Five
Alexis
Apple and I began our daily run to the park and back. The evening weather was perfect—there was a comfortable breeze in the air and it was neither too warm or too cool. The only unfortunate thing was that the perfect weather conditions permitted my mind to wander in ways I wished it wouldn’t. And by that, I meant it kept wandering in the direction of Dr. Zion Bradford.
Once again, his delicious features drifted through my mind. Unfortunately, they were also accompanied with Lorraine’s words regarding my less than satisfactory love life.
She was right. Although I loved Apple dearly, it would have been nice to occasionally have some company of the male variety, even if he wasn’t entirely human. But I’d been so engulfed in my work, I’d dutifully pushed dating off the menu. While I tried to pretend it didn’t bother me—that my decision to remain single was entirely by choice—I knew that deep down, a part of it was because I was still so scarred from my ex. The heartbreak he’d forced me to endure was part of the reason I had wanted a dog in the first place; I had been desperate to find unconditional love in whatever form I could get it.
Tyler. He had been good looking too, albeit not as hot as Zion Bradford. Nevertheless, I had been so smitten with him that I hadn’t seen, or perhaps had ignored, all the warning signs. Tyler had been very charming in the beginning, showering me with roses and chocolate, romantic dinners, and fun outings. And then suddenly, he began to change.
It started because he hadn’t been supportive of my career ambitions. It had become apparent that he viewed me as the marrying type, but he had also made it quite clear that if we were going to be together, he fully expected me to give up my dreams to instead be a dedicated house-wife. Now, I know there’s nothing wrong with being a housewife; raising a family is one of the most important jobs in existence. So many women dedicate their lives to it and I have nothing but respect for them. But that’s just wasn’t the lifestyle I envisioned for myself.
For as long as I could remember, I’ve always wanted to work in the medical field. I was obsessed with hospital-themed television shows and had known since I was a little girl that it was the lifestyle I craved. So when suddenly given an ultimatum between a man and my career, I gladly chose my career.
Of course, the choice became a lot easier when Tyler turned violent about my decision, apparently deciding that he literally wanted to try knocking some sense into me. When it happened the first time, I tried to convince myself it was an accident and he hadn’t meant it. When it happened the second time, I figured he was the problem, not me. He was the one who needed help and I had contemplated whether I needed to stick around to ensure he received it. But then one night, I’d had a dream about my grandmother. It was so vivid. I could practically smell her home—a mixture of baked goods and lavender. We’d been sitting at the dining room table, and she’d been giving me the warm smile she always reserved specifically for her grandchildren. Then she reached across the table, took my hand and said, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me three times, then I’m the damned fool.”
When I woke up, I knew without a doubt that she was watching over me and trying to send me a sign. I knew then that I’d most certainly be a fool if I didn’t take her advice. Hence, I broke up with Tyler shortly thereafter.
Oh boy, did he try to win me back. He made every pretty promise in the book—swore he would never lay a hand on me again for as long as he lived. I can still hear his voice pleading with me. “Alexis, baby, I won’t do it again. You know how much I love you. I will never hurt you again, I swear. I swear, baby. I swear. I’m not going to hurt you again, as long as I live.”
I smiled, looked him straight in the eyes and said, “No, you won’t hurt me again for as long as you live because this is the last time you’re going to see me in your pathetic life. Goodbye.”
It was one of the smartest and most satisfying decisions I had ever made. Sometimes, I still shudder at the thought of what my life would have been like if I hadn’t left him. I would have probably been living behind a white-picket fence with an unhappy household full of kids—all of us afraid and terrified each night when Daddy came home. I had certainly dodged a bullet by leaving Tyler.
Nevertheless, I’d become lonely in the aftermath. There hadn’t been a single man to catch my eye though. Not until Dr. Zion Bradford. Yet, something told me he had caught my eye for all the wrong reasons. The thought of him coincided with a random man in a parked car catcalling at me. At the sound of his whistle, Apple halted for an instant and growled.
“Good girl,” I said. “Let’s go.” We were halfway to the park.
Looks. Just like the creep who’d just whistled at me, my attraction to Dr. Bradford was all about looks because I hardly knew anything else about him. And the little I did know about him hadn’t been exactly flattering. I could still recall his haughty tone in the way he had chastised me while working on the bite wound patient. The mere memory still made my blood boil. It was people like Dr. Bradford that gave doctors a bad name.
As we reached the park, I looked around, checking to see that the area was empty. It usually was during this time of evening, which I was always grateful for. It allowed me to unhook Apple from her leash so that she could walk around, stretch her legs, and do her business.
“There you go girl,” I said, releasing her from her leash. She wagged her tail and happily trotted off, while I took a seat on the bench, careful to keep my eye on her nonetheless, just in case someone happened to cross our path.
Lorraine had claimed I’d just gotten the wrong impression of Dr. Bradford, but I wasn’t so sure. She had blamed his biting personality on the fact that he was a shifter of a certain age. Yet, that excuse didn’t work for me. I’d known other shifters, the Bradfords owned the hospital after all, and there were three of them, I think. Luke, the one I’d had the most interaction with was kind and calm. Nothing like Zion. And then there was another, Aiden maybe? He was young and didn’t spend much time at the hospital. And of course their uncle, who practically ran the board of directors. He was the stoic type.
So none of them were half as rude and snippy as Zion. Yet they were all bears like him.
I sighed, already not liking how much of my mind Dr. Bradford was occupying after just one day of knowing him. I hated people judging me for my looks, so it certainly didn’t sit well with me that I was being such a sucker for a handsome face. Yet, even as that thought crossed my mind, I recalled how it had appeared that Dr. Bradford hadn’t been able to resist peeking at my chest. The thought brought a flush to my face.
Right on time, Apple trotted back to me. I hooked her leash back on and we set off for our run back home. I even managed to push thoughts of Dr. Bradford from my mind, at least until I went back home to take a shower, where I unfortunately started imagining him in the shower with me…
“Alexis, you seriously need help,” I told myself in the foggy bathroom mirror.
Or to at least think about what Lorraine said and give him another chance, a voice in my head counterargued. Everyone is prone to having a bad day every once in a while.