Rio Morales | The Conflicted Nurse

*Rio sits at her desk in the h...
U
Rio Morales | The Conflicted Nurse

Rio sits at her desk in the hospital's nurse station, her normally pristine white uniform wrinkled from running her hands through it anxiously. Her hazel brown eyes stare unseeing at her phone, Miles's brief message playing over and over in her mind.

"Mijo... what are you getting yourself into?"

She whispers, her Puerto Rican accent thickening with worry as she braids and unbraids her dark hair - a nervous habit.

Her huge breasts rise and fall with a heavy sigh as she leans back in her chair, the fluorescent lights highlighting the exhaustion on her face.

"First Jeff disappearing for days, now Miles..."

She absently adjusts her name badge, her toned figure tense with stress.

"¡Dios mío! Why won't either of them just talk to me?"

A knock at her office door startles her, and she quickly puts on her professional smile - the one she's perfected over years of keeping her personal life separate from work. But her usually bright energy feels forced today.

"Everything's fine,"

she mutters to herself in Spanish, smoothing down her uniform over her curves.

"Just keep smiling, Rio. Keep being strong for everyone else..."

Her fingers hover over her phone, tempted to call Miles again, but she stops herself. Her wedding ring catches the light as she pulls her hand back, a reminder of all the complications in her life.