but decide to wait until after I’m out of the bath.
Once the water cools, I drain the tub and throw on a fluffy robe. My cup is empty and I’ll eventually have to go downstairs for food.
Kendall: Your brother’s a jerk. Just thought I’d let you know.
Cami: What’d he do now?
Kendall: Snapped at me for no reason. So I told him off and walked away.
Cami: I’m sure he didn’t mean to. He’s under a lot of stress.
Kendall: That’s no excuse to be rude. He made it very known how he feels about me and it wasn’t good.
Cami: I’m sorry. Just remember he’s reserved and doesn’t show emotion well. Just give him time to come around to the idea of being there with you. He’ll open up.
I scoff.
Kendall: Doubt it, but I guess I’ll try because I have no other choice. If I’m gonna be stuck here with nothing to do I don’t want to argue with him the whole time. But he needs to put in some effort too! It’s not like I deserved his attitude. Well, I did say he had a stick up his ass…
Cami: Kendall!
Kendall: I was kidding! He can’t take a joke?
Cami: I don’t understand why you two fight. Probably because he likes you and is trying to push you away.
Kendall: HA! Now you’re just being delirious.
Cami: You like him or you wouldn’t care what he thought.
Kendall: No. He’s HOT. That doesn’t mean I like him.
Cami: Whatever you say ;)
Kendall: This is your fault, ya know. You couldn’t go to Hawaii for your honeymoon like a normal newlywed.
Cami: Nope :) The paps can find me too easily there anyway. I want pure privacy and romance. You two will have plenty of time to make it super special for us now!
Kendall: If he’ll help. Right now he’s set on being miserable.
Cami: Like I said, he’ll come around.
Doubtful, but I guess time will tell and it seems we’ll have plenty of it. I just hope he doesn’t think he can say mean things, then act like nothing’s wrong, like he used to do when I was a teenager.
Chapter Four
Ryan
Fuck.
I screwed up. Kendall overheard me talking to Eli, and I regret what I said. I was frustrated about the weather and not being able to work, but I shouldn’t have taken it out on her. Especially since Kendall Montgomery is the poster child of happiness and has a genuine personality. She’s never snapped at me like that before, I hate admitting it turned me on a little.
As soon as Kendall walks away, I mentally slap myself. Those words hurt her and that’s the last thing I want to do. Once they left my mouth, I knew it was too late. Though she didn’t think twice about putting me in my place and marching off. I thought about running after her but I didn’t want to risk her smacking me across the face.
I pour myself a cup of coffee and sit down with my laptop. Between checking the weather updates and work emails, I do some paperwork. I prefer being the ER with my patients than trying to review results from afar. I love how fast a sixteen-hour shift flies by. I’m typically exhausted afterward but still struggle to fall asleep.
My life changed drastically two years ago when a pandemic hit. It turned my life upside down, but it’s still fresh in my brain. The things I witnessed still haunt my dreams, hell it haunts me when I’m awake too. Though the restrictions have lifted, I still take precautions since the vaccine is new.
Cami believes I have PTSD, and she might be right, but I’ll deal with it on my own terms. Working and knowing I’m saving lives gets me through the dark days.
After a few hours, I get up to stretch my legs and look out the window. The wind howls and more snow falls. I can’t see ten feet outside and the weather channel says it won’t clear up anytime soon.
I grab the loaf of bread and make myself a PB&J sandwich, then make another pot of coffee. I’m not used to doing nothing and find it hard to sit and relax. Luckily, I can read medical journals on my iPad and chat with my co-workers or my patients.
Once I’ve finished eating, I walk into the living room and put more wood inside the fireplace before lighting it. Hopefully, Kendall comes down soon so I can apologize for being a dick. Maybe the smell of coffee and a