Liam
The second I walk throughthe door, all of the nurses turn to look at me, only to quickly glance away, as if looking at me would set off some nuclear bomb. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel like shit for yelling at Pri the other week.
As much as I wanted to be at Sage's party, her brothers were there, and I wasn't going to make her choose who she invited. My mom needed me to come see her, so in a way, it worked out that I couldn't go, but I wish I could be there to celebrate her accomplishments.
Capri gives me a single nod before walking right past me, and I fight every urge in me to not walk away, but I follow after her instead.
“How’s she doing?” “A lot better. She had a full one-eighty from this morning.” She busies herself with preparing a plate for someone, but she’s clearly trying not to look at me. “My apologies for not updating you.”
I roll my eyes at how formal she’s being. “Don’t worry about it.”
She doesn’t reply, and I lean against the counter beside her. “You a waiter now, too?”
She adds more food to the plate but doesn’t spare a singular glance at me.
“No smart response?” I tease, trying to get something out of her, but she doesn’t budge.
“My smart responses are unprofessional. You won’t have to worry about them anymore.” She moves to the fridge and I shake my head at her.
“Can you stop this weird monotone robot shit?”
“What do you mean?” She keeps her eyes in the fridge, and I look into the living room to find two other nurses watching us.
“You never replied to the email of my referrals. Do you mind letting me know when exactly your mother's new nurse will be assigned because I need to look for other jobs and–”
“You don’t need to look for other jobs. You’re her nurse.” I keep my glare on the nosy girls in the living room, and after a few seconds, they turn away. When I look back at Capri, she’s already watching me.
“Okay.” That’s all I get as she grabs the plate and cup of juice, but I step in her way before she walks off.
“Are you really going to make me do this?”
“Yes.” She answers so damn fast, but I shouldn’t be surprised. She shakes her head to move her auburn bangs from her face, and she looks mad, but I can see the hurt behind her eyes, and all that rings in my damn head is Sage reminding me to be nicer to people.
“Sorry.” I glance off to the side, but in my peripheral, I can see Capri shaking her head.
“Okay.” She goes to walk off again, but I let out a sigh before blocking her path.
I feel like my throat is closing as I try to find the words, and I don’t know why apologizing is so damn hard for me, but this is torture.
“I shouldn’t have yelled at you, Pri. I know you were trying to help, and I lost my temper… again, but I shouldn’t have.”
She keeps her gaze on me, and I swear her freckles pop out more when she’s upset, but she better not give me a hard time because, frankly, that’s the best she’s getting from me today.
“Your mom talks about that temper of yours quite a lot, but I never believed her until I was on the receiving end of it.”
“Would you believe me if I said I was working on it?”
“No,” She counters, and I shake my head at her.
“I won’t yell at you again.” I really have been working on my anger. The stupid breathing exercises don't work all that great, but I can try not to yell for a while. She keeps her eyes on me like she genuinely doesn't believe me, and I hate how hard she’s making this, but I know I deserve it.
“You’re my mom's primary care provider. You spend more time with her than I do and practically live here with her. We shouldn’t be on bad terms.”
When she lets out a sigh, I know I won a part of her over. “I might start charging you extra for having to deal with your asshole attitude.”
“Send me the bill.” I give her a shrug as I walk into the living room, and she laughs softly behind me, but I wasn't joking. If I knew she’d accept cash apologies, I would’ve come in here with a check instead of torturing myself with sorries.
My mom isn’t in her usual seat in the living room, and it’s dark out, so I’m sure she isn’t by the pond. I head for her room but stop short when I hear a piano playing. I peek into the music room, and there she is, playing Beethoven with her eyes closed.
