We use our badges for everything. To get in and out of the floor and to log into computers and the Pyxis machine. Josh would have also needed Aston’s password, but how difficult can that be to get? He could have looked over his shoulder anytime to see it.
“He… he said all these things to me and told me, well, it’s stupid. I should have known better, but I’ve been pretty lonely, and then he said these things to me, things I had always wanted him to say, and he told me that you were unhappy and that Aston was dangerous. I thought I was helping him. I never knew he mistreated you that way.” She looks at my neck. “I was bitter, and I should have known better. I should have known he wasn’t trying to go around Aston by using his credentials. I should have known he was trying to hurt him. Maybe part of me did. Maybe I was getting back at you and Aston. I don’t know. I didn’t think Josh would ever put patients at risk. Not ever, or I never would have done it. But it’s my fault, and after what you told me today about what Josh had done, I couldn’t live with it anymore. It all clicked into place what he had been doing and just how dangerous he is.”
I fall back in my seat, simply blinking and staring at her. I’m shocked. I never would have imagined Michaela would do something like that. I also give her a lot of credit for coming forward about it. Many would have hidden their involvement.
But more than that, part of this is my fault. I left Josh, sure, but that’s all I did. I didn’t tell anyone other than my friends and family what he did to me. I avoided it, hoping that by leaving him, I was solving my problem. That he’d simply fade into the background eventually and get over it. I took the easy, passive way out. I didn’t file a restraining order, and other than avoiding him at work, I took no action against him.
I felt ashamed and hid from so much. But I’m not responsible for his actions. He is. And if I’m going to protect myself and my child, I can’t run from what he did.
“In addition to filing a formal complaint against him,” I continue, “after my shift, I’m going to be filing a restraining order with the police department.”
“You do know that with your family name, that will become public,” Weinberg tells me.
“I’m aware, and if that happens, then I’ll face it.”
Weinberg nods. “I have to speak to the chief of surgery and the resident advisor for the program, but it’s safe to say that Josh Wesley won’t be practicing medicine in this hospital again.”
Relief floods me, but there’s more to this. “What about Dr. Hughes?”
“In light of the evidence that’s been brought forth to me, he’ll be reinstated immediately.”
Fuck yeah!I inwardly fist-pump the air but work to contain my gleeful smile. “Thank you, sir. Am I permitted to tell him?”
He grins at me, clearly seeing straight through me. “Sure. In fact, why don’t you do that now? I need to finish speaking with Michaela in private.”
“Right.” I throw her a glance, but she’s not meeting my eyes now. I still can’t believe she did what she did for Josh. Then again, I know what it feels like to be on the receiving end of his excessive and effusive affection and attention. It’s how he ensnared me so quickly. He knows how to create an intense emotional attachment like no one else.
I stand, and without saying anything else, I leave Weinberg’s office. Then I run for the bathroom. I have like ten minutes left before I have to get to work, which right now feels impossible with all that’s going on and all that’s rushing through my head, but that’s reality. I pull my phone out of my pocket and immediately call Aston, who picks up right away.
“Hey. Where are you? I came looking for you, and Suzanne said you were on break, but I need to tell you?—”
“Dr. Aston Hughes, I’m going to need you to return to work ASAP,” I interrupt. “Your administrative leave is officially over now that it’s been discovered that you were in fact sabotaged by Dr. Josh Wesley.”
A beat of silence. Then, “Are you serious? How would you know that?”
I launch into a fast version of what happened.
“Where are you?” he asks instead of responding to anything, his voice tight.
“Um, the bathroom outside the administrative offices on the surgical floor.”
“I’ll be there in two seconds.”
The phone disconnects, and I put my phone back in my pocket and exit the bathroom, only to immediately get picked up by a firm set of arms. Aston’s lips land straight onto mine, his arms banded tightly around me.
“Are you okay?” he murmurs around my lips.
“I’m fine. That really was like two seconds.”
“I was down the hall.” He rips himself back and examines my neck. I didn’t look too long in the mirror, but most of the redness is already gone. Still, his jaw clenches. “I want to kill him for touching you.”
I shake my head. “Not worth it.”
“No. It’s my job to protect you. I hate that you went through that, and I wasn’t there.”
“I’ve also learned how to protect myself. How to stand up for myself to him. He’s going down already by his own hand. Literally. Between what’s going to happen here in the hospital and me filing a restraining order after work, he won’t be able to hurt either of us again.”
He sets me down, and his fingers trickle along my neck, his lips following, kissing me softly.
