"She told you to leave." Quiet. Dangerous in its calmness.
Harrison's expression holds, but the recalculation happens behind his eyes. He straightens, adjusting stance, measuring.
"I was just speaking with—"
"You were touching her." Knox's focus drops to my wrist, back up. "Without her permission."
The air thickens.
Harrison's mouth curves. "I think there's been a misunderstanding."
"No misunderstanding. You touched her. She pulled away. You're still here."
Harrison's expression flattens. He looks Knox over, the way you'd appraise something brought in on someone's shoe.
"And you are?" He knows exactly who Knox is. The question is the insult.
"Leaving," Knox says. "That's what you are."
For a long moment, no one moves.
Harrison inclines his head. Polite, dismissive. "Of course." His eyes find mine. "We'll talk again, Sloane. When you're ready." He turns and walks away, pace unhurried, posture unchanged. The crowd absorbs him.
Knox's attention stays locked on me. On my face, my breathing, the way I'm holding my wrist.
"Did he hurt you?" His voice is low, controlled, and strained underneath.
"No." I drop my hand. "He just grabbed me."
His jaw works. Palm to my lower back, warm and steady. "Come on. Let's get you away from this hallway."
I nod. He walks me back toward the station, body angled protectively. At the desk, he squeezes my shoulder once and steps back. Gives me space to work.
I log in. Answer a resident's question. Recheck room four's pressure. My hands don't waver. My voice stays even. I push through the last three hours of my shift because that's what I do.
Knox disappears for a while. I feel the absence in my periphery, at the spot near the wall where he'd been leaning. But I keep moving. Chart. Meds. Discharge paperwork that drags. A family meeting that runs long.
When I'm down to my last thirty minutes, he reappears with a paper bag and coffee. The smell hits first. Real coffee, not the scorched ghost I've been reheating.
He sets it on the counter beside me, watching, tracking whether the last few hours cost me anything.
"You okay?"
"Better now that I'm almost done."
"Your wrist."
I glance down. Harrison was too careful to leave a mark. Knox saw him grab me anyway.
"It's fine."
"It's not fine. He put his hands on you."
"He let go."
"Because I was there." His jaw tightens. "He's learning, Sloane. Testing boundaries. Seeing what he can get away with."
I curl my hand around the cup. "This is the second time. He isn't letting this go."
