His goodbye

Even though whatever Morpheous said, made sense, she still had her own reasons not to believe him completely, but a part of her did, and that part of her was moved. She could get that he was broken like her.

She turned towards him and saw him looking at her intently.

"What?" She asked, her eyes scanning him for a beat too long.

"What made you change your mind? Do you think I am capable now?" He asked. 

About to arrive at the motel, Caroline looked at him and said, "Be there in my chamber sharp by 9 am tomorrow. Don't make me regret this, Morpheous."

"I will!" he replied with a genuine smile on his face. "And you won't."

She could read that he was beyond grateful for that opportunity. His eyes had something about them, like an open book, a mirror to his thoughts and soul.

As the taxi pulled over, she got out and walked to the reception, and booked a room for him. The keeper looked at them curiously as their clothes were soaked in blood.

"Ah… Don't worry. We work at a hospital." She spoke with a smile in an attempt to ease her out.

"My bad. I didn't mean to look that way. I am sorry. It's just my duty to…"

"I get it!" Caroline interrupted and then added, "Erm… can you send something to eat to his room now?"

"I don't need..." but his words stayed in his mouth as he saw her looking at him with her sharp eyes. Lowering his head, he just nodded.

  Picking up a paper from the desk, she wrote down her mobile number and handed it to him. "Call me if you need help with anything. And I will come tomorrow morning to pick you up. Be ready by then."

From his face, it looked like he wanted to say something more, but she thought that it was best in the interest of both to avoid any further conversation. "You know what, you can just check with her if you need help with anything." Then looking at her watch, she said, "It's quite late, so I shall be taking my leave," and without waiting for a response from him, she walked out.

But a second later, she turned back and came to the reception desk.

"I need one more help."

"Yeah, sure!" the keeper replied. 

"I will PayPal you four hundred dollars. Can you give that in cash to me?"

  For a moment, the keeper hesitated but then agreed.

"Great!"

  Picking up the dollar bills, she turned toward him. 

"Here," and saying that, she handed them to him. "Pay me back when you get your first salary," and then left without waiting for a response from him.

The next morning, Caroline's phone didn't stop ringing. There were almost hundreds of texts to congratulate her as the video of their heroic act was being broadcasted as the headline on the City news channel.

  She had become an overnight sensation.

  Ring Ring'

  "Hello"

"Hello, there Dr. Young!"

"Dr. Brorokowitch!" Caroline replied, wiping the sleep off her eyes.

"Well, I just saw the great news, and two other media houses have contacted us to interview you at the hospital!"

"Oh, I see!"

"You never fail to amaze me, Dr. Young!"

"Thank you! But it was a team effort."

"Oh yes! About that. When did you hire him? I mean it was only yesterday that we uploaded about the vacancy in the portal. I wanted to check up on his resume too, but didn't find that online."

Caroline's stomach churned.

"Erm...." She fumbled for a moment. "Well, my grandfather had referred him last night, and seeing his skills, I thought he would be a good fit."

"Great decision as always, Caroline. Which school is he from? Must be from some good nursing academy."

"Erm… yeah. That sure is. Will ask him to email his resume to you first thing today. You don't have to worry."

"Oh, I am not worried, Dr. Caroline. I am actually pleased with your choice. Just that for interviews, I need to know, in case they ask me. I assumed you must know since he has been hired plainly based on your recommendation."

Caroline pinched the space between her brows and cursed herself for spinning a web of lies. She knew the more she was going to spin, the more she was going to be entangled.

"Well… If you excuse me, I need to get ready. I will make sure you get the details. If you want, he can go through the interview process."

"Bull crap, Caroline! He has gathered enough limelight. He needs to stay at Seattle High. Our heroes need to be the face of our hospital. Heroes like you and him."

"Thank you Dr. Brorokowitch. See you at the hospital."

And she disconnected the call.

'Bloody money-minting pig!' Caroline cursed him and rushed towards her laptop and started googling.

'Top nursing colleges North Dakota,' and a list was displayed.

'University of North Dakota'

'University of Mary'

'Minot State 'University'

.

.

'University of North Dakota it is!' and her hands pressed the keys rapidly to draft a fake resume for him, which she then uploaded on the portal.

She sighed and printed a copy of it to hand it over to Morpheous at the motel before going to the bathroom.

As the water dripped over her, she recollected his soft, almost vulnerable eyes, how his nearness seemed to warm the air between them. She stood under the shower for an extra fifteen minutes scrubbing her whole body after lathering it up with her lavender-based body wash. Coming out of the shower, she wondered why she did so. Was it for the interview? Or was it for him?

She groaned as she looked at the clock. Why was she acting like a high school teenager? Was she attracted to him? Why was she doing illegal things? Was he that deserving? Pressing her palms over her eyes, she took a deep breath in a desperate attempt to set her head right. The last thing she needed was more confusion in her life, and that too because of some mystery man  she barely knew.

She quickly got ready and started for the motel.

"Hi! Can you ring up the guest in room 122 for me?" Caroline smiled and asked the keeper, whom she had met last night.

"Oh, he already left. He actually left quite early and gave me a note to give you in case you came."

"I see!" A sudden disappointment gripped her, but she extended her hand and asked for the note. I shouldn't have trusted him. I definitely shouldn't have trusted him.

Her fingers hurriedly rustled through the folds and opened the note, which read,

'Thank you for everything!'

She turned it back and forth.

'That's it? That's all he has to say to me? Is this how someone says goodbye?'

Without saying a word, she walked towards her car, shaken by how he broke her trust, shaken by the fact that 'thank-you' was all he had to say before leaving. Was it all about money all this time?

'He probably ran back to his family, Caroline!'

'Once a runner, always a runner!'

With a heart filled with disappointment and anger, she rushed toward the hospital. Parking her car, as she took the elevator, she found every single person who joined the elevator smiling at her, probably wanting to say - good job, but her mind ignored them all.

Slowly as she walked towards the Cardiology wing, she saw a small crowd near the reception desk. All her nurses and resident doctors had flocked there. Wondering if there was a critical emergency, she paced ahead. But to her disappointment, she saw the reason for the beeline - Krispy Crème Donut boxes.

"Ah, Dr. Caroline. Please have one!" offered Elora, a junior nurse, holding a cranberry candy flavor atop a tissue paper.

  'Dr. Brorokowitch and his gimmicks!' she muttered.

"Oh, these were not given by Dr. Brorokowitch."

"Then who?"

"Your new assistant. Over there!" Elora pointed towards the left wing. Caroline's eyes stayed on him. He didn't intend to say goodbye to her after all.