By the time my shift ended, the sun was beginning to dip below the skyline, casting streaks of orange and gold through the hospital windows.
The hallway lights seemed harsher against the fading daylight, reflecting off polished floors as nurses hurried past, finishing their rounds. I unclipped my pager and placed it on the counter before signing out.
My shoulders ached — but it was the good kind of ache. The kind that reminded me I had done something meaningful.
Khole's laughter from earlier that day echoed faintly in my mind. She had insisted on showing me a drawing before leaving — a stick figure with messy brown hair and my name scribbled proudly above it.
"Dr. Sophie," she had written carefully, the letters uneven but determined.
I had taped the paper to the inside of my locker door.
A small smile tugged at my lips as I stepped into the elevator. The doors slid shut, muting the sounds of the busy floor. For a moment, it was just me and my reflection in the mirrored wall.
When the elevator doors opened into the lobby, warm sunset light spilled across the marble tiles. I inhaled slowly as I stepped outside.
The city felt different at this hour — softer, slower.
The weight that had been sitting in my chest for weeks felt lighter tonight.
Mr. Lu opened the car door, and I slid inside. The city lights flickered past the window as we drove, reflections stretching across the glass. When the Lumen Hotel came into view, glowing beneath the evening sky, I thanked him and stepped out into the hum of music and laughter spilling from the entrance.
Inside the lounge, I immediately spotted Amy at the bar telling off a rude, drunken man. Her face lit up when she turned to leave and caught sight of me.
"Sophie!" she greeted.
I walked toward her and pulled her into a hug. After we separated, I ordered a martini and slid onto one of the vacant stools. Amy reclaimed her seat beside me.
"You look calm," she said after taking a sip of her drink. "What did I miss?"
As soon as the bartender handed me my glass, I lifted it and drank half in one go.
"Harley and I are making progress," I said, setting the glass back on the counter.
"That's great news."
I was about to elaborate when another man — younger than the first — approached us and offered to buy us a drink. When I declined, he asked for our numbers.
Dealing with drunken men could be exhausting.
Amy shot him a glare. "We are not interested, nor are we available. And even if we were available, you would be the last person we'd look at."
Ouch.
The man retreated with his head lowered. I looked at Amy, who calmly took another sip.
"That was harsh, don't you think?"
"They don't take no for an answer," she replied. "Besides, it's the truth."
I chuckled softly. "First of all, I am very much available. And secondly, he wasn't that bad-looking. Stupid drunk, yes, but—"
"You better not let Harley hear you," she interrupted, a smirk spreading across her face. "Speaking of Harley… are you really not going to give him a chance?"
I ran my index finger around the rim of my glass. "I'm comfortable being his closest friend."
Harley and I were finally at a place where we could talk without tension or cold shoulders. It surprised me — especially considering how long he could hold a grudge.
Back in elementary school, I once told him off for scaring my friend away. For an entire month, he acted as if I didn't exist — eyes sliding past me, footsteps never slowing. If Auntie and Uncle hadn't intervened, I'm not sure we would have found our way back to each other.
Amy finished her drink and rested her head on the counter, staring at me.
"I just want you to be happy," she murmured before promptly passing out.
I smiled fondly as she drifted into sleep.
After paying the bill, I called Nicholas to come pick her up. He arrived thirty minutes later, slightly out of breath.
"Are you okay?" I asked.
He straightened and flashed me his signature Nicholas smile before winking. "Had to take care of something on the way here."
Nicholas Lu — the third son of the Lu Group. With little ever expected of him and a father too focused on his older brother, Nicholas had found his own outlet growing up — street fights. I supposed everyone coped differently.
I supposed everyone needed an outlet.
I watched as he lifted Amy bridal-style, looking down at her sleeping face with surprising softness. They really look good together.
Nicholas had liked Amy since our freshman year of high school — I had seen it in the way he watched her back then. He just never acted on it.
"I thought you gave up fighting," I said.
"I did."
"Liar." I smacked his shoulder lightly as we walked outside. "You were definitely disciplining some thug."
He chuckled. "I gave up fighting for fun. But I can't just stand by and watch someone helpless get bullied."
Nicholas had always been chivalrous. More than once, he had helped me out of difficult situations — situations I had chosen to call him for instead of Harley, because things would have escalated quickly otherwise.
We stopped in front of his car.
"Take good care of my friend," I said.
He smiled. "We're all happy you're back. Things haven't been the same since you left."
Warmth bloomed inside my chest. I blinked quickly, wiping away the tear that threatened to fall.
"Thank you, Nicholas."
He placed Amy carefully in the passenger seat and buckled her in.
"Do you need a ride home?" he asked.
I told him Mr. Lu was waiting for me at the main entrance. After giving him a quick hug, I turned and walked toward the hotel doors.
The sky had darkened noticeably.
I tilted my head upward just as a single droplet of water landed on my nose.
Without warning, it began to drizzle.
Laughing softly, I covered my head with my purse and ran toward the car.