The Chase

“Hey, asswipe. There’s still half a pot in the kitchen.”

Beck smirked. “You’re welcome for that.”

That took his annoyance down a few notches. “Sorry. Thanks for leaving me the coffee.”

“Let me guess. You’re climbing the walls.”

“Pretty much and it’s only six thirty in the fucking morning. It’s going to be a long-ass day.”

Beck nodded grimly. “I didn’t expect anything different.”

“I’m worried about having a long-ass life. I wish she wasn’t so goddamn confused…”

“I’ve never had to force myself to focus on patients like I did today. It sucked hairy gorilla balls.”

Seth couldn’t help but chuckle. “Sucked a lot of those?”

With a sigh, Beck pocketed his keys and loosened his tie. “Not until this morning.”

“So you’re done at the hospital?”

He nodded. “Since it’s Sunday, it was slow anyway.”

“Goody. We have all day to talk each other off the ledge.”

“Yep. I have a feeling—”

Beck paused mid-sentence when their cell phones chimed in tandem. Each scrambled to grab their device. When he glanced at the screen, a message from Heavenly popped up.

Are you awake?

Seth tapped back immediately. YES. You okay?

Beck plopped down beside him, fingers flying. The other man’s message appeared beneath his own. We’re both awake and together. Need to talk?

Heavenly didn’t respond right away. Seth’s heart rate—and agitation—skyrocketed. Had she made a decision about her future? Was she giving them a Dear John kiss-off via text?

Neither man spoke, simply stared at their phones. The ticking clock on the wall was every bit as unnerving as the interminable moments slipping by. Beck gripped his mobile as if it were a live grenade before typing out another message.

Are you still there?

No response.

Crawling out of his skin now, Seth counted ten more ticks of the clock before adding his two cents.

We need to know what’s going on.

A few seconds later, Beck’s phone rang.

Heavenly’s name popped up on his display. Seth worried this wasn’t good.

The doctor accepted the call and engaged the speakerphone. “Talk to us. Is everything all right?”

“I c-can’t do it,” Heavenly sobbed out. “I can’t.”

Their girl wasn’t crying pretty tears, but sobbing inconsolably. The gut-wrenching sound ripped Seth’s heart from his chest.

The doctor swallowed tightly. “Take a deep breath, little girl. Try to calm down. Tell us what’s wrong.”