Life Starts Now

Three days grace was back on the road. The atmosphere had changed since the Montreal show. Brad and Barry could feel it. Adam was more relaxed, more cheerful than he had been in the last two years. They both felt like happiness came back into the tour. This new energy surrounding the band made them better performers. On stage, they gave everything they got, like they did when they first start touring, back in the days.

Even with the band being the best they could, Adam knew that he had to take time for himself. He knew that his new status with Skye would create some stress that he would have to control. In the past, he used to control the anxiety with pills. Now, the only addiction he could still count on was nicotine. He did smoke almost a pack a day now. He knew it was not good for his voice, but he could not quit smoking now. He had too much to think about. Luckily for him, technology gave him the opportunity to talk to her and to see her via Facetime on his phone. They talked every day. With her schedule at the hospital, it was sometimes hard to be free at the same time; some nights, he would wake up at 4 in the morning just to talk to her during her break. It made him happy. He could not wait to see her again, to hug her, to kiss her.

In Montreal, Skye was going back to her normal life. She worked at the hospital, caring about the kids. But she did take some time to keep in touch with Adam. Even if they were not exactly a couple, she knew that her relationship with Adam was more than friendship. But she was not ready to say that they were in a relationship; for now, they were very close friends trying to work things out. Life was sort of easier for her now that she did not have to use her energy to hate Adam for what he had said. She would never forget the horrible things he said to her, but she would try to replace them by the wonderful things he was saying to her every day.

It has been two weeks since the Montreal show. Skye had a shift at the hospital at 8 in the morning. She did talk to Adam for an hour during the night, which means that she did not get enough of sleep. She woke up late and took a cab instead of the bus to be there on time. During the ride, her conversation with Adam got back on her mind.

«Please, tell me you miss me! » he asked her with a smile.
«How could I not miss you? »
«You’re right. I’m adorable! » he said as she laughed and smiled at the camera from her phone. «I can’t wait to be with you. Touring sucks when you’re far from the one you love. »
«Oh GOD! That is so cheezy! I never thought you could be like this. » she said trying not to burst into laughter.
«Ah come on Skye! I’m being cute, nice, and I am showing you how much I love you. I deserve an «I love you too». »
«I like you, » she said. «But I don’t think saying it via iPhone is the best way to tell it to you. » She paused for a moment, then decided to change the subject. «So, how’s the tour? Lots of shows? Lots of fans? » she asked.
«It’s fine, the band is closer than ever, our show rocks, as always. And the fans are great. But not close to be as cute as you are. »
«Yeah right! When are you coming back to Montreal? »
«I was wondering when you could take some days off to come to my place in Toronto. » he said trying to look into her eyes on the little screen of his phone.

She did not answer at first. It was almost 4 in the morning, it was a tricky question and she was tired. She did want to go there, but at the same time, she knew too well that this place was where he had lived with Naomi. This place where they were happy, where they create a love nest, where they conceived a child, where they destroyed their relationship; she did not want to go to the place she craved to visit a year ago. She was sure everything there would remind him of Naomi. She would question every single item, trying to know if it was hers or if she ever touched it. At that very moment, she did not want to even think about going there. But she knew it meant the world to him.

«I’ll check if I can take a few days off. But I don’t promise you that it will be possible. » she said seriously.
«Do your best. Babe, I have to go. Barry will kill me if I don’t shut up in the next second. »
«Good night Adam. »
«Don’t let the bed bugs bite, babe. » he said, blowing a kiss to the camera.

Even a few hours after, she still did not want to go to Toronto. She did not want to live there because she loved her job too much to quit it. She did not want to see the place where he and Naomi made love and built their life together. She simply couldn’t get the words right in her head to explain it to Adam yet.

She ran to her locker in the hospital, put her stethoscope around her neck, put her badge on her chest and went to the nurse desk at the department. She was a little late for the review of the night. She saw a black haired man sitting on the chair by the computer. She smiled and walked towards him.

«Hey Tuck! I know, I’m late! But before you ask, yes, I had a good night of sleep and I’m up and running for this day on the best department! » she said joyfully as he laughed.
«Do I have to understand that you did not get enough sleep and you want me to give you the review of the night really slowly so you will understand it correctly? » he asked with a smirk.
«It’s like you know me perfectly! Anything very important I should know before going around? »
«Room 415 , little Anna was asking for you all night. She got her chemo yesterday and she got sick, she wanted you to tell her the story. You should have seen Shanna’s face when she told me. Seems like she did not know what that girl was talking about! » he said with a laugh; he did not like Shanna at all.
«Good. Story for Anna. What about Tim? »

Tucker told her everything he knew and she thanked him before walking to room 415. Anna was awake but still lying in her bed. She was playing with her teddy bear. Her long blond hair was all over her face. At six years old, she was a survivor. She had leukemia for the second time. She was on her way to recovery when the cancer came back in force. It was the third week she spent here. Skye had created a really good bond with this little girl, which made it easier for her to treat her and give her the medicine without the girl arguing. Skye knocked on the door and Anna took her hair from her face. When her eyes reached Skye’s, a huge smile grew on her face.

«SKYE! » she almost yelled, sitting up on her bed.
«Hey sunshine! How do you feel today? A little bird told me you had chemo yesterday. »
«It made me sick. The nurse did not want to tell me the story of the little goat to comfort me. » she said with a sad face.

Skye sat on her bed and brushed her hair with her fingers. That story was a real story of how she saved a baby goat with an injection of medicine back when she was starting to date Andrew. When she first told the story to Anna, she said that the goat cried when she received the shot and that its mom wasn’t there to comfort it. So Skye stayed with her for an hour to make sure it was okay. When she came back the next day for another shot, the little goat did not cry because Skye was there. It was easier for her to receive the medicine. Skye always explained to Anna that it’s not easy to have that much medicine in her body and that it’s normal to feel sick and to feel pain. But since it was not the first time for her, she could be a grown up and go through it as a big girl. And if it was too much to handle, Anna knew that she would be there, or any other nurse, to be with her through the pain. Anna’s mother did learn the story and, when she could, she would tell her to comfort her.

«Is your mom coming today? » Skye asked the little girl.
«She said she’ll be here for lunch. »
«Do you want me to bring a Nintendo DS for you? »
«No, but will you come back? » she questioned, worried.
«You know I will. And, by the way, Tucker is with me today. »
«Really? When will you two be in love? » she asked as her face lit up with happiness.
«Who knows? Just tell him nice things about me, okay? » Skye added as the little girl nodded with a smile.

Skye left the room and almost ran into Tucker who was coming out of room 417. Her heart skipped a beat because of the surprise and the tall man burst into laughs as the adrenaline kicked off in Skye’s body.

«Hey you scared the hell out of me! Don’t ever do this again! » Skye said, raising her hand to her chest, trying to slow her heart rate.
«I know I’m attractive but you don’t have to react like this when we are working. » he said with a little smile.
«Talking of attractive… Anna wants us together. So play the game please. » Skye demanded before leaving for her next patient.

Tucker agreed and she went to room 420. It was a new patient. She took his file to have an idea of his health problem. His name was Dylan. 16 years old. He was dying from a robust form of leukemia. He received a bone marrow transplant a few years back, which did not work. He was sick, still receiving chemo every week, but the forecast was not good. It was hard for Skye to work with someone, knowing it might be his last day on Earth. But she knew how to make the day a little brighter. She entered the room where the teen was still sleeping. She opened the blinds to make the sunlight enter in the room. Dylan frowned and turned in the bed, hiding his face under the pillow.

«As far as I know, you are not a vampire. A little sunlight will not hurt you. Did you get your breakfast? » Skye asked while she took his pressure.
«I’m not hungry. » he answered with a sleepy voice.
«Not hungry or not liking the lovely maple oatmeal with fruits that the cafeteria made? » she asked with a smile.
«Both. Is it chemo day? »
«Nope. Tomorrow. Hey lucky you, day off today! I’m Skye, I’ll be your lovely nurse for the day. »

Dylan did not talk. He did sat on his bed and yawned, before falling on his pillow with a complain. At 16, they were not kids anymore. They were old enough to know what was going on, to know that life was not a fairy tale. She could feel that he did not care about life anymore. It was hard to look at somebody letting go of hope. She left the room and continued her round. She had 5 patients today, plus one who was leaving for home. It would be a very long day.

At noon, she met with Tucker in the cafeteria. They were working together for a few years now. He moved to Montreal with his girlfriend but they split shortly after. He stayed and worked at Ste. Justine since then. He was not serious at all, always making jokes, always making sure everyone was having fun around him.

«I’m so hungry! Even the oatmeal seemed delightful this morning. » Skye said with relief, putting a plate of Sheppard pie on the table in front of Tucker.

He had already begun to eat his sandwich. She took a few bites before she noticed something was wrong with him. He seemed to be in his own world, not looking at her at all.

«Is everything okay Tuck? » Skye asked.
«Mmm? » he shook his head a little. «I’m fine. I just learned a bad news, that’s all. » he added before taking another bite of his lunch.
«This means you’re not okay. What’s going on? »
«It’s Lauren… She’s getting married this summer. » he said without looking at her.

She was his ex-girlfriend. He was about to ask her to marry him when she called it quit and left. Skye knew that he had a hard time getting over it and that the wound was not totally healed.

«I’m sorry to hear that… » she said. «You can score something better than that bitch and you know it. » Skye added, trying to sound positive.
«Maybe… Anyway! How about your relationship status? »

She exhaled loudly and could not help but smile a little.

«Well I am seeing someone…»
«I KNEW IT! Tell me! » he giggled.
«God, you sound like some gay friend or something. » she said. He smiled and gave her a look. She continued. «He’s super nice, compliments me all the time. We’ve kind of dated back in the days, which ended in a mess but we are giving it another try. » she shyly added.
«Good. When are you seeing him again? »
«That’s the problem. He lives in Toronto. »
«Bummer…»
«I know. »
«You’ll find a way. If it’s love, you will find a way to make it work. » he said, putting his hand on hers.
«I hope you’re right… »

Skye got home at 5. She wanted to talk to Adam so bad. But he left a message on her phone stating that he was overbooked with interviews for the day and that he would only be able to talk to her the next day. She did not want to bother her sister with her stories from work. Lexi had enough to worry about with her school and her boyfriend. She made some coffee and sat in the living room. She felt like she was missing something. She needed friends. At this moment, she even thought about calling Andrew and talking to him. He had always been ready to hear her talk about everything, she could tell him all her worries, every pain, every moment of joy… He was a good friend before becoming his boyfriend. She wished she could go back to that status with him. She really needed him in her life, even if she was aware that she could not have both Adam and Andrew. She really needed to make some new friends, maybe girls, just to make sure she did not fall in love with them.