A Place of Hope and No Pain

Chloe's POV

"Grab a break while you can ladies." Gen, our in charge urged us.

I nodded, washing my hands. We were having a lull at work at the moment, all was quiet and she was right, we needed to grab a break while we could.

I went straight to the cafeteria and grabbed a coffee, heading back to the break room, getting my phone out of my locker. I don't know why I was bothering, it's not like anyone would call me, but still, I had to sneak a peek.

"That pompous ass." I snapped, glancing at my phone and reading the message.

"Who?" Mary asked, glancing up from here book.

"Ugh an idiot." I muttered, but who was I kidding, this was the reason I checked my phone, this message from Matt.

See you around four

That was it, that was all it said, nothing more. See you around four. Well what if they offered me some over time today? What if I wasn't home at four? What the fuck would that ass do then?

"Fuck him." I mumbled under my breath, shoving my phone back in my locker.

Yeah fuck him. Shouldn't he be concentrating on his wife instead of me?

I sighed, taking a mouthful of coffee. I needed to stop lying to myself. I was thrilled that Matt was showing an interest in me, I was thrilled that he wanted to put time into me, I'd never had that before, someone who wanted to know me, all of me. It scared the fuck out of me, there was a lot he didn't know about me, a lot I never spoke of, but maybe with him I would, I would talk about my past.

"Breaks over ladies." Marlon yelled, sticking his head in the door. "Chloe your specialty, we have an overdose coming in."

Great, I couldn't even finish my god damn coffee.

"Talk." I yelled at Marlon as I grabbed some gloves.

He looked at me and shrugged. "No details, ETA three minutes, room 5."

I rolled my eye's, heading into 5 to ensure everything was ready and not long after that I heard the yelling which indicated our patient was on their way.

I stood back, watching the paramedics transfer her onto the bed, giving a handover at the same time, before disappearing the same way they came in.

"Get some fluids into her." Someone yelled and I grabbed what was needed, taking a step closer.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me." I whispered, looking down at the bed.

"I can barely get a BP." The doctor snapped. "What'd she take?" And he looked at us.

"Um heroin." I mumbled, shocked and still looking for a vein to put a cannula in.

"Hurry up Chloe." He snapped at me. "Give her Naloxone and fucking hurry up."

I was fucking hurrying and finally I had a vein and we started a fluid IV. I watched as the doctor put the Naloxone in her thigh and then I stood back. This patient was going to wake up angry and she was probably going to wake up angry with me.

We all stood there waiting and watching, hoping that it worked. Sometime it took a little while, sometime it was instantaneous, other times they needed a second dose.

Suddenly the person on the bed started coughing and then the throwing up started.

"Get her on her side." I said to nobody in particular and three of us went to her, getting her on her side so she could throw up on the floor and all over my fucking shoes.

I watched as the patient groaned, opening her eye's.

"You're okay." Mary told her softly.

She groaned again, looking around before looking at me.

"You, you fucking bitch." She screamed at me, trying to sit up.

"Carmen, please." I said softly, attempting to diffuse the situation. "Calm down."

"Calm down." She screamed. "Calm down." And then she burst into tears, sobbing and laying back down.

I stood there awkwardly, everyone looking at me. "We know each other." I said calmly, attempting to smile.

"Excellent." The doctor snapped. "You can keep an eye on her, she seems stable for now, so excuse me while I go help another fucking loser."

"Excuse me?" I snapped. How dare he call anyone a loser?

"You heard me." He yelled, walking off.

"Fucking pig." I muttered, looking down at Carmen who was still sobbing on the bed.

I went about checking her vitals while everyone else left the cubicle. I wanted to ask her what the hell was going on? Why the fuck was she here? And fuck, I was sad that she didn't make it outside of rehab, it hurt, a lot.

"Chloe." She sobbed and I looked at her. "I left my husband for him and he disappeared, he just up and went back to rehab."

I nodded. "I know." Fucking Clay, I was going to kill him. Here was the perfect example of why you didn't have a relationship with a client. "And I'm sorry."

She nodded, wiping her face. "I have nothing, nothing left."

I pulled up a chair, sitting next to her. "Yeah you do." I said softly. "You have you and believe me, you're something, so you had a setback, it happens, but let me help you Carmen, I know you can do it, you've done it before."

So I spent the rest of my shift with Carmen, holding her hand, listening to her and then as I was leaving she was being admitted for the night. At least I knew she would be safe and just before I left I organised a counsellor to see her and discuss some options with her. She deserved a second chance and I wanted to give it to her. She'd succeed, I knew she would.

After saying Goodbye to her and promising I'd call in and see her tomorrow I finally got to the showers, changing, grabbing my stuff and heading to my car.

It was nearly four and I couldn't help but smile, imagining Matt waiting for me on the front step. Served the ass right.

Just as I was about to pull out of the parking lot my phone rang and I snatched it up, assuming it was King Ass himself.

"What?" I snapped, not even glancing at the number.

"Chloe, honey, it's me." My Mother said softly.

I closed my eye's, groaning. "What do you want?" Couldn't she just leave me alone?

"Well, you know." She said stammering. "This Sunday is Harper's birthday."

"No shit." I growled, fuck I hated her. "Why the fuck are you telling me this?"

"Well it's her 6th birthday Chloe." She said softly, calmly. "And we'd like you to be there."

I took a deep breath, calming myself, because right now I wanted to kill someone, I really did.

"Are you still there?" Mom asked quietly.

"I'm still here." I snapped. "And as for Harper's birthday no I won't be there, I'm not entirely sure why you want me to be there now anyway, I mean I certainly wasn't good enough to be there six years ago, so what's fucking changed." But I wanted to go, god I wanted to go so badly.

Instead of waiting for her to answer I just hung up. I couldn't deal with her bullshit at all and after the day I'd had, I didn't want to.

Why did she suddenly want me to be there when I wasn't good enough six years ago and after they did what they did? Did they really expect me to show up?

My already bad mood was black by the time I left work, the traffic didn't help either. I was mad and I was sad, at everyone.

Well I was mad at everyone until I pulled into the drive and saw Matt siting on the step, Lucy peering out the curtains, at him.

"You're late." He called out as I got out of my car.

"Fucking get over it." I snapped, walking up and unlocking the door.

But I smiled, happy he was here.