to use. We’ve had to call Jackson and ask him if they can help us out. They’re sending in a team as we speak,” he informed.

“Mordecai just needs to leave the hospital already. It will do us all a favour,” I commented.

“I have to agree with you on that. Your brother’s team has arrived, so let me attend to that. Oh, and please call you mother. She wants to talk to you about something,” he informed me.

“Got it! Good luck!” I told him. He smiled before leaving our floor.

“You must be so am ped that a certain celebrity is getting discharged today,” Nikki giggled as she approached me with Rachel, Fernando and Kimberly.

“Oh, you have no idea,” I rejoiced.

“Funny, he keeps asking after you. He asks me about you at least five times every time I check up on him,” Kimberly commented.

“And he’s asked all of us for your name and number. I heard he even offered to pay Tammy one hundred thousand dollars for it. Too bad he asked the moral nurse,” Fernando chuckled. Apparently telling him that my name is Cecily didn’t pass with him.

And it really is my name.

My second name.

But still my name.

“He what?” I asked wide eyed.

“Yeah! He’s smitten with you if you ask us,” Rachel pointed out.

I shook my head. “No way!”

“Deny it all you want Bev, but that man wants you,” Fernando marvelled.

“I have Alex,” I replied.

“HE BORES YOU!” they reminded.

Ok, so at eight months, I don’t know where this thing with Alex is going. I mean, he’s still a nice guy and all, but that’s it. He’s not appealing to me anymore, and I apparently shared this information when I was very drunk.

I blame Mordecai bloody Hart for this, just by the way.

So, the day I spoke to the twerp, he’d pissed me off so much that I said yes to a night out with the girls and Fernando in a heartbeat. I got piss drunk and apparently spilled just how Alex doesn’t ‘rock my world’ and how miserable the relationship makes me now. It’s safe to say that everyone knows, save for Alex himself.

I hope.

“You guys aren’t going to let that go, are you?” I whined.

“Nope! You need someone who will make you happy Bev. You’re one of the people who actually deserve to be happy,” Rachel smiled.

“And definitely deserve to be fucked thoroughly,” Fernando devilishly added.

“Fernie!” I scolded.

“It’s true though! You need someone that’s going to make you forget your name while keeping you happy,” Nikki added.

“Alex does that.”

It even sounded weak to me, and judging by the looks I got, my friends knew I was bullshitting myself.

“I’m going to see him now before his family gets here. Would you like to come with me?” Kimberly offered.

“She’d love to,” Fernando, Nikki and Rachel said as they pushed me in that direction.

“I hate you guys!” I shouted back as I walked with Kimberly.

“You’ll thank us at your wedding,” they shouted back.

How weirdly synchronized!

I was actually nervous to go into the room, despite knowing that this guy gets on my nerves. Perhaps it was because for the past thirty two days, I couldn’t sleep without having first seeing those dark brown, almost black eyes- those very eyes that didn’t belong to my boyfriend.

Is it weird that I kept count of the days I’d last seen him?

“My favourite nurse in the whole of California!” his voice sounded in the room as Kimberly walked in. I could totally see Kimberly being his type. She’s a beautiful and tall blonde.

“Hey Mordecai! I brought you a surprise today,” Kimberly smiled.

“A going away gift? For me?” he said in a baby voice.

“Of course! You are my favourite patient in all of California after all,” she giggled.

Oh kill me now!

“Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!” he said excitedly.

Seriously?

I stepped into the room and his eyes widened. I think my own did the same since the person I’d last seen a month ago, was not the same person I was looking at now. He wasn’t pale anymore, and he only had three scratches on his face- one under his right cheek, as well as two over his right eye.

He looked much better in general. He still looked like he’d lost some weight from being in here, but he honestly looked much better. It was no surprise that he would still need a lot of help, but he looked so much better than he did at the time of the accident.

And those eyes were still doing something to my insides.

He slowly smirked. “I see you couldn’t let me leave without saying goodbye gorgeous.”

“I’m sorry Kim. He annoys me. I can’t do this,” I told her.

“Wait!” he stopped me as I turned to leave.

“What?” I asked.

“Can I at least know your name now?” he pleaded.

“No,” I said before walking out.

“And?” Nikki and Fernando asked as they watched me walk towards them.

I shrugged. “I still can’t stand him.”

“Oh man! I really thought he’d win you over,” Fernando said dejectedly.

“He’s an asshole and he’ll forever be one,” I commented before getting my clip board.

The rest of my day wasn’t all that entertaining, and I was grateful when I finally clocked out. Luckily for me, Alex was still busy at the hospital, which meant I had the night to myself- or so I thought.

“Hey,” I said in confusion when I found my best friend sitting outside my apartment.

“God! I thought you’d never get here,” she said as she got up.

I laughed. “You have that thing called a phone you know? You could’ve called.”

“Oh, right!” she blushed.

“That was a serious blonde moment on your part,” I said as I walked in. She closed the door behind her.

She pouted. “Hey! Don’t judge me!”

“Ok, I’m not judging! Are you staying for dinner?” I asked.

“Yeah! You and I need to do some talking,” she smiled.

“Alright! Chinese or pizza?” I offered.

“Definitely pizza,” she replied.

“Got it! You’ll order while I go shower quickly,” I said before heading to my room.

I changed out of my scrubs and showered before changing into a comfortable pair of sweats and a tank top. When I was done, I headed to the lounge, only to find my brothers there as well as Fernando.

I frowned. “Where’s Nell?”

“She went downstairs for something,” Fernando replied.

“And what are you guys doing here?” I asked.

“Oh you know, came to chill,” Jacob replied, looking very cosy with Fernando.

Their relationship came as a shock to me and me alone. Apparently everyone else, including Alex, was aware of the vibes the two of them were sending each other. I only found out they were a thing because I caught them making out.

I raised an eyebrow. “And you chose here to chill?”

“We missed you,” Jackson said as he hugged me from behind.

“Aaaaw, I missed you goofballs too,” I smiled before Nellie returned with the pizza.

“So, I got two pepperoni, cheese, meatlovers, and feta, avo and bacon,” she announced. The twins like pepperoni, Fernie likes cheese, she likes meat lovers and I like feta, avo and bacon.

“Did you know they were coming?” I asked her.

“Yep! I called them over,” she informed.

I turned to Fernando. “And you knew?”

“I suggested it,” he smirked.

I scowled. “Why?”

“You were so annoyed by Mordecai that I thought this would be nice for you, especially since Alex is working,” he admitted.

“Mordecai annoyed you?” Nellie asked.

“Yeah! I can’t stand him. He gets on my nerves and he’s so damn arrogant and egotistic!” I grumbled. I didn’t miss the look the twins shared with Nellie.

“Well, at least he’s been discharged now, so we can all have happy Bev back,” Fernando commented.

“I haven’t been in a bad mood,” I defended.

Fernando rolled his eyes. “Whatever you say honey.”

“Whatever! So, how have you guys been?” I asked Nellie and my brothers.

“Well, we’ve recently cracked a big case that has led to the cracking of other little cases, so it’s been a good week all in all at the precinct,” Jackson informed.

Jacob shrugged. “I’ve just found out some major news for a client.”

“I got a new job,” Nellie announced.

“What? When?” I beamed.

“Uhm I got the offer last month, and I had to keep hush about it, but I was told today that I could tell people,” she smiled.

“Where are you working?” Jackson asked.

“At Wilson Global,” she replied.

“That’s that fortune five hundred company right? The investor’s group?” Jackson asked. She nodded.

“That’s Mr Wilson’s company!” I said when I realized it was the company belonging to one of my patients. Again she nodded.

“What are you working as?” Fernando asked.

“I’m currently working together with the CEO’s son. I’m handling the finances of the company, while he handles everything else. When he takes over, I’m going to be his right hand woman,” she explained.

Nellie and Evan, Mr Wilson’s son, are actually close friends who met in college, and they often competed for the top spot. In the end, Nellie ended up as Valedictorian. It doesn’t surprise me that they would trust her with such a big responsibility so soon. She’s a close family friend to the Wilsons as well in any case.

“I’m so happy for you Nell,” I smiled.

“Thanks! I’m so excited about it! It challenges me in every way,” she cheered.

Jackson laughed. “We can see that much.”

“What about you sis?” Jacob asked.

I shrugged. “What about me?”

“What’s the story with Alex?” Fernando elaborated.

“There is no story,” I replied.

“You don’t want to be with him, so why are you staying with him?” Jackson asked in confusion.

“I do want to be with him,” I argued.

Nellie sighed. “How long do you plan on lying to yourself?”

“But I’m not,” I lied.

“Maybe you do need Mordecai after all,” Fernando smirked.

“Mordecai?” Jacob, Jackson and Nellie asked.

“Oh yeah! We’re all pretty much sure that he wants her. She wouldn’t give him her name, so ever since the day he got up, he’s been asking anyone and everyone for her name and number, but since she already asked us all not to give either to him, no one bothered, but it’s pretty cute how badly he wanted to know. He was willing to pay one of the nurses one hundred thousand for it,” Fernando explained, despite my glare.

“What? That’s absurd!” Jacob commented.

“It also backs up the theory that he’s smitten with Bev,” Jackson pointed out.

“Or, he’s just a psycho that I don’t have to ever deal with again,” I offered.

“That’s not a nice thing to say Beverly,” Jacob scolded.

“You don’t understand just how much I dislike him,” I sighed.

“That’s still not a nice thing to say about someone. Mom would be so disappointed,” Jackson smirked.

I glared at him. “Oh screw you!”

“Wait, so this Mordecai dude is actually into you?” Jacob asked.

I nodded. “Apparently.”

“Well I say you go for it! It’s clearly no secret that Alex does nothing for you,” Nellie hinted.

I turned to Fernando. “Seriously?”

“Like we were going to hide it from Nellie,” he scoffed.

“Ag! I hate you people,” I moaned.

“Well sweety, we’re only looking out for you. Speaking of looking out for people, I need a huge favour from you,” Nellie said nervously.

“Well, now that you look so nervous about it, no,” I replied.

“Oh come on! You haven’t even heard what I have to ask,” she argued.

“Alright, but my answer is still going to be no,” I warned.

“I need you to be a home nurse for my boss until he’s ready to get back to work,” she said.

I shook my head. “Didn’t I tell you my answer would be no? Damn I’m good.”

“Please Bev, I am begging you! He’s willing to pay anything you want. Please. I really need you to do this for me! Please I’m begging you on our friendship. I will never ask for anything else ever again. I promise,” she pleaded.

Geez, she’s never pleaded this much before.

I raised an eyebrow. “We’ve already spoken about this before, so why are you needing my help so desperately now?”

“He neglected his problems for too long and they got worse. Now he needs a live-in nurse to look after him,” she replied.

“You want me to up and move as well?” I asked.

“As if living in this apartment is a peach,” Fernando mumbled.

“Hey! I like my apartment, thank you very much!” I snapped.

“Look Bev, you’re always saying how much you love helping people and that’s what I’m asking you to do. I swear I’ll never ask you for anything ever!” Nellie pleaded.

“This is really important to you,” I realized.

“You have no idea,” she sighed.

“Is that why you were at the hospital so much?” I asked.

She nodded. “Yeah!”

“Alright fine! I’ll give it a try, but I’m not promising anything. I’m also not leaving my apartment,” I replied.

She jumped off the couch to come and hug me. “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”

“Ok. Squeezing to death here,” I complained.

“You won’t regret it!” she smiled. The look she shared with the twins and Fernando told me that I would be regretting it faster than I can say the bloody word.

They stayed over the whole night and only left at one in the morning. I’d promised Nellie that I’d go and see her boss later in the afternoon. Alex wanted to do lunch, but I told him I couldn’t and for some reason, he was highly upset about that.

Like I had the patience to deal with such.

By eight the next morning, I was ready to face the day. It wasn’t as cold out, so I decided on a pair of dark blue jeans, a cream jersey with a dark brown waist belt, dark brown boots and a matching leather jacket and bag with a gold bangle.

I wasn’t exactly dressed to impress, but I needed to look presentable because I was having breakfast with my mom (Mrs Dickson). I caught a cab all the way to the mansion and was let in when I arrived. It seemed it was just the two of us this time.

“Oh Beverly darling, you didn’t have to come all this way just for me,” she smiled when I walked through the door.

“I’m in the neighbourhood for the day and dad mentioned that I had to call you, so I figured I may as well come in and see you in person,” I replied as I hugged her.

She returned the hug. “Well I’m happy nonetheless.”

We had our breakfast and it turns out all she wanted to know was how things were going with Alex and I (which is the same question she’d asked the week before). She worries a lot about me, especially where my living conditions and transport matters are involved. She wishes she could help me, but I refuse the help.

I have started dressing from my closet here though.

“I will be calling you later to find out about this person you’re nursing,” she said as we stood up.

“That’s if I’m not made to sign an NDA of some sorts,” I pointed out.

“Cheer up darling! Nursing is what you do best! I’m pretty sure he’ll be your best patient by far,” she smiled.

“Mom, he could be some old man for all I know,” I groaned.

She raised an amused eyebrow. “Oh, so you were looking for a possible suitor then?”

“No! I’m just saying that not knowing anything about him going into this, kind of irks me you know?” I replied.

“Trust that God has a bigger plan for you darling,” she advised as she squeezed my hand when we reached the door.

“I’ll look at it that way,” I smiled.

“Good! Now, do you need transport getting there?” she asked.

“Nope! It’s actually two streets down from here. I could use the exercise,” I giggled.

“Nonsense, but ok! I love you Beverly,” she said before hugging me.

“I love you too mom,” I replied. I kissed her on the cheek before leaving.

The walk took ten minutes since the people of this neighbourhood have such big ass houses and yards. What I didn’t expect though, was for my destination to be the biggest house in the entire neighbourhood.

I definitely wouldn’t mind living here.

I buzzed on the intercom and Nellie answered before opening the gate for me. The walk up the driveway was insanely long, and I was shamefully out of breath by the time I reached the door. I rang the doorbell and an excited Nellie answered it.

“I’m so glad you came!” she beamed.

“Were you afraid I’d change my mind?” I asked.

“Well yeah,” she admitted.

I playfully smacked her. “I promised you Nell.”

“I know, I know,” she giggled before taking my hand and leading me to the lounge.

I frowned. “Ms Tedder?”

“Good morning Beverly,” she smiled before hugging me.

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

“Everything will be explained later. This is Judith Livingston. She’s your patient’s manager,” she introduced.

Manager?

“It’s nice to meet you,” Judith smiled.

“Uh, likewise,” I replied.

“Let’s not waste any time. He’s upstairs on the last floor. It’s the last door in the passage,” Nellie told me.

“And you’re just letting me go up there by my merry self?” I asked unsurely.

She looked down. “He’s not really in a good mood.”

“And you think sending me in alone will make a difference?” I asked sceptically.

“We’re trying this approach since everything else failed,” Ms Tedder explained.

“I still don’t get it, but I’m too tired to argue,” I said before turning towards the stairs.

I honestly took my time going up the stairs. I’d seen celebrity homes on shows like Cribs before, but this home had some other kind of feel to it. For such a massive house, it actually felt like a home, and not a poster house for show.

I reached the last floor and the two double doors at the end of the hall were my biggest clue that I’d arrived at my destination. I was surprised to hear some classical music coming from the room, which actually made my whole ‘old man’ theory kick into high gear.

I knocked, but no response came. I was about to turn back, when I remembered that they said he’s in a bad mood, so of course he wouldn’t tell me to come in, so I opened the door and let myself in without instruction.

The first thing that hit me was darkness. Most of the room was covered in it since the black curtains were blocking out the sunlight. Second to hit me was the figure hunched over the bed. The music seemed to be doing nothing for him as he ran his hands through his long, wavy hair multiple times.

“Uh, hi,” I said awkwardly. When he turned to face me, I swear time stopped.

“Well gorgeous, has it come down to you stalking me now?” he smirked.

“Oh hell no!”

I am not doing this.

No way!