Nicole's Pov
At 6 a.m., the sky was a soft gradient of deep blue, hinting at the sunrise yet to come. I walked through the near empty parking lot, my steps slow as the fatigue from the night shift settled deep into my muscles. The hospital loomed behind me, its fluorescent lights buzzing against the dim dawn, still alive and awake in a world otherwise quiet and still.
I unlock my car, slide into the driver’s seat, and sigh as I rest my head against the steering wheel for a brief moment. My mind is replaying snippets from the night, the steady beep of monitors, the quick calls for backup, and the tense silences that came between emergencies. The weirdest part of the night, or morning, was the encounter with Zachary and his reaction to my declining his invitation to dinner. But that is all
