Russian Roulette

I stand there stunned and I’m at a complete loss for words. I hear someone clear their throat and I snap back to reality. The four guys are all standing there expectantly.
“Uh hi. I’m Dr. Eriksson. I’ll be preforming your surgery today. You must be Beau,” I say smiling at the blonde in the hospital gown.

“Hi, it’s nice to meet you,” he replies.

“Hi I’m James,” the guy with red beard says smoothly. I shake his hand and look at the other two guys. “Oh and this is Sidney and Geno.” I shake Sidney’s and then turn to face Evgeni. He looks as shocked as I am but still holds out his hand. I shake it tentatively and my knees feel weak. I pull my hand away and focus my attention back to Beau.

“Okay so today we’re going to be repairing your scapholunate ligament.
We’ll be doing it arthroscopically. The ligament will be repaired by sutures that are anchored to the bone. The surgery should only take a couple of hours. Do you have any questions?” I ask him.

“How long until he can play again?” Sidney asks.

“About four months,” I reply.

“Are you single?” James asks.

“I’m not. Sorry,” I apologize. I look at Evgeni and he looks surprised and I feel a wave of guilt hit me suddenly. “Anything else?”
Beau shakes his so I turn to leave. I’m walking down the hall when I hear my name being called. I turn around and see Evgeni running to catch up to me.

“Evgeni hi,” I say awkwardly.

“Geno,” he says smiling.

“Geno.”

“Why you leave so early?” he asks.

“Look. I shouldn’t have slept with you that night. I was drunk and I have a boyfriend.”

“So I can’t see again?” he says sadly.

“I’m sorry but no. I should go prep for surgery. It was nice to officially meet you Geno,” I say smiling. He gives me a weak smile and I leave. I found myself feeling sad and I didn’t know why. I shake the thought from my mind and get scrubbed in. I get into the O.R. and I see Beau laying on the table and Matt standing over him.

“Dr. Chase I don’t remember asking for a cardio consult,” I say annoyed.

“Well Dr. Eriksson I thought I’d expand my horizons and assist you today,” he says, his smile reaching his eyes.

“This wouldn’t have anything to do with the fact that I have a Pittsburgh Penguin on my table would it?” I ask.

“What really? I had no idea.” I shake my head and crack my neck.

“Scalpel.”

Later that day I decide to check on Beau to see how he’s doing post-op.
I walk in the room and all the boys are still there.

“Hey Beau, how are you feeling?” I ask.

“I feel good,” he says smiling and I can tell he’s still a little out of it.

“Well your surgery went perfect. I have no doubt about you playing even better than before in a few months.”

“That’s great Doc you’re the best.” I smile and write a few things in his chart.

“Do you like hockey?” James asks.

“Not particularly. My roommate is a huge fan though,” I reply.

“You should come to the game!” Beau says excitedly.

“Yeah we can leave tickets for you and your roommate,” Sidney adds.

“As a thank you for fixing me,” Beau says smiling.

“Sure. Sounds fun. When?”

“We play tomorrow night. You work?” Geno asks.

“I can get it off,” I reply smiling. I leave the guys alone and find Matt at the nurse’s station.

“So guess who just scored Penguins tickets?” I say smiling.

“No way. When we going?” he asks excitedly.

“Well me and Audrina are going tomorrow night. You’ll be stuck here doing a bypass surgery.”

“That’s not fair,” he whines.

“Sorry bud.” I head to the locker room excited to tell Audrina the news.

I get home and see Bobby’s motorcycle on the street. A feeling of dread washes over me and I slowly make my way upstairs. I open the door and find him waiting for me in the kitchen.

“Well well look who finally made it home,” he sneers.

“What are you doing here?” I ask tentatively.

“Well let’s see I haven’t seen or heard from you in a few days and I was starting to get worried.” He walks up to me and traps between the fridge and himself.

“Are you hiding something from me?” he says inches away from my face.

“No Bobby I’ve just been working,” I say uncomfortably. He stares into my eyes and I can tell he’s trying to read me. Eventually he backs up and leans against the wall across from me. He was wearing a leather jacket and combat boots. His curly brown was pulled back into a bun and his green eyes were piercing. I had been with Bobby for 3 years off and on. We were always fighting and we broke up a lot but we always found our way back to each other. I had always liked the bad boys and Bobby fit the description to a tee. I stare at the ground, not wanting to be the one to break the silence. He comes up to me and moves the hair out of face.
“Hey you’re my girl. I just worry about you sometimes,” he says gently. I look up into his eyes and I melt. He kisses and I’m caught under his spell once again. He leaves to meet some friends and I walk into Audrina’s room. She’s reading some magazine with her headphones on. I take them off and lie beside her.

“Did you tell him?” she asks.

“No. It was a mistake and I don’t want to hurt him.” I reply.

“Why he deserves to be hurt.”

“Audrina…”

“No Quinn. He treats you like shit and I hate having to stand back and watch. I’m patiently waiting for the day when you break up with his sorry ass,” she says angrily.

“I don’t expect you to get it. He’s a different person when we’re alone.”

“I don’t get it. I never will get it but I put up with it because I love you.” I lay there thinking about what she said. I had no delusions about them ever being friends but was my relationship with him really such a burden on her? They were the two most important people in my life and I couldn’t lose either of them.

“I got Penguins tickets for tomorrow night,” I say, trying to diffuse the tension.

“How?” she asks.

“I operated on Beau Bennett’s wrist today and he gave me two as a thank-you,”

“That’s incredible! What’s with you and hockey players lately?”

“I don’t know but it was awkward because Geno was at the hospital with him.”

“What did he say?”
“He wanted to see me again but I told him I have a boyfriend.”

“Quinn you could have Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins. In fact you literally have any guy you want but you choose Bobby,” she says disappointedly. I shake my head my head and get up.
“I’m going to bed, I’ll see you tomorrow.” I get up and head to my room where Audrina's words echo through my head for the rest of the night.

Notes