Sarah loves her job, but when a female patient is wheeled into her ER, she is shocked by the array of bruises on her body. But what happens when the person responsible for the bruises enters the hospital?
Sarah stood pressed against the corridor. She had her half-empty cup of coffee in one hand and her stethoscope hung from the other. The hospital had been overwhelmingly busy, and she was ready to hang up her scrubs for the night. But she still had a few more hours to go. After a quick bathroom visit, Sarah was prepared to tackle the last hours of her shift.
Vanessa stood at the counter in the kitchen. She picked at the last bits of lasagna from the casserole. She was ready to call it a night, but Ron was sitting in front of the television. He was watching a game, and the beers had flowed since before dinner that evening. He was yelling at the TV.
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Vanessa flinched, absentmindedly stroking her arm, which was still a little tender from the incident the week before. She was still trying to convince herself that Ron did not mean to hurt her; he was just rushing out of the house, and she was on the way, so in his haste, she was shoved against the coat stand in the hallway.
He apologized later, and she accepted it. But it wasn’t the first incident.
“Vanessa,” he called from the living room.
“Yes?” she replied, walking to him with measured steps.
“Don’t you want to sit down and watch the game with me?” he asked, gesturing to the arm of the armchair he was reclining in.
She nodded silently. Ron put his arm around her and cuddled. Somehow, Vanessa fell asleep. The next thing she knew was Ron shaking her awake.
“Come on, wake up, Nes,” he said, pulling his arm away, almost making her fall off the armchair.
For illustration purposes only. | Source: Unsplash
“Sorry, I think I’m just wiped out from the week we had,” she yawned.
“Yeah, me too. Let’s get something to eat before we go to bed,” he said. “You know how drinking makes me hungry.”
She went into the kitchen, throwing the bottles away under the sink.
“Why didn’t you wash all the dishes?” Ron demanded, looking at the sink.
Vanessa explained that she was doing them, but he called her. The fear was rising, giving her goosebumps...
