Forty-seven ~ Evelyn

I take a few deep breathes to calm my dancing pulse as I walk back to the ballroom.

I remind myself that this level of concern from Ade just reflects how much he cares, but he needs to trust my ability to look after myself at a simple gathering. The elegantly dimmed lights cast a vastly different atmosphere to the club's darkness.

But, I can't completely silence the little voice whispering that it's actually because he's embarrassed of me and my background. This isn't exactly a normal environment for me.

The only other times I've tapped the barrier into this world before, I was wearing a lot more green.

I sigh, looking down at the unbelievable dress hugging my body with a high slit revealing one of my legs with every other step.

A shaky hand on my arm snaps me out of my thoughts. I brace my arm just in time for it's capturer to push off it, propelling his stagger down the hall.

I watch as two younger men in black suits enter my peripherals before pursuing the man.

"Sir, please! You haven't eaten all day, you need your insulin!" One of the suits calls after him.

I swiftly join the chase as the pieces click into place in my brain. He's not drunk, he's hypoglycaemic!

It doesn't take long for the suits to catch up with him. He continues to sway in their arms, sweat cresting his wrinkled brow.

"Please Sir, it'll make you feel better." The older suit says, retrieving an insulin injector from his jacket. His features uphold a strong neutrality, whilst his eyes betray him.

Once close enough, I rest my hand on his wrist to gently draw his attention.

His face grows stern enough to rival his dark brown eyes, which are now studying me with a ferocious intensity. He jolts his arm away, but I maintain my stance.

"Please forgive my intrusion. Am I right in understanding that this gentleman is diabetic and hasn't eaten all day?" I don my medic voice as I try to open a door into the situation.

"That is correct." He reluctantly confirms, his cold tone full of skepticism.

"Sir do you have a way to check your sugar levels, like a kit or an app?" I redirected my attention, hoping his hypo hasn't started impacting his cognitive abilities yet.

His glazed eyes find mine before he makes two feeble attempts to nod and fumbles around in his pocket. He eventually pulls out his phone, taps it a few times, and turns the device to show me the screen. One point nine glares at me from the centre of a red circle, confirming my suspicions.

"He's having a hypo, he needs to eat something sugary. Would you be able to get him a sugary drink from the bar, preferably with a straw?" I direct my request at the suit that doesn't look like he's formulating an attack, guessing the other would refuse to leave his boss. "Could you please help me take him to a quiet place to sit down."

The first suit gives me a firm nod and runs off after transferring the gentleman's weight to me.

Watching the internal debate flaring behind the other suit's eyes, I decide to ease the conflict and answer some of his inevitable questions.

"My name's Evelyn by the way. I'm a student paramedic." I flash him my most reassuring smile and extend my hand.

"Liam." He states after a few beats. He accepts my outstretched hand, engulfing mine in his as he shakes it in a show of temporary acceptance.

"So, Liam, do you know anywhere we can go?" I reiterate my seemingly forgotten enquiry, punctuating my point by tapping the gentleman's hand.

"Yes, there's a conference room down here that should be empty." He looks over my arm looped through the patient's, my second hand an additional support for the deceivingly large amount of weight I'm supporting. "Are you okay, is it too heavy?"

"I'm fine, thank you. Lead the way!"

Liam jogs more of the weight onto him before slowly advancing down the corridor.

We arrive at a small conference room with an oval table and a wall of tinted windows. I pull the closest chair into position and we settle the gentleman into it as the other suit arrives with a full fat soft drink, straw in situ.

"Perfect, thank you." I take the glass and get down to the patient's level. "This should raise your sugar levels and make you feel better. Could you please drink some?"

The patient nods, highlighting his perfectly trimmed silver beard, so I position the glass to enable him to use the straw. He tolerates it well with little input, so I shift into a more comfortable position knowing I shouldn't need to move with speed.

As the minutes tick by he gradually becomes more with it, reassuring me that the next blood sugar will be promising.

We fill the focused silence with general conversation and I learn that the second suit's identity is Josh and that the patient has regular hypos that they had been treating with insulin. After cringing internally, I explained that insulin breaks down sugar and lowers your blood sugar level, so if you're having a hypo you need to do the opposite by supplying the body with sugar.

This leads onto to me asking Josh to see if he can source a slow-release carbohydrate to sustain the patient's blood sugar. Once he's left the room Liam clears his throat.

"Sorry about earlier, we would've been in deep trouble without you." He scratches the back of his head as he lets the first slither of emotion show externally.

"Don't worry about it, it's natural to get more defensive when you're anxious." I'm used to letting all manner of negative behaviour wash over me, a lot of the time it's a side effect of an individual's fight or flight response.

"Damn, was it really that obvious?"

"Only because of experience. He must be a good boss for you to genuinely care about him so much." I rub the patient's shoulder through his royal blue blazer, rechecking his level of consciousness as I speak.

"Yeah, he is. He's often misunderstood, but he's got a good heart." Sincerity oozed from his honesty as he gazed reflectively upon his boss, bringing a smile to my lips.

The patient coherently joined our conversation not long after that, so it was no surprise that his next test showed a healthy six point two.

"I don't need to tell you the importance of eating regularly, do I?" I give the patient's hand a playful squeeze as I bring the ongoing care advice to a close.

"No, you don't. I should've been more careful. Thank you for all of your help. What's my saviour's name?" He places his aged hand atop of mine.

"Evelyn."

"Well Evelyn, it really was a pleasure to meet you. I couldn't begin to tell you how relieved I am that our paths crossed tonight." His large blue eyes met mine to convey the extent of his gratitude, before suddenly widening, "How rude of me, I'm Richard."

"It's nice to meet you Richard, and I'm just glad you're feeling better." I stand, the amount of time I've been gone for suddenly dawning on me, "I ought to be getting back to my friend."

"Of course, thank you again." Richard stands, gazing down at me from just shy of six foot, and pulls me into a hug full of comforting warmth.

Liam follows me out and I'm about to leave when his level voice catches me, "Could I please have your number?" After noting my blank stare he chuckles and gives me some context, "In case we have any questions."

"Yes, of course." I pass him my phone to input his number and he shoots himself a text to grab mine.

"I better go." I smile awkwardly as he hands me back my phone. After a firm nod, I turn to go, "Have a good night!"

Once out of view, I pick up the pace. 'Ade will be losing his mind if he's noticed I'm gone.'

Luckily, I returned to the sight of Lizzie dragging a stiff Leon onto the dance floor. I lean on the bar, unable to draw my eyes away from the scene.

Lizzie yanks his large frame against her, encircling his waist as she lets her head fall against his chest. Leon looks down, admiring her body against his, and noticeably relaxes.

I jolt as an arm wraps around my waist.

"What do you think, should I fire him?" Ade's rich voice is void of the early tension and I let myself relax against him.

"I don't think she'd ever forgive you."

I feel Ade's abdominal muscles contract against my back as he laughs, making my heart flutter in return.

The earlier whispers of doubt become muted by the orchestra and my favourite sound as Ade continues to laugh, resting his spasming arms on my shoulders.