PULSE

“Vera, we need you to cover in the ED tonight.”

I audibly groaned. “It’s not my turn to float tonight.”

Sara, the nursing supervisor for the hospital tonight, pursed her lips. “Yes, well, the person whose turn it was to float called in. Along with half of the staff, apparently. You’re next on the list so, hurry up. They’re expecting you in Pod D.”

I rolled my eyes as soon as Sara turned her back. Pod D was the trauma pod in our emergency department. That meant tonight was either going to drag—or be fucking exhausting.

“Oof. Sorry, bestie. Hopefully tonight is quiet for you.”

My grip tightened around my Stanley. I shot Kailani, my co-worker and friend, a glare. “Seriously? You just said the fucking Q-word.”

Every nurse on the planet knows you never, ever say the word ‘quiet.’ It is taboo. Forbidden. It automatically jinxes you to have a shitty night. And my supposed best friend just said it. To me.

Kailani flinched. “Oops. Well, at least it’s not a full moon—”

“It is, actually.”

“Oh. Shit.”

I sighed and turned on my heels toward the elevators. “I’ll see you for lunch!” Kai called after me.

I flipped her off over my shoulder.

The elevator dinged when it hit the ground floor. Pod D sat at the end of the hallway, lights on, bays empty, monitors dark. I breathed a sigh of relief. No active traumas. Anyone who’d come through had already been stabilized and moved on.

I dropped my backpack at the desk and stepped in to take report from the nurse I was relieving.

“Hey, Paul,” I greeted.

Paul looked up from his computer monitor and gave me a big smile. “Hey, V. They have you taking over for me tonight?”

“Yep,” I said, popping the ‘p.’

He chuckled. “I can tell you’re thrilled.”

“I’m an ICU nurse, Paul. We do not manage well in the ED. It’s too chaotic and unorganized.”

"And the ICU is a snooze fest." Paul leaned back in his chair and picked up his clipboard, flipping through the patient reports. “Lucky for you though, we don’t have any incoming traumas right now and the ones that have come through today have already been transferred.”

I nodded. “Okay, cool. Thanks. Will you be back in the morning?”

“Yeah. I’ll be here. Maybe tonight will be qu—”

“Don’t you dare,” I snapped at him before I was given the Q-word for the second time tonight.

Paul held up in hands in mock surrender and laughed while backing out of the nurse’s station. “Night, V. See you in the morning.”

I took a seat at the nurse’s station and logged into the computer and the unit phone. Paul was right, there was nothing pending. But as I readied for the night, a heavy feeling of foreboding settled in my chest.

I rubbed my sternum, trying to relieve the pressure.

When that didn’t work, I busied myself, hoping that ignoring it would make it go away. I re-stocked the crash carts, took inventory in the supply room, and double-checked that all the equipment was functional and fully charged. Very few things in life were more frustrating than grabbing a vitals machine for a blood pressure and realizing it was completely dead.

I sighed and rubbed my chest again. The pressure wasn’t alleviating. If anything, it was getting worse.

Maybe I was having a cardiac episode. I asked one of the techs to take my vitals—normal. Well, normal for a vampire. Our baseline was bradycardic, meaning our resting pulse rate ran lower than a human’s.

I pulled out my phone and opened up Kailani’s message thread.

Me: My chest feels tight. Vitals are normal. Would it be extra to ask for a tech to do an EKG, too?

Kai: Do you want me to answer as a nurse or a friend?

Me: Friend. I think.

Kai: As a friend, you’re stressed, dehydrated, and allergic to rest. Doing an EKG would be pointless because they can’t detect neuroses.

Me: That’s rude. I’m not neurotic.

Kai: Or delusions. If it makes you feel better, I’ll do one for you at the end of our shift if it still hurts.

Me: Fine.

Kai: Love you bestie! :)

As much as I hated to admit it, she was probably right. Between the full moon and her jinxing me by saying the Q-word, my anxiety was likely just high.

That would the last time I refused to listen to my instincts.