It made for beautiful memories now that she was gone. Wonderful, nostalgic memories.
"Van?" Leila's voice pulled me back to the present and I turned to her, a little startled.
"Yeah." I said to her, then faced forward, muttering, "I've lost everything." I knew she heard me.
"Come on. Nate was a jerk, and if he couldn't stand with you when the going got tough, then he didn't deserve you. And the hospital was kind enough not to report your mistake to the medical council. You've still got your license, so you can apply somewhere else."
My friend tried to cheer me up. Just as she'd been doing for the past two weeks since I'd lost both my job and my boyfriend in one day. I'd been holed up in my apartment ever since and could not remember the last time I'd felt the sun on my face.
The wonderful thing about living in the 21st century is that you could live the rest of your life as a recluse if you wished it. You could order virtually everything online, so there was no need to go outside, anyway.
"Look," Leila continued. "I wasn't sure if I needed to tell you this, but now I am. A friend of mine has a boss who needs a nurse."
"I don't take care of hospice patients, Leila," I said to her.
It brings back too many painful memories.
"No, it's not like that at all, his boss is young. He got into an accident a few months ago and has been in a wheelchair ever since. Although he's in physical therapy, it'll be a while before he can fully walk again."
"What's that got to do with me?"
She looked at me like I spoke a different language.
"Well, they need a nurse and someone to help him with everyday activities. He's really rich and I suspect a bit of an asshole."
I turned to her with a frown. "Why did you say that?"
"He's been through more nurses than you could count in just a few months and they're literally at their wit's end on what to do because he needs this."
"No. I don't have the patience to babysit a grown-up Leila. I'm not emotionally even up to the task right now."
I fell back flat on the bed and covered myself with the blanket again, but Leila yanked it back down, this time with force.
"What!" I snapped at her, getting angry. I want to be left alone.
"You can snap at me all you want, honey, but I already got you that interview and it's in two hours. You're going to get dressed right now, and I'm going to go drop you off at the interview, then I'll wait for you. And when you're done, we can go get coffee together."
"I don't want coffee," I grumbled, but only half-heartedly. And my best friend smiled at that.
"But you want the job, don't you?" She cajoled patting my cheek and I brushed her hand away.
"Come on, Leila." She added when I still looked undecided.
"The pay is very much handsome. Did I mention that he's a billionaire, and it's not like you have anything else lined up? Do you?"
I didn't, and she knew that. I had been living on my savings for the past few weeks, and it would only last me about six months before I had to think about getting a job.
I could not live under my blanket forever.
"Where does this rich billionaire live, anyway?" I asked her.
"He lives here in the city, but since the accident, he's been in Aspen."
"What! You could have started with that and I'd have taken the job in a heartbeat." I told my friend with a smile on my face. I needed to get out of this city as fast as I could. Everything was a subtle reminder and I could not stand it anymore.
"So, you'll do it?"
"Hell yeah."