Josh. It has to be.
The realization hits me with such clarity that I stagger under its weight. He’s trying to make me look incompetent, but more than that, he’s putting patients’ lives at risk. But how did he mess with my orders? The equipment wouldn’t be that tough to do, but the EMR, or electronic medical record, isn’t as easy to manipulate.
I spend I don’t even know how long going through the rest of my patients’ orders one by one, making sure everything is correct and as it should be, including for the little kid I just operated on. I’m going to need to speak to my supervisor about this, but without any proof, that can be tricky. Especially given the social situation Josh and I are in with each other.
I need to find Skylar and talk to her.
I head for the elevator and make my way to the MSICU, which is its usual busy self. I spot Michaela talking to a resident, and she turns when she notices me, giving me a wave thatI simply return with a head nod, only to have her suddenly come over to my side.
“Everything okay?”
“Huh?” I draw back, surprised she’s asking me that in such a way as if we’re close, which we’re not. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“I heard about your patient today, and now Skylar’s talking to Josh.”
“What?” That pulls me up short. “She is?”
“Yes. I assumed that’s why you were storming down here.” She gives me a bewildered look as if she hadn’t realized she was dropping a bomb on my lap. “Sorry, I thought you knew. They’re in room twelve.”
What the hell is happening today?
I blow past Michaela and head straight for room twelve, and sure enough, Skylar is in there with Josh.
“—not safe with him,” Josh states emphatically. “I told you what happened in the OR today. It was a routine procedure, and he had to open the patient up. He’s being reckless, Skylar. I’m going to have no choice but to go to my supervisor over this.”
“Go away, Josh. You don’t know what you’re talking about,” she snaps, her voice tight.
“Don’t I? Ask around. Equipment failure and medication errors. Those aren’t small things. All of them started after the two of you got together. He’s distracted, and it’s making him careless. They’ll fire him, and then he’ll be gone. He’ll likely have to leave Boston. Then what will you do? Your job is here. Your family is here.”
“Why are you saying this to me?” she asks, looking flustered, her arms folded over her chest, her hip popped out. “No one is firing Aston and he’s not leaving Boston.”
“You deserve better than someone who is careless and cocky with his work. I know your marriage is bullshit. I just don’t know why you did it.”
“It’s not bullshit,” she defends.
“It is. I know it is,” he says with assurance. “You didn’t want to break up with me. You told me so. I know you love me. You only left me because you felt I wasn’t good to you.”
“That’s not how it was, and that’s not how it is. Not anymore.” She shakes her head and starts to walk away when he grabs her and holds her steady. “Let go of me.”
“I can’t. I love you, and I won’t stand to see you throw away your life with a loser like him. You’re nothing more than a glorified babysitter for his kid. Can’t you see, he’s using you.”
She pulls her arm free of his grip before I can manually do it for her.
“What do you know of his daughter?”
Something crosses his features. “Only that he’s never home with her because he’s too busy fucking up here.”
My heart pounds. Has he been following Skylar? Following me?
“You need to leave. I’ve told you I don’t want to see you.”
He moves in on her. “Tough shit. Because I’m not going anywhere. He is. I love you. He doesn’t. I’m the real deal, and I’ll do whatever it takes to prove that to you. You needed me to change, and I’ve changed. I’ve done everything you’ve asked of me. So cut the bullshit with him and come back to me.”
“What’s all this?” I step into the room, unable to listen to another second of this.
Skylar’s head snaps over toward me, relief washing over her features. “Dr. Wesley and I were just?—”
“Having a private conversation that doesn’t involve you,” Josh interrupts. “Doctor to nurse.”
