Old Habits Die Hard
Timeline: Chapter 1 of Book 2 (start of 2nd year)
Dr. Ethan Ramsey x Dr. Brynlee Altuve
Word Count: 1456
Rating: 16+ (use of cuss words)
Fluff and Angst
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The sound of chanting and loud music fills the outdoor patio of Donahue's, Brynlee twirls the ends of her newly dyed hair as Bryce and Raf sing off key to the Jason Aldean. She laughs at their attempt as Jackie and Aurora slip into their chairs on either side of her; both holding trays of shots.
âOkay everyone! Weâre 30 seconds from midnight!â Sienna says excitedly as her and Elijah hurry over to the table.
We all grab a shot glass off of the trays now placed on the table. We hold them up and as the time ticks closer, we begin counting.
â5, 4, 3, 2..1!â We all take the shot.
Sienna, Elijah, and Aurora choke as the rest of us down it with ease. We laugh at the three and they roll their eyes.
âNext time, pick something other than tequila Jackie!â Elijah says
Jackie simply laughs and shakes her head. She then elbows me.
âDamn girl! Your hair looks good! And your killing that fit tonight, really went all out for the country theme.â
I laugh and smile at her. âThanks Jackie, I just..I wanted a change, ya know?â
The table all shares a glance with one another and Brynlee looks at them all with confusion. âWhat?â
Sienna reaches her hand out across the table and grabs Brynleeâs. âI know things have beenâŠdifferent. Especially when Dr. Ramsey just up and left to the Amazon after everything that happened between you two, and we just-â
Sienna doesnât get to finish as a tall, tan man walks up behind Brynlee, resting his hand on her shoulder. âWeâre not talking about that dumbass tonight.â
Brynlee doesnât have to look up to know itâs her little brother, Dallas Altuve of the Tampa Bay Rays, that's behind her. She turns anyway though; examining his black button up and cowboy hat; matching her black western dress, brown boots, and black hat. His hand tightens on her shoulder.
âTonight better not be the night he shows up.â
And as if Dallas had summoned him; Dr. Ethan Jonah Ramsey walks out onto the patio. The whole group exchanges a worried glance between Dr. Ramsey and Dallas. Brynlee grabs Dallasâ arm before he can walk over to Ethan.
âDonât Dallas. I still have to work with him; heâs going to be my boss as of tomorrow.â She hisses at him, keeping her voice quiet to prevent Ethan from looking over.
Dallas lets out a breath, before removing his hand from her shoulder. âFine. That spineless bastard-â
âOkay thatâs enough, Dallas. Just give it a rest.â Sienna snaps at him, seeing the sadness in Brynleeâs cold eyes.
âSorry Bryn.â Dallas says as he kisses her forehead.
No one but Brynlee notices when Ethanâs head turns at the sound of her name, and their eyes lock for the first time in 2 months. His gaze washes over her in a way that sends chills down her spine, taking in her appearance. When he meets her eyes again; she looks down and grabs her glass of whiskey off the table. She downs the drink and gets up; heading straight inside.
The others look at each other, Dallas locks eyes with the back of Ethanâs head cursing him under his breath. The group pulls Dallas away, taking him to the dance floor to ensure he doesnât go to jail.
Inside, Brynlee slides straight into a barstool. The bar itself is empty; everyone else is occupied playing darts or dancing. Reggie walks over and gives her a knowing look
âGet me another bourbon Reg, no ice.âÂ
He nods and refills her glass. She downs it in one go.
âEasy there doc. You do have work tomorrow, no?â
âIâll be fine Reg, I got something that sobers me up at the house.â
He nods, before leaning over the corner.
âYou know..maybe you should just talk to him.â
Brynlee looks up at Reggie, trying to see if heâs serious or not. When itâs clear that he is, she laughs.
âAnd say what Reg? âHey, I know we were never like actually together; but you really fucking hurt my feelings when you just vanished to the Amazon without so much of a text, and then you ghosted me; now youâre back and youâre my boss.â
When Brynlee finishes her rant, she looks up to see that Reggie isnât staring at her; rather heâs looking at no other than Ethan Ramsey. She turns back and looks in front of her.
âFuck you Reggie, just give me the whole damn bottle.â
Reggie just laughs and shakes his head at her. Ethan slides into the seat beside her, and she lets out a sigh of frustration.
âCan I help you Dr. Ramsey?â She says, not even looking up at him as Reggie refills her drink.
He doesnât say anything at first, and Brynee can feel his eyes scanning her up and down. Finally, she turns to look at him; and the normal harshness in his eyes softens.
âHey Rookie.â
âActually, you're about 10 minutes too late with that.â She says looking back down at her drink.
Brynlee can see him nod in her peripheral, but she doesnât acknowledge it.
Before he can answer, Brynlee's head turns to the side as a woman's voice raises.
"I'm not interested."
Brynlee is up in the blink of an eye, already walking over to the tan skinned woman and the pale white man.
"Oh come on baby, I'll-AHAGH."
Brynlee blinks as the woman twists his hand back, a load pop coming from it. The woman quickly grabs her hand and darts out the door.
"That bitch! I'll-"
"You won't do anything Thorne besides call a cab home." Ethan says, stepping in between Brynlee and Thorne
Brynlee turns to Ethan, and he nods; before turning his focus directly onto Thorne. She heads out the door, and turns down the side towards the alley. Altuve finds the woman leaned back against the wall, bandaging her hand.
"Hey, are you okay?" Brynlee asks softly as she crotches down beside her.
"Yeah I'm good, I didn't need anyone to step in."
Brynlee smiles at her, "I saw that you didn't, but let me help you; I'm a doctor at Edenbrook, I can get you bandaged here and then we can go make sure you don't need stitiches."
The woman shakes her head at Brynlee. "Alright...well at least let me help you banadage it; I take it your right hand is your dominant?"
Brynlee gives a pointed look to her injured right hand, and the girl nods. Reluctantly, the woman extends her hand; and Brynlee quietly wraps the hand.
"...Thank you." Is all she says before getting up and leaving. Brynlee sighs and heads back inside; where she is greeted with the sight of Reggie sweeping up the broken glass.
âAlright! Itâs closing time, everybody out! You donât have to go home, but you canât stay here!â He then walks around to the counter as he finishes, and pulls out a bottle of vodka.Â
âNot you two. Take this and go out back.â He says, making Ethan look back to see Brynlee standing at the door.
Ethan grabs the bottle from him, and gives Brynlee a small smile. She looks up at him; anger and sadness fights in her eyes; but she nods. And as they go to walk out to the patio, Dallas and everyone else comes in.Â
His eyes flare at the sight of her and Ethan, and he goes to march over; but Brynlee puts her hand on his chest.
âItâs okay DallasâŠweâre going to talk. Iâll meet yaâll back at the apartment, okay? I wonât be too long.â
Dallasâ eyes soften as he looks down at his big sister; but he looks up and gives Ethan a look that even makes the famous Dr. Ramsey a bit nervous.
âOkayâŠDonât be too long or Iâm coming back in.â
Everyone else gives her soft smiles before following after Dallas. Bryn turns back and watches them leave before continuing out the door. Ethan and Brynlee sit down at one of the tables on the patio; the cool air hitting their noses.
âListen..Bryn, I..I shouldnât have just left like I did.â
Brynlee snorts and looks up at him. âNo shit Sherlock. You couldâve just texted me; it takes 5 seconds.â
Ethan nods at her, before pouring his glass of Vodka and taking a sip.
âI didnât want to just text you that Iâm leaving; thatâs wrong. I should have told you in person, I wasâŠI thought that if I had, I would stay. And we needed distance, as of tomorrow; I am your boss. I will not let my feelings for you get in the way of your career.â
Brynlee looks at him for a long second.
âI get your reasoning Ethan. But I donât need you to protect me. I appreciate that you want to protect my image, but that is mine to worry about. I am an adult and I can handle the truth. Whatâs pissed me off so bad these past few months, is that you slept with me; and then fucking vanished. I knew that we had to stop seeing each other romantically Ethan, Iâm not a teenager living some romance novel. But you just left, like I was nothing.â
Bryn can see the pain in his eyes, and while she knows that in his mind, he did the best he could for herâŠdrunk Brynlee didnât care. Ethan takes another sip from his glass.
âYou mean more to me than I can admit BrynleeâŠbut I wonât be selfish. Your career, the life you want, comes first. It has to come first. Youâre not nothing to me Brynlee. Iâm sorry, I wish I could change how I left.â
âI appreciate that at least you can prioritize my career and residency over whatever we had, butâŠI need to go, before I say or do something I regret. Goodnight Dr. Ramsey.â Brynlee gets up in a flash, darting for the door
âGoodnightâŠDr. Altuve.â
She doesnât even say bye to Reggie as she bolts out the front door, where Dallas is waiting for her outside. She stops when she sees him, and he wraps his arm around her shoulder; not saying anything as they head towards her apartment.
Why couldn't she just get over him?