Put the Good in the Good Life

Chapter 9 : Dayna Leah Wilson P.O.V-

Joy and sorrow sleep on the same bed, I've heard. At any other time, I may also like to have added the word 'patience' in the sentence somewhere, I decided waiting for Evelyn's return from wherever she went cuz this feels like a never ending crusade.

I know I can use this time usefully to prep for my session with Noah tomorrow, or check another patient's health report as a helping hand, or even finishing the work I still have to finish from my previous work. But I can't seem to sit straight, or still, or at any form or kind of peace.

The second after Evelyn and I's rounds around the hospital were done, Thorne came and picked us up, dropped me off to my residing home and carried on to whisk Evelyn away to who knows where.

The tension in the car was positively palpable between the two before and I was only glad to be out of all that static passing looks as quickly as possible.

But once the car rolled away briskly, I must add, my senses came back to me all at once and I was left wondering if I should call the local police for kidnapping. Alas, twenty-four hours hasn't passed yet so such a case cannot be filed, so I've been waiting.

If they didn't come soon, there would be reports of murder where I'm not going to be the one filing but maybe be one individual on the culprit list.

My leg keeps shaking that my new little partner, Finn, seems to find annoying. So that left me with the only option- to walk to relieve my stress. And so I did, as Finn watched me with raised eyebrows still unimpressed.

For some reason, he didn't really talk when he arrived. He just came out of some hidden passage from one of the many hallways this mansion has and decided to sit on the carpeted floor beside my new soon-to-be visible line of pacing.

After making sure that there was no fire starting to burn behind my path I asked "What are you doing here Finn? Isn't it bed-time yet? I'm pretty sure that it's past your bed-time." The last part I mumbled to myself.

He just shrugged. Well, it seems like the young lad got some time to spare so I continued.

"How old are you anyway?"

"I'm turning ten soon." His child-like voice replies "How about you?"

I've also heard that people are not supposed to ask a woman her age and a man his salary, but this is a boy I'm talking to. Plus it's not very bad to reveal my age since I'm not too old. I think.

"I'm twenty-five."

He looks at me, contemplates something I understand is very important to him and asks me a question that I know comes from his very core with his eyes shining.

"Why did you become a doctor?"

A complex question to truly answer, but also an easy question too. I've pondered on that question for so long before I set out to study medicine for my university's personal statements, and for my interviews. I've had to remind myself of it continually throughout my medical courses to help me get back the courage and motivation when I felt to give it all up. The answer always helps and strengths me, never failing to awaken me.

"To help people." Finn cocks his head to the side with childish interest. "and Grey's Anatomy...anyway, I've always wanted to help others in some way, being a doctor makes me do exactly that and on a larger scale. I could make a difference in the world. It might be small, but it's a difference nonetheless. It's also in the most important department of servicing – healthcare, so I'm glad."

Finn looks down as if he was thinking about something again equally important, and then decides to tell me exactly what, and what he tells me changes the way I see him and his encounters and growth in this cruel cruel world.

"My parents both died when I was a baby. My dad died from cancer and my mom died because she lost her mate, who is my dad obviously." Tears well up in his sad little eyes that shed pain of the third degree, then even I have to control myself from the urge to wrap the kid my arms but I don't and my frozen state doesn't help much either at such a young loss.

Finn seems to be holding his tears in and that just breaks my heart a little by little.

"If someone knew what my parents were going through, they could have helped them. But they told no one, so no one here knew. So it isn't anyone's fault and I can't blame anyone even if I wanted to.

"Sometimes I wish that they survived to see me grow up into a doctor. I want to help people too so that they don't have children that end up like me. Though I'm glad that I have the Luna-mother Merida and the Alpha who cares for me like I'm her son and alpha Alexander's little brother, but I don't want people to feel sad like sometimes I am."

Luna-mother Merida and Alpha Alexander? Mate? What in the world! The black wolf appears in my mind that furthers my confusion but through it all, I smile a sad smile at the young boy who lost the most important support so early on in his life, and was forced to grow up faster because of his circumstances.

There is, as established, a lot of things I've heard in my life.

'Sometimes the world can truly be a horrible place.' That my previous head psychiatrist in Melon Hospital told me before she gave me the transfer papers to join Noah on his slowly healing journey.

"But now I have a goal because of what happened to them, so I'm lucky. For that, I'm thankful to them among the many things I am thankful for." One side of his lips turns up as he looks far away in thought, a look someone like him shouldn't already know to use so easily.

And people with attitudes like him are the ones that make it a better place to live in.

Finn's indeed so lucky to have such serenity already, and Everhill is all the more happier to have him with them.

When my feet finally moves, I go forward and place a gentle hand on his frail shoulder.

"I'll always be there for you too from now Finn the rider. And I will wait and watch you achieving you dream like the strong-willed person that you are." And to my relief, he smiles back.

"I'm sure you'll become a fine doctor. Don't forget me when your all famous and all." We laugh and I'm glad to have placed his smile back in it's rightful place, weirdly enough, I missed it.

Suddenly I hear familiar voices bickering outside. "Well, I guess our watch has ended, for now at least." He looks at me confused and I laugh a little, kiss his soft check that reddens instantly and open the door to reveal Evelyn hanging on Thorne's shoulder.

My lips press together to hold back my laughter when Evelyn bites Thorne somewhere on his back as I gather from his surprised jump, both of them obviously blissfully unaware of my presence.

He looks at Evelyn like she's a miracle and when she tells him to put her down yet again, he smirks and pats her rear.

My eyebrows lift.

Evelyn roars and slaps his backside in return and he just laughs when she says something along the lines of 'your butt' and 'firm'.

And finally when Thorne notices my presence he waves a hello and delicately puts Evelyn down, who just looks at her date, shakes her head, slaps his biceps and stalks forward to the house that she apparently she forgot resides in before she notices me. Then she changes her route and goes back to Thorne, kisses his cheek in farewell and then comes heading in my direction with flamed cheeks. When I look back, Thorne seem to have his feathers flustered as well.

"You go back home, it's fine." Evelyn seems to say to Thorne, one of her hands on the main door.

"No, I'll wait for you."

"No no no please, I insist. Go home, I'll be there in a jiffy. Don't worry about me besides the house isn't too far, barely a two minute walk anyway. Trust me to walk back safely without getting lost."

He huffs out laughing "Okay then, I won't fight with you. See you there?"

"Sure." Evelyn says. "But only if you get in the car."

"No, I'll wait for you to go in."

"Not until you get in the car."

"You go inside first."

"Thor-" He steps forward, closing the distance for a finger to press onto her lips stopping the rest of her words.

"Please?"

"Okay." She whispers. He steps back with a victorious smile.

They wave at each other for a while like crazy loon kids before he indicates her to go all the way in. She complies after another round of waving watching Thorne walk backwards to his car waving at her. And before I drag her all the way in, she turns to me slowly finally finally done waving.

Evelyn just closes the door behind herself, sliding down the door and starts to squeal. Loud. I have to prevent the urge to close my ears. Finn, who was beside, laughs at Evelyn's actions before he yawns and then bids us goodnight while getting up.

I ask if I should to accompany him, he declines and says that he's going to go to Merida's chambers to sleep on nights like this, whatever that means, which is not too far away so that I don't need to worry.

After he leaves, Evelyn and I huddle together in the dining room as she recalls her 'best date ever' with Thorne, or as much as her slurry slow mind can remember from all that wine. She even swears that she gets almost all the details remembered forever, like the steak and the sparkles, every nook and corner of those flowers and those oh so delicious chocolate pudding for dessert. It's the best day of her life as of yet too!

I can't feel anything but pure joy for her. Ever since I kind of gave my blessing, Oh please, I had given it already...in my mind at least, I was hoping so damn hard that she did not come back sad and depressed at her new prospective love affair. To make matters worse for myself, I even had the feeling that maybe Thorne may not be all that bad, and tonight was his chance to prove it whether he knew it or not.

Turns out that he knew and he didn't disappoint, and to my greatest relief both of them came back alive and very happy too, if their respective swiftly annoying reactions are of any indication.

Evelyn also informed me that she had told Thorne of her very successful (pure sarcasm fyi) past with the male species, and that he asked her to give him a chance to prove that he was not like those 'pretty boys', and even I was to a certain extend surprised and really damn glad that he has confidence in himself to prove her otherwise.

The boy is completely head over heels into her already, you can see it in his eyes every time he looks at her. And I couldn't be prouder or happier for the both of them, to the dismay of the protective side of my brains that sends warnings that says otherwise.

She's my best friend - I can't help but feel a sort of protectiveness over her. Her heart is too precious to be hurt again, if it breaks because of a certain prick, consider all of Thorne's bones broken already. I maybe a psychiatrist, but I did do a little medical before and I ain't too foreign on how to use sharp scalpel.

Their love affair does seem to be a little too fast-forward and in a more comfortable setting than normal for two random strangers who just met. But some romances happen at a quicker pace and that's normal too. I just hope the flame burning between them doesn't burn out too quickly.

Something else hangs in the air, but I can't put a finger on it. I can feel that she's hiding something from me, something important I guess just like my own little scandal. But the thing is that Evelyn can't keep secrets from me that long, nor can I keep any from her for too long.

Of course I'm dying to tell her about the almost kiss, but it is not the appropriate time or setting seeing that I am engaged to someone who is not Alexander.

Pushing my feelings aside, I coo at her love-dowsed eyes, I imagine something like that for me, but I can't. I don't think about that one huge problem related to a certain someone that I haven't contacted since I came here. And since he returned the favor, I don't have much of a guilty conscious either.

Keyword: much.

I do dream of how everything would have ended if I allowed Alexander to kiss me that night, but I would wake up with a heavy heart and a tired soul.

I know that even in another dimension, I wouldn't have kissed him since my morals and values are what my parents armed me with, and that I would never dishonor them by doing something immoral such kissing someone when I'm tied to another.

Romantic as it maybe, it would also streak me a bad name for myself and I wouldn't trust myself to handle such a situation in its aftermath. I have to be loyal no matter what my heart desires and having my dignity is my endgame.

After a long while gossiping, we call off a night and bid each other farewell.

"Oh! Before I forget, Thorne's gonna drop us off to the hospital tomorrow morning."

"Is it okay though? We shouldn't trouble him too much."

"I already told him that but he said that the hospital is on the way to his office apparently."

"But isn't the hospital is on the edge of town, not near any offices?"

"I know." She smiles, star-struck.

Oh God, I think.

Evelyn walks out the door in a straight line, to my satisfaction, having drunk glasses and glasses of water that I could have possibly pushed down her esophagus before I set her off, closing the main door only after ensuring that she reached her own place of habitat as a speck of a shadow.

Having memorized the route to my own chambers after so many times getting lost, I come to my door to see the man, Alexander himself in the flesh standing beside the large mighty door waiting for me.

His crooked form straightens at my arrival and he looks at me.

"You're not hiding from me anymore now?" He answers with a goofy smile. But before I do something that I would regret later because of that damned dimple that happened to pop out, I ask,

"Why are you here Alexander?"

His face hardens a little and he replies "I'm here to apologize for my behavior all those nights ago. I hope it didn't come off as ignorant to your...situation of nuptials, which I sincerely was not aware of."

Shocked at his apology (and frustrated at his damned dimple), I recollect my own words before answering,"It is fine. If anything it's me to blame, since it was my fault for not alerting you of my...relationship status." His face twists into a flash of something like pain before it turns into neutrality. "But I sincerely appreciate your effort at your apology, that wasn't necessary seeing that I should have had the balls to apologize."

I start to ramble out nonsense. I wish someone was here now to duck-tape my mouth!

"So I'm sorry. But you can- if you're feeling like you should. Umm, if that's the case then, apology accepted. But my situation isn't in any way, shape or form related to you and so is none of your business, especially seeing as that we just met and I don't really know you all that well to be frank. I have absolutely no obligation to inform people of my life and I will not start now. But again, apology accepted.

Now since the both of us are on a better road, mind telling me where the washroom is?" I shrug my shoulders like the helpless harpy that I am.

"Wha- What?" He wheezes out.

"Inside your room? But there is one on your right when you go down the hall."

"Oh erm, thanks?" Now I wanna bang my head against a wall.

"You shouldn't." I feel him smiling through his words. Huh? Oh! Guess I said it out loud.

"Okay" I look at anywhere but at him, nodding my head up and down and up and down.

"Anyway, turns out we have started on the wrong erm...foot, so may I be so bold to suggest that we should probably re-start this...introduction?"

Confused I look up back at him and say "What do you mean?"

"Maybe we should start off as strangers again and hopefully later end up as friends...if you'd like."

I smile "Hmm. That is actually not a bad idea. Alrighty then." He shrugs those broad shoulders of his.

"Hi, I'm Dr Dayna Wilson but you can call me Dayna," I extended my hand for a handshake with a small smile on my face "It's nice to meet you."

"I'm Alexander Black, but you can call me Alexander." he engulfed my hand in his larger one, enveloping it and spreading a tingling feeling and a heat blast through my body. I never want to take my hand out. "It's nice to meet you too." Then he winks at me.

My. Ovaries!!!.

"So what why were you avoiding me like the plague for the past couple of days, new friend?" I ask.

"I wasn't avoiding you like the plague." I lift an eyebrow at his reply.

His face falls as he looks down. "I got my ego bruised apparently." He takes a deep breath. I offer him a half smile. He struggles to keep the new aloof-look on his face when he asks the next question "And who, if you don't mind me asking, is this fiancée of yours...new friend?" His face does scrunch in anger at the word 'fiancée' despite his extrusions to avoid it.

"His name is Elijah Greyson."

His face turns into surprise when he says "The one who owns River-Inn Enterprises?"

"The very one."

There was silence that ensured my atmost uncomfortableness as Alexander looked at me wide-eyed...or rather, in complete astonishment. He recovered quickly though, I have to give him credit.

"Well then, I guess a congratulations is in order." Bitterness coats his words in vehemence.

"Thank you?" I somehow seem unable to hold his gaze any longer, so I look at my feet. Why am I feeling ashamed? I shouldn't, and no should make me feel such a way no matter whoever it is. So I force my gaze back to his burning ones.

"I just wanted to check up on you, mom wanted to ask if you needed anything."

"I'm okay, please convey my thanks to Merida."

"Sure."

My heart just pounds fast like a deer caught I head lights. The tension seems to be bursting, not in comfort anymore but some form of unidentifiable emotion. The awkwardness hangs as icicles from Alexander's words.

One step at a time, I tell myself. One step at a time.

"It's late." Alexander says icily, Jack Frost. "You should go to bed."

"Right." I nod "Good night then."

"Night Dayna." And Alexander walks briskly away like his heels were on fire.

How funny is the contradiction? I sigh and open the door to my room.

-----

"Are the both of you planning on coming to the cemetery tomorrow?" Thorne says on our way to the hospital.

As Evelyn said the night before, Thorne came and picked me up with my best friend already settling in beside with him.

"The cemetery? Why?" I ask.

"Didn't Alexander tell you?" Thorne asks confused before saying "Maybe he forgot. Anyway, tomorrow is the Rosalie's burial."

"I thought she was already buried?" I question.

Thorne sighs. "Not yet, her body needed some clearance from the Human Healthcare Society after her post-partum. We just got the approval yesterday to bury her."

"Oh. That must be tough on her family."

"It was no fun indeed." He sighed. "Would the both of you like to attend the funeral service tomorrow?"

"Sure, you okay with that Evie?" She nods at me.

We sit in silence before Evelyn says "It's truly so horrible what happened to them."

"It really is." Thorne replies, "They were really good kids, everyone loved having them around. Rose was such a goodie-two- shoes and Noah was her baddie-sidekick side. Together they make such a troublesome team." he laughs remembering something.

"We'd definitely miss her innocence, especially Noah. He loved her with everything he had, he protected her fiercely. They were each other's half, their own equal."

A sad smile was shred between the two front seaters before Thorne diverges his eyes back to the road and Evelyn looks outside her passenger window.

Soon enough we reach the hospital, Evelyn and I wave bye to Thorne, then check in and greet our co-workers good morning before we head to our separate ways. Me, to the psychiatric department and Evelyn to the research department.

Soon enough Dr Hayle and I have a meeting regarding Noah and tomorrow's funeral, decide on safety measure just in case anything happens and talk about the next stage of Noah's healing therapy.

When I finally go to Noah to start us with today's sessions, he has a forgone expression on his face like he's trying to figure something out. He looks so lost, and so far away.

What's for sure is that Noah has a long way home to go, for sure. All I can do is help him pave his own way back to where he needs to finally be.