HE NEVER LEFT.

MAYA'S POV

"What is the meaning of this?"

David said as he shoved his phone into my hand. I was shocked at what I saw.

On the screen was a text from my number saying;

"Pack your things and leave."

"Don't ever contact me again."

"I didn't send that." I said while returning his phone to him. He looked at me with disgust.

"Then explain why it came from your number."

I couldn't. I stood in the same spot, staring at him. Trying to gather my thoughts and also to explain myself. But the problem wasn't how to explain, it was that there was nothing to explain because I didn't know how it happened.

The message was sent at 2:11 am. I knew exactly where I was at that time, I wasn't on my phone. By the time my night shift ended, I couldn't stop thinking about it.

The worst part about working the night shift at the hospital was the quiet.

I leaned against the desk at the nurses' station, staring at a blank computer screen. My eyes burned because I hadn't slept in days.

"You're doing it again," Amy said, dropping a stack of folders onto the desk right next to me.

I didn't look up. "Doing what?"

"Staring into space," she said, pulling up a chair to sit next to me.

"I heard about David. I'm really sorry, Maya."

I sat up. The breakup happened earlier this evening, and it still didn't make any sense to me.

"He thinks I was the one who ended it," I whispered, turning to look at her.

"He said I sent him a long text telling him to pack his things and leave. But Amy, I never wrote it. I didn't send anything."

Amy frowned and looked closely at my face.

"What do you mean you didn't write it?"

"David showed me the message earlier. It came from your phone number, Maya."

"I know," I said, my voice shaking.

"But I don't remember doing it. I remember going to sleep, and I remember waking up to him blocking me. It feels like I'm losing hours of my life."

"Maya, that's not normal," Amy said quietly, putting a hand on my arm.

"You look exhausted. You need real sleep. You're starting to get confused."

Before I could answer, I heard footsteps approaching the desk.

"Nurse Lawson," Dr. Jason Finn said.

His voice was deep and formal whenever we were out in the open. He looked neat in his blue scrubs, but his eyes looked tired and restless.

"Yes, Dr. Jason?" I asked.

"I need you to look over some files in my office," he said.

"Right now, please."

Amy didn't say a word, but I could feel her watching me as I stood up and followed him down the hall.

The walk to his office was short, but I was nervous.

The hospital rules had very strict rules about doctors and nurses dating.

If anyone found out about us, he could lose his job and I could be fired.

It was a massive risk, a total secret we kept hidden behind closed doors.

The moment the heavy office door clicked shut behind us, the professional act stopped. Jason turned around right away.

He grabbed my wrist gently and pulled me into the dark corner behind his bookshelf, away from the window.

"You're shaking," he whispered, leaning his forehead against mine.

"I'm just tired," I lied, looking up at him.

"It's more than that, Maya," Jason said, his thumb brushing over my hand.

"You've been restless all night. Talk to me. What's wrong?"

"My life is a mess," I whispered, pulling my hand back.

"My breakup with David was so weird. And I can't focus right now. Amy is already watching us. If someone walks in,"

A sharp knock on the door cut me off.

We jumped apart instantly. Jason cleared his throat and stepped back to his desk, picking up a pen.

I rubbed my palms against my pants, trying to calm my nerves.

"Come in," Jason called out.

The door opened, and Amy stood there. She looked back and forth between my face and Jason's.

A small smile appeared on her lips.

"Sorry to interrupt," Amy said.

"But Maya's ride is outside. Your shift is over."

I didn't look at Jason as I hurried out of the room. The fear made my stomach ache.

I grabbed my coat and took the elevator down to the lobby.

The main lobby was completely empty. Through the front glass doors, I could see the dark parking lot.

The air was freezing, and the wind was blowing hard, but my eyes went straight to the black car waiting by the entrance.

Adrian was already standing outside the car, holding my bag and my folders. The moment he saw me, he gave me a warm smile. He had always smiled at me like that since we were kids.

"You're five minutes late," Adrian said as I walked up.

I stopped walking and looked at the bag in his hands. I felt weird. "Adrian, how did you get my bag? I left it inside my locker. It was locked."

His smile didn't change at all. "You left your keys on the table yesterday after your shift, Maya. I noticed them when I dropped off your lunch. I just used the spare key to grab your things so you wouldn't have to walk back upstairs. I was just trying to help."

I stared at him, trying to remember. Had I really left my keys on the table? I usually kept them on my belt. But looking at his eyes, I figured he must be right. Lately, it felt like I was forgetting everything.

"Right," I said, letting him open the car door for me. "Thanks."

"You skipped lunch, didn't you?" he asked as he got into the driver's seat and turned on the AC.

"Actually I ate." I answered smiling.

He laughed and put the car in drive. "Aw, I'm losing my detective skills. I'm impressed you ate."

I turned and stared out the window at the buildings fading away as we went by. Adrian was always making lucky guesses. He knew when I skipped meals, he knew when I couldn't sleep, and he always showed up right before I felt like crying. I used to think it was nice to have a best friend who cared so much.

Tonight, it just made my skin crawl. Suddenly, my phone buzzed in my lap, the bright screen lighting up the dark car.

My heart sank when I saw David's name.

"Stop lying to me, Maya."

"I know it was you. Just admit it."

With shaking fingers, I unlocked the phone and opened our texts. I read the last message and gasped.

There, sent from my number at exactly 2:11 AM, the exact time I was standing in the corner of Jason's office, was a text message.

"Don't ever call me again. I hate you."

I stared at the words, completely terrified. I hadn't touched my phone all night. It had been inside my pocket the whole time I was with Jason. Nobody else had been near me.

"Everything okay?" Adrian asked.

His voice brought me back into reality. I hadn't noticed him leaning over toward my side of the car, trying to look at the screen.

I quickly locked the phone and hid it in my coat pocket.

"Yeah," I said. "Everything is fine. Just a spam text."

"Good," Adrian whispered, looking back at the dark road ahead. He reached over and gently touched my knee.

"You don't need any more distractions, Maya. People out there just break your heart. Let's get you home."

Adrian dropped me off at home and drove off. I stayed up for about two more hours before finally going upstairs to sleep. I tried to watch a movie but my mind was still on the message that David sent me. Every one of my relationships over the past years have been ending the same way. I felt like someone was constantly intruding into my life but that didn't make sense either because who could it possibly be?

By sunrise, I had stopped trying to explain the impossible. My phone had been in my pocket all night, yet it had somehow texted David without me touching it.

My shift was to begin at ten. I arrived at work thirty minutes earlier to finish organizing the patients' charts and also to occupy myself.

"Hello."

I looked up from my computer screen and saw Amy standing over me, holding two cups of coffee.

"You're early today," I said, while letting out a chuckle.

"Oh please, I'm always early," Amy replied.

Amy and I had been friends way before we became coworkers. We attended the same high school and also went to college together. We've always been inseparable. I could always depend on her for anything, which was why the secret I was keeping about Dr Jason felt so heavy.

I waited until the hallway was nearly empty and other nurses were occupied before I finally leaned closer to her.

"Something else happened," I said while I moved my chair closer to her desk.

She looked back at me as she was taking off her coat.

"What's that?"

"David thinks I've been texting him." I said.

"I thought he blocked you."

"He did. But our chat keeps showing messages I never sent."

She frowned. "You're serious?"

I unlocked my phone and handed it to her. She scrolled through the conversation, then stopped at the timestamps.

"Maya," she whispered. "These were sent while you were with Dr. Finn."

"I know."

She looked back at me. "So unless you've figured out how to send text messages without touching your phone"

"I didn't send them."

Amy was quiet for a moment before handing my phone back.

"This doesn't make any sense," she said as she handed my phone back to me. "You should ask Adrian. If anyone can figure out how those messages were sent, it's him."

I nodded in agreement.

"Nurse Lawson." Dr Jason called.

I pushed my chair back to my desk and stood up to answer him. Dr Jason looked as good as he usually does. His hair was perfectly cut and his scrubs were properly ironed. He had a unique scent you could smell from across the room. It was one of the things that  attracted me to him.

"I need you to come with me to check on the progress of the patient in Room 318." he said. "There are a few adjustments to be made to his morning medication."

I nodded and grabbed my pen and notebook from the desk.

I kept my eyes focused on the folder in his hand, totally avoiding Amy's eyes. I could feel her eyes on me. But I wasn't ready to answer her questions.

Dr Jason and I walked over to the patient's room, keeping a distance between us as we walked past other staff. We arrived at the room, took care of the charts and went our separate ways.

The rest of the night felt like an eternity. There was silence in the hospital and nothing much was going on. Soon after, my shift ended and I left to go home.

As I was packing my bag, my phone buzzed in my pocket. It was  a text message from Adrian.

"Are you ready to go?"

Adrian was the hospital's head of IT. Because of his job, he had access to every computer system and network in the entire building. We had the same working hours, and he always dropped me off at home after work. It became a habit for him. Adrian, Amy and I went to the same college. The only difference is, Adrian and I had been best friends since we were kids, our mothers were friends.

I slid my phone back in my pocket and headed down to the lobby where I knew he was waiting for me.

"Hey you" he said as I walked down to him, with a smile on his face.

"Hi." I hugged him, we headed to his car, he opened the door for me and we headed home.

Adrian turned on the air conditioning as soon as we got into the car. I buckled my seatbelt and he drove off. The city lights were always so bright and beautiful at that time of the night. I always enjoyed the view.

"So, how was your day?" Adrian asked, looking over at me.

"Surprisingly, nothing interesting happened," I replied. "The patient in Room 112 keeps frustrating me, she always has one demand or the other."

Adrian laughed out loud and I laughed too. We always talked about our work and I always complained about patients to him. More like we both loved hospital gossip and there was always gossip to discuss.

I attempted to change the music playing on the radio.

"Don't touch the radio, Maya." Adrian said. "The last time you made me listen to Taylor swift the whole drive."

We both burst into laughter. Times like this made me cherish Adrian. He knew how to make me laugh everytime.

"How is David?" Adrian asked suddenly. I looked over at him, wondering why he asked out of nowhere. I could see why he asked though, I told Adrian everything about me, and I had stopped talking about David.

"We broke up," I replied while playing with my fingers. Adrian let out a sigh. "Wanna talk about it?" He said as he put his hand on my knee, consoling me.

I told him everything. I felt much better letting it out. He dropped me off at home and went home. After my shower, I wanted to check my socials before I slept, but what I saw on my phone threw me off.

FACE ID DISABLED AFTER MULTIPLE  FAILED ATTEMPTS.

My stomach dropped. I hadn't touched my phone since Adrian dropped me off.

So who had been trying to unlock it? And why?

I woke up feeling extremely refreshed. I had a great night's sleep the previous night. It felt good to finally not stay up thinking. The sun was shining, the wing was blowing my curtains open, and the birds outside were singing. I just knew it was going to be an amazing day.

Today was my day off, and my sister, Zara, was returning from college for spring break. I planned to spend the day hanging out with her, but my plans got ruined.

Around noon, my phone rang. It was a call from the hospital. One of the day shift nurses had called in sick and they were understaffed. They needed someone to come in for just a few hours to cover. I wanted to say no, but I felt bad leaving them struggling, so I promised Zara I'd hang out with her after work.

When I arrived at work, the hospital was unexpectedly chaotic. Apparently, a certain Mr. Reed was rushed into the building after suffering a heart attack. They assigned me to his ward, a section I don't usually work in.

"Maya, thank goodness you're here," The head nurse said as she walked over to me and handed me a file. "We need all hands on deck. Can you please go to the ICU? Mr Reed is stabilized, but he still needs his vitals monitored closely, and his family just arrived."

I nodded, taking the file, and hurried down to the ICU, located in the east section of the hospital. When I opened the door, I saw an old man resting on the hospital bed. I could hear his heart monitor beeping from the door.

Sitting in a chair next to him was a young man. I assumed it was his son. He was holding the old man's hand, looking extremely worried. When he heard the door open, he looked up.

He had kind hazel eyes, even though they looked tired from stress and lack of sleep. He stood up from the chair and stretched out his hand.

"Hi," he said quietly as he shook my hand. "Are you the nurse taking over?

"Yes, I'm Maya," I said as I pulled my pen and notepad out of my pocket to take note of the state of the patient.

"I'm Daniel," he replied while stepping back to allow me access to the monitors. "He is my dad, it happened so fast this morning. I'm just really glad he's stable now."

One could clearly hear the worry in his voice. I tried my best to reassure him.

"He's in safe hands, Daniel." I proceeded to check the blood pressure machine and also his heart rate monitor. Everything seemed okay.

Daniel stayed by his father's side the entire time. I could just tell that he cherished him more than anything else in the world. As I worked, we ended up talking quietly. He told me he lived just a few blocks away from the hospital and he worked from home. And also that he recently got out of a toxic relationship.

Unlike the constant looking over my shoulders with Dr Jason or the worrying about everything else in my life, speaking to Daniel felt like a breath of fresh air. By the time my shift ended, his father was transferred to a private ward and he was perfectly resting. And Daniel looked more relaxed.

"Thank you for everything, Maya," Daniel said while escorting me out of the room. He rubbed his palms together, looking a little shy. "I know this isn't exactly perfect timing, but could I take you out for coffee sometime? So I may thank you properly."

It felt nice to be noticed by someone normal. Someone outside my messy work life.  "I'd love that," I replied. We quickly exchanged numbers and I went back to my desk.

On my way back to the nurse's station, Jason brushed past me in the hallway without looking back. To everyone else, we were doctor and nurse. Nothing more. Something that hurt more than I admitted.

Nothing much happened afterwards, I kept going back to the room to check up on Mr Reed, to ensure everything was okay. My shift ended around 7pm. I checked out and left for home. Adrian's shift was at night, so he couldn't take me home. I took a taxi.

The entire drive home, I couldn't help but think about Daniel and smile. When I finally arrived home, I rushed inside, ready to spend the rest of my evening with my sister. Zara was sitting on the living room couch, holding Susie and watching a movie.

"Hey," Zara said, looking up with a smile. "You're back."

"Yeah, it was a crazy few hours," I said while dropping my keys on the dining table. "I'm so sorry our plans got ruined."

"It's okay," Zara replied. "Oh and by the way, Adrian dropped by about an hour ago."

I paused, my hand freezing as I attempted to open the fridge door. "Adrian? He knew I was at work, why would he come by?"

"He said he wanted to drop off the white coat you forgot in his car," Zara shrugged. "He didn't know I was home, he just let himself in."

I frowned. "What do you mean he let himself in? The front door was locked, Zara. I locked it right before I left for work."

"Yeah, it was locked," Zara responded casually, not noticing how serious I was. "He came right in with a spare key. He was actually quite surprised to see me, he just asked when you'd be back, dropped the coat and left."

I stood in the middle of the room completely stunned. My mind went back to the other night when he magically had the key to my locked hospital locker too.

I turned my head to look at the hook by the door where we hung our spare house keys. The extra keys were still there, completely untouched.

"Are you okay? You look like you've just seen a ghost." Zara said.

I didn't respond to her, I grabbed my bag and headed upstairs to take a shower and retire for the night.

The whole scenario seemed deeply disturbing to me and it made me uneasy. The same question kept going over in my head.

How did Adrian get a spare key to my house?