As I pull open the door to my locker, the thirteen letter word for change plays on my mind. Change has been on my mind since the day I arrived to London three months ago. The word metamorphosis has been on my mind since I last saw the incomplete crossword puzzle on my desk this morning. My mother's words come to mind 'Change is a good thing Madison, it shows us that we are growing up and growing up isn't so bad.' Yeah right, she was so wrong and even at the tender age of seven I already knew that she was wrong. I always hated the word 'growing up' because it means leaving everything behind and evolving into a new person, most of the times it's the things you love the most.
If she were here right now I know that she would have a smile on her face because I finally left California after twenty eight years and moved halfway across the world. She would still give me the change speech but at least she would still be here and I would be able to talk to her again one last time. I throw my lab coat into my locker and reach for my duffel bag. Finally, after a twelve hour shift I am finally able to go home. Being a first year resident isn't as great as I expected it to be, I expected hour long surgeries and doing extraordinary research. Instead, it's just five other residents and myself who do sutures all day in the ER and work long hour shifts. Don't get me wrong, last week I got to watch Doctor Peterson perform brain surgery on a guy who fell off his bed the night before and ended up with a brain bleed. It's just that I wish we had more O.R. time and our Chief Saxton always refers to us when we fight for surgeries as hungry lions. He is right, I am starving to see anything more than another stitch or positive pregnancy test.
As I slam my locker door shut I hear footsteps coming down the hall and I take that as a sign to let out a breath of relief. I don't know what has someone running like that but it sure does sound like an emergency. In the middle of my thoughts on the sleep I will be catching up on when I get home, a body throws itself against the doorway of the residents locker room. James Lawson stands there with wide eyes and heavy breathing. "Emergency in the Pit, Peterson is looking for you." He heaves out as he tries to catch his breath. I've been here three months because I was a late arrival to the Residency Program, James Lawson has been in this program for six months and believe me when I say that I have never seen a look of fear in his eyes before. James comes from a long line of surgeons, his great grandfather was a Cardio master, his grandmother was a Ortho Goddess and his father is a Plastics God. On my second week here I watch his father reconstruct a woman's face after she had been severely beaten by her husband. It's safe to say that James Lawson never wears a look of fear on his face. He was raised to assess the situation and find a way to solve the problem.
He is already racing down the hallway when I reach for my lab coat in my locker. Running down a hallway while putting on a lab coat is not easy, especially when someone's life is on the line. I race into the Emergency Room to find Lawson slip into a curtain that closes off bed four. The stench of disinfectant fills my nostrils and I don't think there will ever come a time where I get used to the smell of a hospital. I reach into the pocket of my coat and grab a hair tie before I begin to pull up my waist length chestnut brown hair into a ponytail. It's only when I am done do I really notice the trail of blood on the freshly polished floors, which lead all the way to bed four. The stench of blood overpowers the chemical smell when I pull the curtains open and step into the small space. Peterson is hovering over the body which is placed on the hospital bed and the person under him is trashing around. His electric blue eyes meet mine and he lets out a breath of relief. "Evans, get over here and hold him down. I need to find out where all this blood is coming from." He commands and I obey.
The closer I get, the more evident it becomes that the patient is a male. Peterson grabs a pair of scissors before he cuts open the man's black t-shirt right up the middle. I place my hands on either side of the males shoulders and his eyes are squeezed shut due to the pain. His has thick curly chestnut brown hair that falls to his shoulders. His eyes dart open when Peterson tries to turn him over and his mesmerising hazel brown eyes meet mine. Although, he is covered in blood and has a cut lip and a bruised cheek, his physical appearance still makes my breath hitch. He takes my moment of weakness as a chance to use all his force and push me off him. However, years of Med school has taught me enough to know how to hold down a person. There is a hint of shock in his eyes, my strength has surprised him but something tells me that if he wasn't in this hospital bed right now then he would have won this battle.
“What do we have here Lawson?" Peterson takes a step back and gives James the opportunity to assess the injuries. I try to peak over at the man when Peterson turns him over to his side and I am sure that the hole in his lower back is a bullet hole.
"A bullet hole. He's been shot." Lawson answers before pausing for a brief second. "Twice, the second is a graze." He shifts the man further and points towards the graze as I stand on the tips of my toes to catch a glimpse.
"Call the O.R. and tell them we are coming down." Peterson looks me in the eyes as the words leave his lips and I nod. "Prep him for surgery and find out if there is any family we need to call." He shifts his gaze back to Lawson, who is already halfway out the little makeshift room. The look in Peterson's eyes tells me that he has worked a long fifteen hour shift and the last thing he needs is to be in an O.R.
"Evans, you scrubbing in?" He questions with a sigh and I shake my head at his words. I would love to scrub in, sacrificing my sleep for a few hours in the O.R. sounds like a dream.
"I've exceeded my eighty hour limit. I'm the resident on call tomorrow so I am forced to go home." This eighty hour limit is putting a real stop to my dreams of performing surgery. Each resident gets an eighty hour limit a week, from Monday to Friday. Completing those eighty hours are mandatory but going over those eighty hours is forbidden.
"Right, go get some rest." Peterson offers me a smile before turning around and walking off. Lawson rushes to catch up with him before they head down to the O.R. with a few scrub nurses wheeling the man down. I can't help but catch myself watching Lawson interact with Peterson. He is such a suck up and I'm sure he is the only one in our first year residency who has figured out what he wants. He wants to be a Neuro God like Peterson while the rest of us throw ourselves between Cardio, Ortho, General, Peds and Plastics.
I push open the door to the apartment that I share with Brooke and Drake Harper. Both twins who I have known since elementary school back in California. They both moved to London after senior year and any trace of their American accent has vanished, it's only been ten years. Brooke Harper declined college when she got here and chose to work for her father at his law firm. Drake Harper went on to become a pilot and fell in love with the idea of flying. Mrs Harper still lives in California whereas Mr Harper lives here with his new wife and kids.
I throw my bag onto the couch and remove my sneakers at the door before pushing open the door to the kitchen and slipping in. Nicolas from next door is sitting at the counter sipping a beer as Drake rummages through the fridge for food. His scavenger hunt is a rude reminder that I need to go grocery shopping, it's my turn this week and it's already Friday.
"Looking for something?" I ask from the doorway and Nicolas looks up to meet my gaze. He offers me a charming smile that makes his ocean blue eyes sparkle, but I know better than to fall under the spell of Nicolas Walsh. He is a good looking guy with his strawberry blonde hair and his bright blue eyes but his reputation with women speaks for itself. If I had a dollar for every time I saw a woman walk out of his apartment with tears in her eyes, I would be able to pay of my student loans.
"Will you be going shopping anytime soon Madison?" Drake spins around and his almond brown eyes meet mine as he closes the fridge.
"Tomorrow. I start at twelve in the day until midnight so I should be able to make some time." I give him a smile as he hands me a beer from behind him and I take it as a peace offer.
"You work too much." Drake announces as if it is the most absurd thing in the world to be a surgeon. "When is Chris coming through with more beer and pizza?" He adverts his attention to Nicolas who gives him a shrug and continues to sip on his beer.
"Boys night in is tonight?" I let out a groan and I want to slap myself for forgetting. There is nothing worse than grown men leaving their homes to go watch soccer and get drunk at their friends house.
"I told you about it last week and there is a note on the fridge." He states as I place my bottle onto the counter. I know there is a note on the fridge Drake, I wrote that reminder out myself. Suddenly, I notice the absence of the other Harper twin and I begin to mentally slap myself. Even Brooke made a plan to get out of this apartment before all the noise started. I usually make a point of not wanting to be here by taking extra shifts at the hospital. However, I have exceeded my eighty hour limit and if I went back now they would all know that I am a workaholic.
"So, your sister and Ethan Rodgers?" Nicolas casually brings up the conversation but he doesn't get far, Drake shuts him down with a look. I know Brooke has been seeing someone because I caught him sneaking out of here two weeks ago at three in the morning when I was coming home from my shift.
"Pizza has arrived." A masculine voice announces from the living room and I am currently cursing the person who invented boys night in.
"In the kitchen." Drake calls out as he rushes to pull open the kitchen door and holds it open. At first I wonder what on earth he is doing, that's until I see a tall male walk in with pizza boxes stacked on top of each other in his hands. Behind him is Daniel, him and Nicolas are roommates, he has two boxes stacked on top of each other with cans of beer in them. Are these men serious right now? "Where is Zak?" Drake questions and the man with the Dominos pizza boxes spins around to meet his eyes.
“Dropping off dinner for Bethany and Hunter." He states before turning around and meeting my eyes. "You must be Madison Evans. We have heard so much about you." He offers me a genuine smile which meet his stunning green eyes. "I'm Christopher Parker." He thrusts his hand out for me to shake. "Will you be joining us for boys night in?" He questions as I take his hand in mine and I shake my head.
"Unfortunately, I have sleep to catch up on and I am not a fan of sitting around and watching grown men drink beer and argue over which soccer team is better. Maybe next time." I give him a smile as I release his hand and his expression is priceless.
"Woah, Zak is going to love this one." He lets out a soft laugh and the other three join him.
"Speaking of Zak, is Luke coming?" Drake questions as he opens the first box of pizza and pinches off a piece of mushroom before throwing it into his mouth.
"He's been at work all day, I haven't had a chance to talk to him since this morning." Christopher gives Drake a glare before closing the pizza box.
"Anybody home?" Another voice comes from the hallway and I am genuinely both surprised and terrified at the idea of people just walking in and out of this apartment.
"Kitchen." Daniel yells out as he takes over my bottle of beer from the counter and I allow him to. I hear footsteps before the door is pushed open and a male steps in. At first I don't notice anything unusual, he is about six feet tall and he look harmless. That's until my green eyes meet his hazel brown ones and then it hits me like a ton of bricks. It's the man from the hospital, same hazel brown eyes and the same chestnut brown hair. Only his hair is now cut and pushed back away from his face, other than that he has the same physical features as the man from the E.R.
"What are you doing here?" I screech out and all four pairs of eyes are on me within seconds.
