Wednesday, November 30, 2016

MIDWEEK TEASE~3

Good morning and welcome to this week's Tease put together each week by Angelica Dawson! The purpose is to highlight a few lines or paragraphs from a new release or a backlisted title. Don't forget to stop by and see what the other Teasers have to offer. Link is posted at the end.



This picture so reminds me of my eldest daughter who is in nursing school right now. I'm so damn proud of her! She will be done with the accelerated program next March. This week's tease comes from my wip, Temperatures Rising where my heroine is loosely based on what could possibly happen if you have drama queen tendencies and wind up in nursing school and have absolutely no idea what the hell you are doing. I shortened the scene to make it fit the guidelines. This is where my nursing student has a bad hangover, barely gets to clinical on time, and then... Well, you'll see... Tee hee...


*****

Palms slick with sweat, Anne yanked the pocket Mosby's Drug Reference Guide out of her backpack, flipping straight to the index in the back. She inhaled a deep breath and searched for calm, scanning the MAR once more.

The only familiar medication on the list bounced from the page—aspirin. Anne hunted Mosby's pages for the drug.

At least I know why people take aspirin. Duh!

But why was the med scheduled daily for 0900? Does the woman have a headache everyday at 9 O'clock? Or does she take the pill to ward off any potential headaches? Seemed like a dumb idea. Who knew that they would have a headache every day at the same time? Maybe the patient suffered from migraines? But wouldn’t she be taking something stronger than an aspirin? Frustration twisted Anne’s sour gut.

"You there! Nurse! Get in here right this minute!"

The loud booming voice that held unconcealed contempt and authority jolted Anne from her misery. She looked from the cubby-type desk in the hall between the two patient rooms that were assigned to her. Her glance swept the corridor. It was empty except for stray medical equipment and a linen cart pushed along one wall.

"Young lady are you deaf?" the male voice said carrying more than a hint of exasperation and outright derision.

Anne turned toward the exclamation. The owner of that angry voice stood in the doorway of a patient room across the hall directly behind her. He was tall and lanky and wore green surgical scrubs. Grey hair protruded from under a blue paper surgical cap. Angry blue flashes of light shone through his narrowed eyes glaring at her from beneath a pair of bushy eyebrows. His hands were adorned with synthetic gloves and clasped in front of him as if he were praying in a church pew.

"I said get in here! I can't do this crap by myself." He muttered expletives under his breath.

"Oh, no. There must be some mistake." Anne shook her head. "I'm not the nur--"

"I don't want to hear your excuses," he snapped. "Get in here, now!" He spun on his heel and reentered the patient's room.

Anne again inspected the hallway for reinforcements—anyone who would notify the doctor that she wasn't a nurse—yet—and therefore couldn't help him with whatever task he was trying to accomplish. To her dismay, the passage remained void of all life, leaving her no alternative but to inform the man herself.

A loud sigh escaped her as she approached the door. At least he could've asked nicely. What a jerk! Doctor McDreamy never treated his nurses like this on TV.

At the entrance, she stopped short, her gaze drawn to an elderly gentleman lying in a traditional hospital bed. Cheeks hollow, his sallow face lined with age. His brow was pinched together and his thin lips strained into a tight thin line. Concern for his discomfort tugged at her heart. She wanted to help him any way she could.

The scent of rotted flesh slammed into her nostrils as she approached. The dry, whole grain bagel she'd choked down earlier sloshed around in her stomach. The patient's belly looked like someone had sliced him from stem to stern, the flesh halved and gaped open. The tissue within oozed yellowish puss and bilious fluid.

Anne wretched and squeezed her eyes shut, covering her mouth with her hand.

Don’t puke. Don’t puke. Don’t puke. Please God! I will be a good girl from now on, just help me out here, would ya? 


Prayers unanswered, she pivoted as her breakfast rushed from her stomach. In her haste to escape, she bumped into a solid mass of pure hard muscle which loosened her grip from her mouth. She clasped her arms around her waist as she bent and spewed her breakfast right there in the room. A loud splat echoed off the tiled floor.

"Hey!" A familiar male baritone exclaimed.


Oh. My. God…


*****


That's all I have for now.  Enjoy the rest of your #HumbDay! Don't forget to stop by and check out the other teases posted today here:  http://midweektease.blogspot.co.uk

10 comments:

Susanne Matthews said...

Poor girl. I feel her pain. Excellent description. My breakfast sloshed around a moment or two!

Angelica Dawson said...

Intriguing. I feel for her, so out of her element, but I'm curious just who this man is.

Siobhan Muir said...

Oh glory. I've been in a similar situation, though not in the medical field, and she's going to have a helluva time coming back from that. Although she better toughen up. Great tease, Kathleen. :D

Naomi Shaw said...

I really want to know who the baritone voice belongs to and what happens next. Excellent tease with a great hook

Unknown said...

Yay! Glad I was able to give that impression!

Unknown said...

Oh now really? There's a story in there! Lol

Unknown said...

Thank you! My daughter was great inspiration for this one! Lol

Unknown said...

You'll need to stay tuned!

Anonymous said...

Oh bless her. I reckon I would have hurled too. And who does that voice belong to?!? Fab tease, Kathleen.

Anonymous said...

Oh my goodness what a fabulous tease!! I could picture myself right there in the moment! Can't wait to read this one!