This Love Will Be Our Downfall

So I have decided to learn from my mistakes and move on. Well, sort of.

Since the hospital incident, I haven’t spoken to Brent. He has tried to call and text, but I have ignored it, decided to not let him get to me. Or at least act like he hasn’t.

I spent the good part of two weeks taking care of Lizzie until her doctor said she was allowed to continue regular activity. And once again, I was jobless. But that quickly changed.

I was lounging around in the living room watching TV with Lizzie went our phone rang.
“You wanna answer that?” Lizzie asked.

I rolled my eyes and got up to get the phone.

“Hello?”

“Is this Katey McDonnell?”

“Yes, what can I help you with?”

“Well this is Stacy Olexa from human resources down at Rush Hospital. You applied for a job a few months back?”

I started getting excited. “Yes?”

“Well I am calling you to offer you a position in our Cardiac ward.”

I started jumping up and down. “Oh my god. Yes. I mean, I accept.”

After that, my luck seemed to change. While shopping with Lizzie, I ran into this handsome man, spilling my hot tea all over myself.

“Oh I’m so sorry! I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going!”

He laughed. “It’s fine. I’m more worried about you. I hope you aren’t burned.”

I looked down at my dress. “Nah. It’s a little hot, but I’ll be fine.”

“Lemme buy you something to replace it so you don’t have to walk around wet.”

“Good idea. Go ahead Katey.” Lizzie cuts in.

I stared at her. “Really. I’m fine.”

“I insist. I’m Luke by the way.”

The rest of the day I spent with him just walking down Michigan Avenue talking about everything, he even bought me another tea.

As the sun went down, Lizzie texted me the address of the restaurant I was to meet her and Kane at.

“Well, it seems I have to go meet my friend and her boyfriend for dinner.”

“What a shame. I was going to offer to take you out before we departed.”

I smiled. “Just come to dinner with us. They won’t mind.”

At dinner, Luke and Patrick talked hockey while me and Lizzie quietly discussed Luke.

“He seems nice.” She pointed out.

“He seems wonderful.”

“So what about Brent?”

I sighed. “Lizzie, you know that I like him, I really do. But I just don’t know if I can play these games anymore with him.”

She nodded. “Understandable. I say give this hottie a chance.”

That was two weeks ago. Ever since, Luke has been nothing but Prince Charming, but I couldn’t get Brent out of my head. He still texted me, trying to get me to talk to him, but I just couldn’t.

“Yo Katey. You got a visitor down in the lounge. Boyfriend perhaps?” My co-worker Lance said breaking me out of my daydream.

I smiled. “I gotta check on the patient in room 506 then I’ll head down.”

I did everything but run down to the lounge, excited that Luke actually came to see me at work. Surprise lunch date perhaps?

I stopped short of the lounge when I saw Brent sitting there instead of Luke. My heart stopped for a brief second.

“Brent?”

He turned around and stood up. He looked like shit.

“Katey, I- I just needed to see you. Lizzie told me you worked here. Shit I hope I didn’t interrupt a surgery or anything.”

I shook my head. “No, you’re fine. I was actually heading to get some lunch. Umm, wanna go with me?”

He nodded and walked with me down to the cafeteria.

“Sorry it’s nothing fancy, but I only have about a half hour.”

As we got our food and sat down, he just stared at me.

“Congrats on the new job.”

I smiled. “Thanks but I highly doubt that’s what you came to say.”

“You didn’t answer my texts or calls.”

I shrugged. “I was pissed. Besides, you knew where I lived. You could of came by and fixed things.”

“Lizzie was right.” He mumbled.

I crooked an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”

“Lizzie was right. I don’t fight for the thing I lo- like.”

My heart skipped a beat. Was he about to say what I think he was?

“What does that mean?”

“No matter what, after we fight, one of us seems to give up, and it’s usually me.”

I sighed. “So what Brent? Are you saying you don’t want to give up?”

He reached across the table and grabbed my hand. “No I don’t. When I am with you, everything seems right.”
Remember Luke. Don’t forget about Luke.

I pulled my hand away and started picking at my salad. “Brent, I- I have something to tell you. I have sort of been seeing this guy.”

He sat back in shock. “So you gave up.”

“I didn’t give up Brent. Shit. We weren’t even dating. Remember? We agreed to take shit slow. Then you had to throw the Hanna situation in my face and didn’t even come to me to apologize! You sent a simple ‘I’m sorry. Forgive me?’ text message. Fuck. That shit doesn’t work Brent. Not anymore.”

I stood up and walked to the trash can to throw my trash away and go back to work, when he grabbed my arm.

“I’m not giving up this time.” He whispered into my ear before he walked away.

The rest of the day was a blur. All I could think about is what Brent said.

At the end of the day, as I was walking out to my car, my phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Who died?” my best friend asked.

I stopped and looked for my keys in my purse. “I’m sorry what?”

“Who died? Cause someone must of for you to get several dozen flowers.”

I groaned. “I’ll be home shortly.”

“Good cause I cannot stop sneezing.”

As I walk into the condo, I was greeted by lilies and roses sitting on the counter.

Lizzie walked in with her hand on her stomach. “So who are they from?”

I looked at the cards. “Roses from Luke, saying he misses me. And lilies from…. Brent.”

She groaned. “I told him that this shit wasn’t gonna win you back, he would have to actually talk to you face to face.”

I stood there staring at the card. “He did.”

She looked at me surprised. “He did what? When?”

I started going through the fridge for dinner. “He surprised me at work during my lunch hour.”

“And?”

“We talked. He said you were right, that he did keep running away during fights.”

“HA.” She said as she did a mini happy dance.

I rolled my eyes. “Then I told him about Luke.”

“Yeah how did that one go?”

I popped some kind of leftover into the microwave. “He told me he wasn’t going to give up.”

“So?”

“So what Lizzie?”

She rolled her eyes. “What are you going to do?”

“He remembered my favorite flower . And this quote, it’s almost perfect.”

“Brent did? What did the card say?”

But I know all that you want is to figure it out
And God knows I do too
What can I do?
Say it's true
I'll never ask for anyone but you

“Isn’t that out of some song?” Lizzie asked.

I smiled. “My favorite. ‘Another Heart Calls’ by AAR.”

She handed the card back. “Well it fits if you ask me.”

I rolled my eyes. “What do you think I should do?”

She puts her finger on my chest. “Listen to this.”

As she walked away, I picked up my phone and dialed.

“Hey, it’s me.”