Finding Love (GxG) -completed-

Chapter 27- Safe At Home

As Gwyn drove home, I explained about who Kenny was, how he threatened me and my family, that he had ruined my reputation, and that it had thrown me into a state of depression the summer before I moved for college. I also told her how proud I was of myself for finishing my day in spite of how difficult it was to face Kenny. Once I finished explaining, I told Gwyn I missed her. We would have visited Serena but she was busy working with Physical Therapy.  According to Andrea, Physical Therapy has to teach Serena how to do most things for herself if she is to come home with us. The other option is to stay with her parents in Missouri, and she does not want to go there if she can help it. As much as Serena loves her parents, her mother is suffocating her, and she doesn’t think she could handle being under their roof again. Elise had to agree that would be hard. Even with no healthcare experience, Andrea offered to help her if she came back to the house. Luckily for Serena, her room is on the main floor and not upstairs like mine.

It turns out Andrea had gone to see Serena Saturday, and her mother happened to be at the hotel when she visited.  Andrea said they had a nice discussion,  and Serena had complained she shouldn’t make her laugh because it hurt. Definitely an improvement, so Andrea has been in a better mood too. 

Elise did not mention Ashley to anyone but Kameron because she wasn’t sure how to explain the situation to them. What would she do if they refused her friendship because she was gay? Yes, this was exactly why she had never told any of them. This was why she hadn’t acted on her impulses in the past. Telling her female friends she is gay could very likely end in the loss of those friends. Elise just wasn’t sure she was strong enough to handle that. 

Upon arriving home, Elise retreated to her room, stripped out of her scrubs, and snuggled in for a brief nap before supper. After supper, it would be time to hit the books again. Elise’s alarm went off at 4:30PM and she begrudgingly got up, threw on yoga pants and a tee shirt with her Gopher slippers, and went downstairs.  Elise made supper with Gwyn as planned earlier on the ride home. They prepared tater tot hotdish (one of Charlie’s favorite dishes) but used turkey because Kali won’t eat beef. They also warmed dinner rolls and tossed a spinach salad. For dessert, Gwyn mixed up a blueberry cheesecake. All in all, it was tasty and nutritious. The bonding with friends, who were like family, always helped to lift their spirits. Even Charlie helped rinse dishes to put in the dishwasher, something Elise had rarely seen, but it made Gwyn smile. It was obvious watching Charlie and Gwyn that they loved each other. The little touches here and there, the cute little smiles they gave each other, and the funny inside jokes they shared when they thought no one was paying attention. They seemed like the perfect couple. Elise realized at that moment that she no longer felt jealous, just happy for them, since she met Kam. Wow, that’s a huge step in the right direction! Elise always despised herself for feeling jealous of her friends, but had felt that way none the less. In spite of the crazy day, life was pretty good right now. 

Elise retreated to her room to study for the quiz on Wednesday followed by a test on Friday. Repetition had always been the key to Elise doing well. Again, if it works, why change it? So she would review several times over the next few days if she wanted to do well on her test on Friday. Tests were 75% of their grade, so they were very important. Projects were 20% and quizzes were 5%. Elise had this instructor before, and knew the questions on the weekly quizzes leading up to the exams, were usually the vast majority of the exam. So going by that pattern, Elise was hoping to continue to do well. 

Something most people didn’t understand about nursing school, that made it one of the hardest programs, is that there can be more than one correct answer. In fact, all the answers could potentially be correct, but you have to figure out which is “the best,” or “most correct,” answer out of the options given. This infuriating fact,  had been the most difficult thing for many nursing students to learn. Some simply are not able to adjust and are not able to pass the program.