C5 CHAPTER 5

It had been nine months since I walked in on my ex-husband in our bed with someone who was not me, six months since my friend Sally dragged my wallowing ass out of my stuffy dark bedroom and ordered me to go out and live my life again. There was no negotiation and neither did she give me the pity talk. She practically came into my room blazing with guns, opened my windows and dragged me out of my bed, and pushed me into the bathroom, and then she literally forced me into my jeans and Louboutins like I was her barbie doll so that she could take me to the new amusement park that had opened a few months back. I did not really like amusement parks. She knew that very well so I didn’t know the reason why she wanted to take me there. But then walking in the amusement park and seeing people walking around, full of energy and looking so carefree and screaming my own lungs out whilst riding the Ferris wheel made that aching part of me shift a little bit. I could live like how these people were doing if I choose to. I knew that is exactly what she wanted for me and I was grateful to have someone who cares for me more than I care for myself.

Moonshine was a small city and there was nothing much to enjoy. It did face the Indian Ocean though and that is one thing I definitely loved about it. I loved the ocean. My mom had purchased a beach house when I was still in high school and that meant that I could enjoy the sea as much as I wanted to.

So after the day at the park, I had sat at the beach looking over at the waters. The sun was about to set and it was a whole lot quieter. The only sound I could hear was of the waves crashing against each other as if they were competing for the shore. That sound, the smell of the ocean breeze, and the feeling of warm sand under my feet made me feel completely relaxed. I had totally tuned out and I was thinking of nothing in particular. I was connecting with nature for the first time in a long time and my body and soul very much appreciated it.

‘It is good to see that you now remember there is a world outside,’ I voice came from behind. It was Nathan’s voice, Sally’s brother.

I turned my head to look at him and he was walking towards me, still dressed in his blue scrubs. He must have seen me sitting here when he was passing by, coming back from the hospital where he worked. He was a surgeon.

Once he reached where I was, he sat next to me and kicked his crocs off.

“Hey, Nat” I greeted him, my voice as calm as I felt. The melancholy I was used to hearing in my voice was surprisingly not there.

“Hey to you too,” he answered, his voice sounding too hyper

“You sound too hyper for someone who has just spent twelve hours on your feet saving lives,”

“Twenty-four,”

“What?”

“Twenty-four hour shift not twelve,”

“You work for twenty-four hours straight?” I literally screamed and he nodded casually like it was not a big deal.

“How are you not dropped dead somewhere,” I asked and he shrugged his shoulders.

“We get used to the long hours,”

“You don’t even hide in the supply roam and catch an eye shut for a few seconds?”

“And leave my patient to die on the theater bed?”

“Remind me not to get into the medical field in my next life,”

“You get used to it, trust me,”

“I am not doing that, thank you,”

We sat at the beach and talked. He tells me the fun part of being a surgeon. At least the type of fun that he enjoyed, like fucking the pretty nurses at the hospital he works in the supply room or unoccupied examination room during their breaks. I wondered if that was hygienic and if it was even allowed. I was sure it wasn’t but then Nathan is a strong believer in the statement that says, rules were meant to be broken.. I have lost count of the times he spent in detention during our high school days.

Nathan was still telling me about his escapades he had going on in his life when heavy drops of rain started dropping from the sky. We both looked up at the sky and noticed the heavy dark clouds hanging above us. Buried in Nathan’s tails, I had not even noticed them gathering up or the fact that it was already getting dark.

“We better get going now,” Nathan said whilst he wore his crocs.

He stood up and helped me up and we started running towards the houses. By the time we reached our front porch both of us were already soaking wet from the rain pouring on us. I shook my head to get some of the water out of my head whilst I cursed under my breath.

“You know what Nattie,” Nathan's voice caught my attention and I stopped shaking my head and looked at him.

“Despite everything else, I do love my job, even if there were no pretty nurses to fuck during my breaks, I would still choose it,” he continued, “I love what I do, I love saving people and giving them hope and second chances to live. It gives me a purpose and I drive to live. No matter how long the hours are, I would not trade them for anything, especially a few hours of eye shut,”

He took my hand and put his other hand on my chin, making me look right into his eyes.

“That is exactly what you need right now, Natacha, something you love to do. Something that will give you purpose and a drive to live your life. Then you will see there is no reason to lock yourself in your room and that there is more than a few hours of eye shut. Give this some thought, ok?” he completed and I nodded my head.

“I gotta get going,” he said and then bolted, running to his car which I noticed then that he had parked in front of our house.