Five Years Later

I throw on my shoes, grab my backpack, and rush down to the bus station. I started working at North Star Medical Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island at the beginning of this year.

I love what I'm doing. The people in the hospital are great and very supportive. Although it's a heavy job to deal with, I have developed such a passion for work over the past few years.

My days are pretty consistent with work, eat, and sleep. I wake up, get on the bus to sleep or eat, work, go home on the bus to sleep or eat, and then go to bed. The shifts are sporadic, and I never know when I'm going to get called in. I've almost gained an appreciation for the unknowing in this job, since everything else in my life is set so straight.

I live in an apartment with Nora. She graduated with a degree in education and is teaching at an elementary school in the city. I'm pretty sure she'll move in with Flynn soon, once he puts a ring on it. The golden couple needs to make it out alive.

Sometimes I stop and think about how different my life had been back when I lived in Brookings, Oregon. I haven't been back there in three years, not since Vic and Jackie moved to Norway for their photography museum.

Jett stayed with the Kennedy's until he left for college, but he always came to visit me in Rhode Island or Nora at UCLA where she got her degree before she moved out here by me. Jett is now at Florida State University studying film. He has found so many close friends just in his first year of being there, which I guess I expected from that overly social kid.

High School was a much better time for Jett than his primary school days had been. He joined so many different clubs and really found his passion for film. As for his relationship with Jonas, they decided that it was best to just keep being best friends, and they're still as strong as ever.

Jonas went to Oregon State this year to play soccer. He was on varsity all four years of high school and was one of the better players. I wish I had been able to make a game, but my schedule was too hectic to allow a trip back down to Oregon. With my class schedule and practicals all piling up, the only vacation times were my Monday nights watching the Bachelor/Bachelorette.

There were some days where all I wanted was to throw away my nursing shoes and go back to Oregon; however, there were days where all I wanted was to get a call at midnight to come in to the hospital and work all day and night.

I've been known to be a workaholic. I have been since I was a little girl, taking every babysitting job possible to avoid having any free time. It only makes sense that I fell right back into that lifestyle after I left Elliott.

Thinking back on my relationship with Elliott is so weird. I don't do it often, but there are days when it's all I think about. I lived with him for just over a month when we dated. He broke up with me after three months of being together. We were pretty much out of each other's lives for another three months, until we had those few months in the friendzone. I loved him with everything I had, and I don't regret leaving him.

I did not have any time for a boyfriend. I had work and school and that's just about it. It would not have been fair to keep Elliott in our on-and-off again, long-distance relationship for another five years while I tried to finish school. At first I hated myself for making that decision, but then it finally just settled in my heart that this is what he needed to be happy.

I don't hear much about Elliott these days, but last I heard he was doing great. He found a new job, no longer working for his dad. He took classes at the community college and got a degree in education. I was clearly shocked to hear he had chosen that path, but he is truly amazing with children, and I'm happy that he found something he actually wants to be doing.

"Hey, Ivy," my friend Alexis greets when I get to my locker. "How'd you sleep last night?"

I open my locker and glance over to Alexis. "Fine. Why do you ask?"

"You seems pretty cozy with that guy from the bar. I thought maybe you took him home," she says smugly.

"We were just talking," I say and throw my backpack into the locker before closing it. I put my hair in a pony tail and walk out of the room. "Why do you always assume I'll take a guy home with me, Lex?"

Alexis shrugs. "It's about time you did."

I roll my eyes and head over to where my boss is handing out room assignments to the other nurses on the floor.

"Lynch," my boss says, handing me a clipboard, "patient in room 220."

I take the clipboard and spin around to go to my assigned room. I knock gently on the side of the door while scanning over the basic information on my patient. "Hi, I'm your nurse Ivy. I'll be here to make sure you're feeling comfortable and--" I stop mid-sentence, my eyes finally looking at my patient.

Five years without talking to him, the one person I never thought I could live without. I've seen him on social media. I used to see him when he'd visit his family during breaks, but we never talked. We haven't said anything since the night I ended things.

"Hi," Elliott says weakly.

I almost forget how to speak. Snapping out of the initial shock, I manage to clear my throat and focus on my job. "What happened?"

"I don't actually know," he answers. "I just blacked out. The last thing I remember doing is leaving for work this morning." He looks at me curiously. "Did you get a haircut?"

I ignore the latter question and set my clipboard down on the small table. "Have you eaten anything today?"

"Uh," he pauses to think, "maybe. I might've had like a pear."

"You hate pears," I comment without thinking.

His lips turn up slightly. "Fine. I might've had an apple then. I honestly can't remember."

"That's okay," I say and turn to the sink to wash my hands. "I'll just do a quick checkup and have Doctor Green come in shortly after to see if anything is wrong."

My heart is at an abnormal beat as I take Elliott's vitals. I need to stay focused, since I am professional after all; but, it has been five years. I can't be expected to act calm in this situation. I can tell Elliott is on edge as well. His pulse is a tad bit higher than normal.

He rolls up the sleeve of his shirt for me to take his blood pressure. I'm oddly surprised to find a tattoo on his left bicep. While wrapping the cuff around his arm, my fingers trail across the small image. It's a triangle and a heart overlapping.

Without needing to ask, he answers my question, "it's the symbol for adoption."

I smile softly, glad to know that family is still so important to Elliott. He loves his siblings with everything he has; I know that much about him. It was just another thing that made me more crazy about him.

"It's beautiful, Elliott," I say honestly.

Elliott nods and watches as the cuff begins to tighten around his arm. He sits in silence as I write down his stats for the doctor. I feel like there is so much to say, but there is nothing that I can think of that feels right in this moment.

"Well, I'm going to go get the doctor," I say, standing up from the chair and leaving the room. I finally take a breath when I'm outside. After sending Doctor Green in the see Elliott, I head to the restroom for a breather.

If I had ran into Elliott at any other place aside from my work, I don't know what would have happened. I had to stay professional, even though all I wanted was to ask him everything about himself.

I wonder if he met someone new. It's not like I have a right to know, or to care. I had hoped he would be able to find someone to love because he deserves that much, but there's no telling what has happened in the past five years.

In about five minutes, I rejoin Doctor Green and Elliott. Doctor Green is explaining to Elliott a few different things that may have caused the blackout. He hands me the clipboard as soon as I walk in.

Elliott has his eyes down on the hospital blanket. He doesn't seem to be paying too much attention to the doctor, his head occasionally nodding at random times.

"Did you come here with anyone?" the doctor asks after he assured that Elliott should be fine and just needs rest. Usually with cases like his the patient has had a significant lack of sleep, or they've been overworking themselves.

"Yeah," Elliott says. "My friend drove me here."

"Is she still here?"

He nods. "Yeah, she went to get us some food. She should be back any minute."

Doctor Green smiles and pats Elliott's shoulder. "Okay. I'll keep you here for just a few more minutes while the nurses sort out the paperwork. Then I want you to go home and take it easy. Go back to your local doctor for a checkup in a few days."

"Thank you, sir," Elliott says politely.

The doctor turns to me. "Lynch, make sure he eats. After he's finished his meal, he should be good to go home." He leaves the room, and I start to feel nervous being alone with Elliott again.

I glance down at the clipboard to skim the notes Doctor Green wrote down. "I'll go grab you some-"

"They were all out of grilled cheese sandwiches, but I did find a chocolate cake and I thought it would make a reasonable substitution." A short haired brunette walks into the hospital room with her hands filled with different foods. She smiles at me politely. "Oh, hi! I'm allowed to be in here, right? Is everything okay?" She stops to put the pile of food down on a chair and sticks her hand out. "I'm Evelyn."

"Hi," I say and shake her hand politely. "It's perfectly fine for you to be in here, and Elliott just needs to rest. Sadly, I don't think I can feed him that chocolate cake."

Evelyn pouts. "Oh. Shoot."

I force a smile and watch her as she goes over to Elliott's side. Is that his girlfriend? Maybe she's just a co-worker. She seems really sweet, and she's cute. She's probably his girlfriend. She could even be his wife.

I don't know what I would do if Elliott were married. Once again, I wouldn't have a right to do anything. If he were married, that would mean he was happily in love with this sweet girl Evelyn. It would still be weird though.

"Can you call my mom and tell her that I'm okay? I was supposed to fly back home an hour ago," Elliott says to Evelyn.

She nods and pulls out her phone. Noted, she has Mrs. Kennedy's phone number. I'm thinking close friend or girlfriend. I've decided to pretend that the whole wife option doesn't exist.

I leave the room to get Elliott a tray of his simpler hospital food. He probably would've rather risked his health and eaten the chocolate cake than eat the jello and mashed potatoes I can offer. Once I'm back in the room, I set his tray down and take a step back.

"Thanks, Ivy," he says, eyeing the unappetizing potatoes. He lifts the plastic spoon and pokes at his green jello. He drops the spoon and pushes the tray away slightly. "Thank you."

"You have to eat before you can leave," I say. "Doctor's orders." I pull up one of the chairs. "I won't leave this room until you finish those potatoes."

Elliott sighs and spoons up some jello. "Well, this bossiness just takes me back, doesn't it?"

I smile. "How have you been, Elliott?" It's part of my profession to treat my patients kindly. I'm just being professional.

He laughs curtly and glances at me briefly before looking back at his food. "I've been doing just fine, Ivy."

"I'm glad to hear that." I lean back in the chair. "What are you doing in Rhode Island?"

"I live here," he says and shoves a large glob of potatoes in his mouth. "I moved here about two years ago."

I nod, pretending like I'm totally fine with the fact Elliott moved to Rhode Island and I never knew about it. "And Evelyn?"

"What about Evelyn?"

I shrug. "Just wondering."

"My friend," he answers and then clicks his tongue. "Well, she's my girlfriend, I mean." He sucks in a shaky breath. "And you? Did you meet someone?"

I shake my head side-to-side, chewing on the inside of my cheek. "I'm in a relationship with this job, I guess you could say."

Elliott gives me a pity laugh. "You seem really happy."

"I am," I say truthfully.

He's about to say more when Evelyn walks back in.

"I just got off the phone with your mom. I told her they should come out here to visit us instead. She said all of the kids would love to see our new place!" Evelyn says excitedly. "Isn't it going to be so fun?" She glances at me. "But you'll stay rested like the doctor requested." She winks at Elliott in a not-so-subtle way.

Elliott smiles so purely that I can feel my heart muscles straining. "That sounds perfect, Eve."

"When do you think we'll be able to get out of here?" Evelyn asks me. "Not that we don't feel welcome. It's such a beautiful hospital. I'd hate to offend anyone, but I-"

"Eve," Elliott chuckles to quiet his nervous girlfriend.

I stand up from the chair and look at Elliott's close to empty tray. "I just have to double check really quick, but I'd say you could go now."

As I leave the room, I hear Elliott's booming laugh and Evelyn's shy giggles. I get to the front desk to hand-off Elliott's clipboard. Once the nurse takes the papers from me, I go back into the room to let them know things are set for them to leave.

"I'm going to go pull up the car, okay, babe? There's an entrance the next level down." Evelyn kisses Elliott's cheek and rushes out the door. She peeps her head back in and looks at me with a warm smile. "Thanks so much for everything." Like some princess in a storybook, she skips down the halls.

"She seems really sweet," I say as I help Elliott out of the hospital bed.

"Yeah," Elliott agrees. He doesn't say anything more about Evelyn, probably to be polite.

Our history is five years behind us. Elliott shouldn't worry about me being jealous of Evelyn in anyway. He shouldn't, but he does. Even though I shouldn't, I'm glad he does. For some reason, in my mind, it assures me that what we were to each other was more than just boyfriend and girlfriend. He was my home, my family.

I know that I did this all to myself. I left him. I was the one who cut off all communication. I gave it all up. He was going to fight, and I couldn't stand to see him wait around for me for so long. Our relationship just became damaging.

We've grown up now. We're mature, working adults. I wouldn't change a thing of what we've been through and where we are now.

"Ivy," he says as I press the button for the elevator.

I look at him curiously. "Yeah?"

The elevator doors open, and we both step inside.

He clears his throat. "I'm really glad that I got to see you again. I...it felt like I wouldn't ever get that chance. It's crazy that we ran into each other like this."

I smile softly as the elevator doors shut. "Yeah, it's crazy. It's almost like it was..."

"Destiny," Elliott finishes for me, placing his hands on the metal bars. There's a brief silence. "We-we should catch up, you know? Maybe we could go get coffee sometime. I work right by the hospital. We could see if our lunch breaks match up."

I raise my eyebrows in surprise. "Uh, yeah! Yeah, definitely." I nod. "That would be nice."

"Okay, cool," he says. "Cool."

We leave the elevator and walk towards the exit. It's so strange to be walking with Elliott after all these years of not seeing him. We almost feel like strangers.

"Take care, Ivy."

"You too, Elliott," I say and open the outside doors for him. "I'll see you around."

He smiles and goes in for an awkward hug. I hug him back, unsure of how to feel. He pulls away and walks to Evelyn in the car. The two drive off and make a right turn, and I lose sight of them.

~~

"Gross!"

"I know," I sigh. "It's a beautifully disgusting job."

Elliott smiles widely. "And I thought my job was disgusting!"

"How would your job be disgusting?"

"Children are gross people, Ivy. You couldn't even begin to imagine what those bathrooms are like. God bless the faculty restrooms!"

I laugh and take a sip of my coffee. "I still can't get over the fact you're a teacher. The guy who barely graduated is teaching the children of the future. Comforting."

"Hey!" Elliott points his pointer finger towards me. "At least I'm not teaching Spanish!"

I roll my eyes. "Yeah, let's be thankful for that."

Elliott contacted me just a day after we saw each other at the hospital. We decided a Saturday morning breakfast would work best for both of us. The café Elliott picked is right by my apartment with Nora. I found out Elliott and Evelyn live just a block away.

For someone reason, our conversation is flowing like we have been friends for years. It isn't awkward at all. Nora told me Elliott was the same Elliott I had always known, but I just couldn't imagine that he hadn't changed. Maybe a little bit more facial hair, but otherwise it's the same Elliott Kennedy I've always known.

"How's your family?"

"They're so great. It's so crazy how old they're getting. Bethany is seven years old!"

I throw a hand over my eyes. "No she isn't!" I almost want to cry. "Shut up!"

Elliott chuckles. "I know. When was the last time you saw them?"

"Oh gosh." I try to remember, but it has definitely been years. "I think I saw them one Christmas like three years ago? Oh, that's horrible!"

"Don't worry. They're staying here for Thanksgiving. We'll make sure you see them," he says.

I smile. "Do I even want to see them? I think I'd rather have them permanently babies in my mind," I joke.

"They'll always be babies," Elliott assures me. "How are Jett and Nora?"

"They're doing good. Nora is teaching too, but at a middle school nearby. Uh, Jett is studying film at Florida State. I hear he and Jonas are still best friends."

"That's great," Elliott says. "They're definitely meant for each other, those lovable weirdos."

I smile and hold my coffee in my hands. "Well, I'm glad we've all found our happy places. You never told me how you ended up in Rhode Island though."

Elliott nods. "Right, right. Hm. Where to begin?" He takes a sip of his orange juice and wipes the sides of his mouth with a napkin. "So, I guess it all started one dark and drunken night, and it ended with a purchased house and a plane flight to Rhode Island."

I raise my eyebrows. "You drunkenly bought a house in Rhode Island?"

"Yeah," he says amusedly. "I mean, I often say it's the best mistake I've ever made."

"My gosh, Elliott. What made you buy a house in Rhode Island?"

"Well, bourbon," he says first then pauses. "And you."

I freeze. And you. He moved here two years ago because of me, to be by me. Even though I hadn't talked to him for three years at that point, Elliott Kennedy bought a house for me.

He laughs. "You remember that town we went to when we dropped you off at school? Newport?"

"Yeah," I muster, unable to get any other words out.

"Right. Well, I drunkenly bought a house there for us. I know, I know, I'm insane. I heard that a thousand times from my entire family and Flynn and Abraham and Kirk and Levi." He laughs. "But I had bought that house, so I soberly flew out there and moved in."

I shake my head. "Insane."

"Yeah, yeah. But hey, I say it's the best mistake I've ever made. I got my degree and I started teaching. I met Evelyn. I moved into the city, but I still