5. Belle

five

Belle

T he buzzing of my cell phone pulls me out of my orgasm-induced haze. Reluctantly, I get out of bed, wrap the bed sheet around my naked body, and pad over to my purse, ready to curse out whoever is interrupting me on my night off.

Trauma Alert: There is a five-alarm fire downtown with multiple victims. We need all staff to respond immediately. The victims will bypass the emergency room and be brought directly to the burn unit. The ETA is 30 minutes.

Even though I'm not on call, I will respond to the text and report to work. The life of a trauma nurse sucks. Not that I don't love my job, but I really don't like it right now.

I quickly dress, minus my panties that are tucked safely in Dom's pocket. I want to wait for Dom to return, but I don't have time. I'm needed at the hospital.

A wave of sadness hits me. I don't even know his real name or how to get a hold of him. We both agreed that it was just one night.

I send a quick text to Claire and Kelly since they are both working tonight.

Belle: Do you have any more information about the fire?

Claire: The scanner says the fire is at the corner of Keyo Way and Clarke Street. Downtown.

Kelly: Enough about the fire. How was the sex club, Belle? *Wink, wink* eggplant emoji*

Claire: Really, Kelly? Now is not the time for your shenanigans. It's bad enough that you talked Belle into going to a sex club. We don't need all the horny details.

Kelly: Speak for yourself. I want all the horny details. *Water drops emoji tongue emoji*. Besides, we are still in a holding pattern. The ambulances haven't arrived yet. Chill out, Claire. *Eye rolling emoji*

Claire: I saw that, Kelly!

Kelly: I hope so. You are only two feet away from me.

I smile at their antics. Claire is always the professional, while Kelly is always the jokester. Their comfortable banter lightens my mood, but not for long.

Belle: On my way. I will save all the horny details for later. *Happy face emoji*

Slipping my phone back into my purse, I open the door, sticking my head out to scan the hallway. Noticing the hallway is free from prying eyes, I step out into the hallway and scurry out of the club, hailing a taxi.

***

What do you want me to do?" I ask, standing on Claire's right side, waiting for her instructions since she is the charge nurse for tonight's shift.

Never taking her eyes off the door as the paramedics bring patient after patient on gurneys into the burn unit, "I need you to triage the patients. The most critical need to go to the emergency bays. The rest can be divided by severity into the patient rooms."

I function on autopilot for the next hour as I assess each patient, cutting off burnt clothing and running my gaze from head to toe, front and back of each patient, determining the severity of their burns.

There are ten burn patients in all. The next few days will be touch and go since it takes seventy-two hours for burns to show their true extent of damage to the skin. The heat trapped between the skin layers continues to damage the dermis and epidermis.

Once everyone has been assessed, I rush to the treatment room to help Claire. My breath catches in my throat when I see the patient Claire is cleaning up. They seem to be disagreeing about something.

I move closer, needing to get a better look at the patient. His midnight black hair and strong features remind me of Dom, but I know it's not Dom. My mind is playing tricks on me, making me think I see Dom everywhere.

"Lay back. You need to let me get you cleaned up." Claire stares down at the patient on the procedure table.

"Not until everyone else is seen to first, sweetness." His hands grip the side rails of the bed as he pushes himself off the bed.

Pressing her hand against the patient's chest, Claire replies, "I said lay back."

Wow, the sexual tension in this room is so thick you could be cut with a knife. "I hate to interrupt whatever this is," I wave my hand in a circle between the two of them as their eyes turn towards me. "But I've assessed all the patients, and they are all in stable condition and receiving treatment."

Turning his head back to Claire, I watch as the patient takes Claire's smaller hand into his larger one, kissing her palm. "You may take care of me now, Angel."

I raise my eyebrows, "Do you need my help in here, Claire?"

"No!" They both shout in unison, whipping their heads in my direction.

I hold my hands up in front of my chest, "Alrighty then. I'll go check in with Kelly." I back out of the room, closing the door behind me.

"There you are, Belle. The police are trying to rule out foul play with the fire. Since this is an open arson investigation, we are going on lockdown. No one will be in or out of the burn unit. Everyone will have to sleep wherever they can and eat whatever is in the breakroom." Shirley says.

"No, for how long." I planned to see if Kelly could get me back into the sex club again tonight. I wanted to see Dom one more time. But if I'm stuck here too long, he will have moved on with someone else. My heart drops to my stomach at the thought of him touching someone else the way he touched me.

"You know the drill, not until we get the all-clear from the administration." She sighs, moving around to me to answer a call light flashing above one of the patient rooms.

She's right. I do know the drill. The last time something like this happened, we were on lockdown for five days. Five days is probably like a lifetime for a Pleasure Dom to abstain from sex. I guess I need to cut my losses and move on from Dom.

I paste a tight smile on my face, "Okay, thanks, Shirley. I will pass on the lockdown information to Claire and Kelly." I yell after Shirley.

I'm normally not a crier, but I feel like crying now. My heart is breaking, knowing I will never see Dom again.

I take a deep breath, shake my head from side to side, and shrug my shoulders, gearing up to take on the rest of the day.

***

The rest of my shift flies by in a blur of dressing changes and pain management. I search for a place to crash for a few hours when I notice Barry and Brad coming out of a patient's room. Barry holds his head, and Brad tilts his head back, pinching his nose. They glare at me as they pass by, muttering something unintelligible under their breath.

I plaster myself against the hallway wall, making sure to stay out of their way. I watch until I see them enter the doctors' lounge at the end of the hallway.

When I turn back to the patient's room, they just exited, I notice Claire peeking her head out of the doorway.

"Belle," she waves at me to come closer." Nick knows about the lockdown and wants us to stay in his room. He said there is plenty of room." She bites her lip, darting her eyes to the end of the hallway, looking between me and the doctor's lounge.

I blink, trying to clear my head, "Do you think it's wise to sleep in one of the patient rooms that is already occupied by a patient?"

She glances back into the room, "Yes, we will be safe with Nick." She turns back to me, "Wait here. I will grab some extra bedding. It will be just like a slumber party." She walks away, leaving me in the hallway, staring after her with my jaw dropped.

What is going on with Nick and Claire? First, they are fighting about his treatment, and now she is sleeping in his room.

She's right. We will be safer in Nick's room, away from Brad, Chad, and Barry.

Claire hustles back down the hallway, her arms loaded down with blankets and pillows. "Come on, you can have the couch, and I will take the recliner by the bed." She nods her head towards Nick's door, a blush rising on her cheeks.

I make my bed and snuggle down in the blankets, watching as Nick tries to switch places with her, wanting her to take his bed. I quickly close my eyes, not wanting them to know I am watching their display.

After a few minutes, I crack my eyes open, looking to see who won the argument, when I see they are both in the hospital bed, snuggled together, sound asleep. Claire is one of the best nurses I've ever met, so I know their disagreement must have been over her sharing the hospital bed with him out of concern for infection. From the possessive way he's holding her while they sleep he obviously won the argument.

I, on the other hand, wasn't as lucky. Sleep eludes me as visions of Dom pop into my head every time I close my eyes.