My shaky breaths even out slightly and I wipe my clammy hands against my scrubs as I have a conversation with myself in my head to keep me calm while I speed up, walking past the red light and quickly crossing the road.
A horn sounds behind me, and I turn around, expecting it to be Kaleb beeping at me because they're stuck at the red light, but when my eyes clash with his through the car window that's still beside me, I realise that someone else was beeping at them because they continued through the light and kept by my side.
"Can you get in the damn car now?" he shouts out the window, a scowl firmly set on his face. "I'd rather not kill someone in broad daylight just because you're being stubborn."
I chew on the inside of my cheek as I glance around, seeing people in the street staring over at us due to the commotion. When I peek down at my phone, seeing that I only have five minutes until I have to be at work, I huff and reluctantly open the back door and slide into the back seat.
My phone vibrates in my lap with another text message from Chrissie, I sneakily glance down at it.
Chrissie:
I swear to God, if you don't reply to me soon, I will be sending Nathan over to London and will have him rain hell down on that family until someone tells me what the fuck is going on!
A giggle escapes me and Leo whips his head around from the passenger seat, his dark eyes staring at me intently.
"Sorry," I mumble, flipping my phone face down and turning to stare out the window.
He's one scary motherfucker.
"Don't let him worry you, he's harmless," Kaleb chimes in.
Leo snorts and shakes his head, making me think that Kaleb's words aren't true.
"You shouldn't lie to the poor woman."
Kaleb turns to Leo with a glare.
"Stop trying to scare her. Sophia will have us by the balls if she turns up to her shift shaking like a leaf," he snaps, his eyes connecting with mine for a moment in the mirror before he turns his attention back to the road.
"Soph would say the same thing I just did."
"Stop calling her Soph. You don't get to give my wife a nickname."
"She's not your wife," Leo retorts, smirking at an infuriated Kaleb.
I roll my eyes as they bicker and threaten each other, blocking them out as we drive up to the hospital's entrance.
As soon as the car stops, I grab my phone and my bag, and jump out of the car, muttering a quick "Thank you" before running off in to the hospital, putting as much space as I possibly can between myself and the two psychopaths who dropped me off.
After dropping off my things at my locker, quickly calling Chrissie to calm her down and speaking to Markus about the shifts he wants me to do, I hurry out of the room so I can busy myself with work and hopefully forget about the weird morning I've had.
I walk towards Jaylen's room at a leisurely pace whilst my heart begins to beat faster inside my chest with the anticipation of what might be awaiting me in his room.
I reach the door and take a deep, calming breath before pulling down on the handle and pushing the door open.
"Oh, Rory! I'm so sorry about this morning," Sophia says, jumping up from her seat with a grimace on her face. "I know it was probably really weird for you, and likely shocking as well, and I'm so sorry. I would've come myself, but Kaleb wouldn't let me go, so we compromised."
"You do what Kaleb tells you to do?" I ask, genuinelysurprised.
Both Jaylen and Sophia make a scoffing noise as she shakes her head and retakes her seat beside her cousin.
"God no. I do anything I can to disobey that man, but he's currently acting overly protective, and I don't really have much choice in the matter." She nibbles on her lower lip as she awkwardly glances around the room. "Anyway, as I said, I'm really sorry."
"It's fine," I tell her, moving over to Jaylen's bedside and checking everything I need to before picking up the clipboard and jotting down some notes. "It was weird, that's for sure, but I was more concerned with the stalking part."
Jaylen's eyes slice over to his cousin and the muscles in his jaw tick before his lips part, indicating he's trying to say something, but no actual words come out.
Sophia smiles sadly at him and rests her hand atop of his.
