Russian Roulette

It takes a few moments for those words to register and everyone is staring at me expectantly.

“Hi I’m Quinn,” I manage to get out. I shake her hand and look at Geno. He’s looking at me but I can’t read his expression. Everyone continues talking and I tell Audrina I want to go home.

“Well he moves on quickly,” Audrina says once we get through the door. I find myself feeling angry even though I have no right to be.

“What am I supposed to do now?” I ask her.

“Well you need to figure out what you’re feeling because right now you’re all over the place.”

“I know. Part of me wants to be with him but the other part knows he’s way to good for me.”

“That’s bullshit Quinn and you know it. He’d be lucky if he got you. I know you were with Bobby for so long because in that fucked up mind of yours you thought that’s what you deserve. You are single-handedly the best person I have ever met and you deserve someone that will give you the world and I really thought that someone was Geno,” she says seriously.

“So what do I do now?” I ask hopelessly.

“That’s up to you. Is he just another guy or is he worth fighting for?” She walks into her room leaving me on the couch alone with my thoughts.

“So you’re going to make him choose between you and hot blonde Russian? Well that seems unfair how do you choose?” Elias asks dramatically the next day.

“You could always break them up,” Matt suggests.

“I don’t even know why I tell you guys these things,” I say shaking my head.

“Well clearly this Oksana chick is just a distraction from you,” Elias says with his mouth full.

“Well they were serious before and he brought her here all the way from Russia so I don’t think it’s just a fling,” I tell them.

“You’re the one who put yourself in this situation. If you would have just admitted your feelings in the first place you-“ Matt begins to say.

“Yeah yeah yeah I get it,” I say irritably. I finish my lunch and head towards the cast lab where I take out my anger on old pieces of plaster.

The guys had all texted me to hang out but I didn’t have it in me to be around Geno and Oksana. I distracted myself with work and was able to push Geno to the back of mind. I was asleep in an on-call room when my pager goes off. I go to the emergency room where I hear someone screaming and Dr. Cohen comes up to me and hands me the patient file.

“22 year old male climbing a tree. Fell and broke his femur, tibia, his arm and he has a high-energy pelvic fracture. He’s lost a lot of blood and we’ve already done one transfusion.” Dr. Cohen informs me. I hold up the x-ray and examine the fractures.

“Both legs are clean breaks. The break missed the femoral artery and he has a lateral compression fracture. Is he stable enough for surgery?” I ask.

“The transfusion seems to be helping for now,” he replies. I go up to the patient and he stops yelling.

“Hey buddy I’m Dr. Eriksson. Looks like you took quite a spill tonight so we’re going to operate right away because you sustained some serious injuries. We’re first going to be stabilizing your pelvis. Your pelvis got pushed inward in the fall so we are going to use external fixation to stabilize it. Metal screws will be inserted into the bone and the screws project out of the skin on both sides of the pelvis where they are attached to cotton fiber bars outside the skin. The external fixation acts as a stabilizing frame to hold the broken bones in proper position. For your broken femur we will be doing intramedullary nailing. A specially designed metal rod is inserted into the marrow canal of the femur. The rod passes the fracture to keep it in position. Your arm is a stable fracture so you won’t be needing surgery just a cast. Your surgery will take a few hours but the sooner we stop the bleeding the better. Did you have any questions?” He shakes his head and signs the consent form. I turn around to get scrubbed in when I bump into Dr. Reid who is the attending orthopaedic surgeon.

“Dr. Reid you’re here. I would be happy to assist you in this surgery,” I say awkwardly.

“Oh Dr. Eriksson I’m just here to watch. This surgery is all yours,” he says smiling. I nod and head to the O.R. to get scrubbed in.
After over six hours and many screws and rods later I was finally done. I was able to repair the shredded artery, set his arm and both fractures were stable. I finish suturing him up and leave the operating room. I’m at the nurse’s station when Matt comes up to me smiling.

“Look at you, that was quite the surgery,” he says impressed.

“Yeah I kinda rock,” I smile.

“You down to get drink after shift?”

“Sure why not.”

“Great I’ll see you at Jack’s.” He winks at the nurse sitting by us and walks away. I decide to quickly check on my patient before I leave for the night. I walk in the room and he’s just waking up. I check his vitals and he looks surprised to see me.

“Hey. How are you feeling?” I ask.

“Like I fell out of a tree,” he says smiling weakly.

“Let me guess Jack Daniels?”

“Is it that obvious?” he laughs. He winces immediately and I feel bad for the guy.

“I figure a 22 year old in a tree on Friday night screams some kind of hard liquor.”
We make small talk for a few minutes before I leave. I get changed and head to Jack’s down the street to meet Elias and Matt.

“There she is, we got you your favourite,” Matt says from his spot at the bar. I take a long sip of my beer and feel the cold liquid go down my throat.

“I’m surprised you don’t have a date tonight,” I tell Matt.

“I did but she cancelled.”

“Well looks like you’re stuck with us,” I say smiling. I feel antsy so I start cracking peanuts.

“Any updates on the hockey player?” Elias asks.

“No. I’ve decided to just give up,” I reply.

“But I was team Quinn. We were supposed to go all the way,” Matt says frowning.

“Well I hate to disappoint you but life doesn’t always go the way you want,” I say before sipping my beer. Elias starts talking about a breast reduction he did so I finish my beer and tell them good-bye. I walk the short distance to my apartment and walk up the stairs. When I get to my door I notice the door is ajar. I start to panic because Audrina was in Denver and I know I locked the door when I left. I reach for phone and dial the first number I think of.

Notes