Through the Afterglow

Rae Stephens

The white tile floor of Scottsdale Memorial was nearly blinding against the dark navy walls, both having been cleaned by the janitors earlier that day. My heels, nearly breaking my feet, clicked against this clean tile as I opened the door to the clinic, my best friend in tow.

I was a doctor of diagnostic medicine at Scottsdale Memorial Hospital, and one of the youngest doctors on staff, as well as the world. I wasn't exactly proud, but this was huge for me. I had spent my entire life working to skip grades and be the youngest doctor. Jazlyn, my best friend, had pushed me as hard as I pushed myself as I achieved this through blood, sweat, and tears. And now, she was almost in hysterics.

“Please, Rae, just one more blood test,” She begged. I sighed, stopping by the small desk, manned by the elderly nurses this early in the morning. Jazlyn was my best friend in the entire world, the only person I trusted. But she was struggling with the idea that whatever had been wrong with her last year was gone now, and was constantly asking me for more tests to make sure. She was always worried about every little thing, almost as bad as me when it came to our hearts.

“Jazlyn, you know just as well as I do that there's nothing wrong. You feel fine, right?” I said, stopping in front of room 8, grabbing the file from the door and reading it carefully, keeping one eye on Jazlyn as she nodded. I smiled, patting her shoulder gently. “Then you're going to be fine, okay?” I opened the door, still talking, and stopped dead as I saw who sat in front of me. He was cute, about my height and my age with dark blonde hair covered by a beanie, his dark eyes reflecting against the navy walls. I almost dropped my jaw to the floor. He was adorable.

His friend, sitting in the chairs, shot up as Jazlyn closed to door quietly behind me. He was taller, with dark black hair and even darker eyes, but a nice smile. He'd be perfect for Jazlyn. I composed myself, and looked at him. “What seems to be the problem?” I asked, keeping my voice cool and pulling a pen out of my jacket pocket. I read the file, but I focused on the boy talking.

“I'm Stephen Gomez, and this is Brian. We're in a band together, but Brian lost his voice and we were wondering if it was, you know, serious,” The dark haired boy said, chewing his lip. I gave a smile, going through the routine questions with the two, most of which Stephen answered, since Brian was rendered speechless. I could see him checking me out, but I chose not to notice, not to care. I was on an endless cycle of bad blind dates and lonely nights alone, and I had long since learned not to even throw myself out there anymore. I had accepted the fate I chose for myself, and that was to die alone with the cats I was terribly allergic to.

“Alright, well, let me check out Mr. Dales here. Jazlyn, could you take Mr. Gomez out in the waiting room for me?” I asked, winking at her slyly as she glared, leading Stephen out. She hated being set up with guys just as much as I did, but we intentionally did it to each other. We were in vibrant contrast, yet exactly the same. We had known each other since forever, and planned to know each other to our dying day and onward. We, in many ways, were polar opposites. I was a blonde with bright green eyes, while she was a brunette with eyes as dark as the other side of the moon. Our personalities fit in some places, and yet the opposite in others. We were a mystery, but our fate was forever intertwined.

“Well, let's get to work, shall we?” I said after my moment of silence, smiling at Brian.