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“Doctor,” I said.
He nodded, pretending to look over the papers in his hands.
“Everything okay?” I asked.
“Yes, of course,” he said, still staring at the papers. He wasn’t reading them; they were upside down.
“Did I do something to upset you?” I asked. My mind went over every possible scenario. Maybe he was angry I was still seeing Josh, or maybe I had pissed him off during that morning’s code. I couldn’t think of anything.
“Reid,” I said quietly.
He looked at me, and the elevator dinged. The doors opened to the maternity ward.
Dr. Rosenberg stepped out into the hall, stopping at the line of windows. The nursery only had a few newborns, flailing their arms or sleeping.
“I need to tell you something, but I’m not sure I should,” Dr. Rosenberg said.
“Is it personal?” I asked.
“Yes. It’s about Josh.”
I sighed. “Doctor—”
“He came to my home, Avery. He told me to stay away from you.”
My head snapped in his direction, but he continued to stare at the babies without expression, as if he’d just told me it may rain.
“You’re lying.” I didn’t bother to hide the bite in my tone. I’d become fiercely protective when it came to Josh.
“You can ask my wife. And my daughter. They answered the door.”
I blinked and then looked through the glass, blank-faced and feeling foolish. So many emotions swirled inside me I couldn’t sift through them. A lump formed in my throat. “I’m so sorry,” I managed to say.
“I should stay away from you, but because I care about you, I’m going to say this one last time, Avery. Josh has become dangerous. He’s unpredictable, possessive, and emotionally immature. That can be a scary combination if you let this continue. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
I nodded, unable to look him in the eyes. My cheeks flushed. “He’s not like that with me. He—”
“They never are until they are. You know as well as I do that it’s a process. We see it every day in the ER. You think those women get punched and kicked on their first date? You think their husbands separate them from the people who care about them right off the bat? You know how this works, Avery. You’re smarter than this.
“What I’m most worried about is that I can’t help you anymore. I have a family to care for, and Josh has made it impossible for me to continue our friendship.” He turned to me, sadness in his eyes. “I wish you the best. I really do. Good luck.”
I wanted to tell him he was wrong about everything, but what he said made sense. I couldn’t argue when part of me worried his assessment of Josh was true. “Th-thank you,” I said. I watched him walk away like it was nothing. Like he hadn’t just ripped my heart from my chest.
Avery’s eyes were wide and full of fire as she slammed my apartment door behind her and slapped her key onto the countertop while I worked to prepare her the meatloaf she’d requested for her birthday, using Quinn’s mom’s recipe.
I glanced over at the cake I’d made and used a clean dish towel to cover the sloppy icing. It wasn’t great, but stores didn’t sell strawberry shortcake birthday cakes, so I’d had to do some research online.
“Bad day, baby?” I asked, tossing my oven mitt on the counter. I leaned against the peeling Formica, folding my arms over my chest.
“Depends. Do you consider being humiliated a good thing, Josh?”
I fidgeted to stall, trying to decide how to answer. Her question sounded dangerously close to a trap. “Um … no?”
“I guess you didn’t think that over when you went to Doc Rose’s house.”
“Fuck.” I rubbed my palm along my taut jaw … I’m going to beat that prick’s ass.
“We’re lying to each other now?”
“I didn’t lie.”
“You deliberately kept the truth from me. Omission is lying.”
“I definitely didn’t want you to find out today.” I wiped my hand on a dish towel and reached for her. “It’s not as bad as it sounds. I dropped off his book and we had a little chat. That’s it. I didn’t realize that the man was such a pussy he’d run and tell you. Especially not on your fucking birthday.”
She folded her arms over her chest, and I braced for the inevitable fight, but nothing happened. She just stared at me with disappointment in her eyes.
“Look …” I pushed from the counter and stepped in front of her. “If it makes you feel better, I’ll talk to him.”
“You’ve already talked to him. You mean you’ll apologize.”
I clenched my jaw, biting back the comments that came to mind. “No.”
“No?” She glared at me, yanking her hands from mine.
“I won’t apologize for fighting for what we have.”
“If you already have it, you don’t have to fight for it!” she seethed. “We’ve already talked about this, Josh. Jesus!”
I wasn’t going to back down for something so ridiculous. I had been protecting what we had by making sure Doc Rose knew I wouldn’t allow him to destroy it. She stomped into the living and I followed.
“Avery, I’m sorry if you were embarrassed. You’re right. I should have told you. But he crossed a line. I probably did him a favor. If he keeps it up, he’s going to lose his family.”
She turned, her eyes glassed over and the corners of her lips tugged down. She sniffed. “Damn you. I defended you, and he was right.”
