The Unanswered Emergency Calls

"Rowan, that intern can't even use a bottle opener. Seriously, how has she survived this long?"

"Briar screwed up a report today and got me reamed out by the board! I swear, I'm telling HR to get rid of her next week!"

He always said he would request to have her transferred, but until she "got sick," she clung to him like a vine.

Then, I watched as he changed her contact name in his phone from "Troublemaker" to "Poor Little Thing."

With all the signs laid out so clearly before me, how could I possibly pretend not to see?

I listened, too numb to even argue. I let out a soft laugh. "Mm, I understand."

He clearly hadn't expected my composure. Assuming I was playing some kind of mind game, his tone softened. "Alright, I'll go get those macarons you love from Le Panier, okay? Just..."

Before he could finish, I heard him on the other end, his voice dropping to a gentle murmur. "There, there, it's okay, I'm here..."

Just like that, his attention was stolen. I could hear his muffled voice through the phone. "Why didn't you say something sooner? Does it still hurt?"

Briar sniffled softly. "It doesn't hurt anymore."

He sounded terribly worried as he chided her, "You silly girl, why didn't you just wake me up?"

"I'm sorry for causing you so much trouble, Griffin... Maybe I should just disappear..." Briar's voice trailed off, thick with sorrow.

"Don't say such foolish things," Griffin said, his voice aching with sympathy.

After that, I heard him sigh and continue to whisper comforting words to her. The phone must have moved farther away, because his voice became a distant hum.

It didn't matter. I didn't want to listen anyway.

Though my stomach had been growling moments before, the disgust churning in my gut at how he doted on her killed what little appetite I had.

I hung up the phone.

Just then, a nurse pushed the door open to remove the IV catheter from my hand.

"You're all set for discharge, Mrs. Montgomery. But you've just had a D&C, so you'll need to take it easy and focus on your recovery, alright?"

I looked out at the rain-streaked window and replied softly, "I know."