Chapter 43
***JACK***
6 YEARS AGO.
"It is dead in here," Doctor Ryan said as he took a sip from the cup of coffee.
"That's why they call it the graveyard shift," Nurse Kara replied and clinked her coffee mug with Ryan's as she grabbed it off the table.
"Well, I call it paradise!" A doctor said with a wide smile as she walked towards the reception and took off her hand gloves, "You are the one assisting me?"
"Doctor Ryan, Kara, this is Doctor Kim, you are attending for the evening," Nurse Aubrie said, introducing the doctor as she stopped by the desk.
"Coffee?" Doctor Ryan asked, holding a mug of coffee to Dr. Kim.
"Thanks," Dr. Kim said as she took the mug from him and held it up to her mouth.
"I roast the beans myself," Dr. Ryan said and Dr. Kim lowered the cup for a while before smiling.
"Oh, kick-ass," she said and took a sip from the coffee. Nurse Aubrie laughed and walked to the desk as the reception line rang.
As she accepted the call, the smile on her face dropped immediately.
"How long? Okay, got it." She dropped the phone and looked up.
"Okay, listen up everybody," she said loudly so all the doctors and nurses on the floor could hear her.
"A mass casualties is coming up. It's a bus crash, two dozen passengers," Nurse Aubrie said and walked out from behind the desk, hastily.
"Move all the patients from the beds up to the nursing un-"
I looked up as the clip froze on the TV screen and saw my mom holding the remote control.
"I made dinner," she said with a light smile and I stood up, following her to the dining table.
I glanced at her as I saw that she had set the table and served the food.
"Oh, you should have called me to come to help you," I said and she waved her hand in her face and shook her head.
"Oh, come on, you've been working all day at the hospital and you need to rest," she said and sat down as I helped her pull her chair back.
"Technically, I was watching a show," I said and sat down as I looked at what she prepared.
"Marc and cheese, I love it," I said and grabbed my fork.
"So, how was work today," my mom asked as she filled her mouth with a spoon of pasta.
"Well, it was fine," I said and watched as she stood up to go to the fridge. She took out a bottle of wine and walked back to the table.
"I had an MRI taken for a patient who didn't need it and Alfred made sure she let me know how he felt about it," I said and my mom burst into a smile.
"Oh, Alfred just likes to be strict, but he loves every doctor on his team," she said and I nodded, munching on the food in my mouth.
I began to chew less fast as I remembered the lady who was admitted after getting attacked by a wolf.
"What is it?" My mom asked and I looked up. I didn't notice that I had stopped smiling.
"It's just a lady we admitted today, she got attacked by a wolf-"
"Oh my God, how did that happen?" My mom looked surprised and empathetic.
"We don't know, but she's fine, although we found out she's pregnant and no one has come to claim her," I said and dropped the fork I was holding, "plus, she had suffered memory loss so there's nowhere for her to go."
"Oh, that sucks, I guess you're already trying to find out who she is right?" My mom asked and I nodded.
"Yes, she could only give us her name, but the police are trying to find any family or friends," I replied and picked up my phone to continue eating.
"But in the meantime, we've carried out tests and she's fine, but she can't stay in the ward for long so I was thinking if she could stay here with us for the meantime?" I asked.
"Of course."
***
PRESENTLY.
"Mr. Rivera, when did you last see her?" The police officer sitting in front of me asked.
"It was on Friday. It was evening and we had a fight so she left, but I haven't seen her since then," I replied.
I tried calling Larissa several times and even reached out to the few people she knew, but I have not been able to find out where she is. I became scared so I decided to report to the cops so they could find her.
"Did she tell you where she was going?" The cop asked and I shook my head, sighing and placing my face in my palms.
"She just grabbed her handbag and drove off in her car. I don't know where she went," I replied, "I've contacted her friends and tried to call her, but no one has heard from her, I'm really scared that something bad has happened to her," I added, trying to keep it together and form coherent sentences.
"Okay, you said you were in a fight, maybe she's just trying to stay away from you for some time or scare you, she might still reach out to you," the cop said and I scoffed.
I gritted my teeth and shook my head, "No, no matter what happened, Larissa would never abandon her patient. We only fought about our kids' schooling and that's all." I emphasized each word loudly, annoyed that the cop was trying to make the situation sound like it wasn't a big deal.
"You have kids? Where are they now?" The cop asked and opened up the tiny notebook he was holding.
"They're in a boarding school now, Sandy Springs Friends," I replied and watched as he noted it down.
"Can I also have her phone number?" The cop asked and I took out my phone, scrolling through my contact list till I found her.
"Here," I showed the phone to him and he quickly jotted down the numbers.
"Alright, Dr. Rivera, we'll look into it and get back to you."