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‘Have I ever once put any pressure on you to look good?’ His voice was breathless. It was as if she’d slapped him, her venom stunning him, his expression reeling from her confession. ‘Have I ever once made you feel less than—?’
‘Have you ever once been truly honest with me?’ She hated it that he couldn’t answer, hated it that he screwed his eyes closed.
‘Open the door!’
‘Annie, this is not about how you look,’ he attempted, but she shook her head.
‘Take me out tonight, then.’
‘I can’t.’
‘But you’ll take Candy out?’
‘Candy and I... It’s complicated...’ And on cue his phone rang. Whether or not it was Candy, Annie knew that it often had been and she almostdidslap him then, her hand actually lifting as his teeth gritted for the impact, his lying eyes pleading for understanding when she found out she couldn’t resort to violence. ‘Annie, if you’ll just calm down for a moment.’
‘Calm down!’ Her hand clamped over her mouth instead of his cheek, her eyes livid, the incredulous laugh that shot from her lips bordering on hysterical as the phone that had gone silent for a few seconds started trilling again. And she realized what she’d become as she dragged her hand down and rattled at the door.
‘You’d better answer your phone—someone clearly needs to talk to you.’
‘She can wait!’
‘Well, I can’t.’ Annie retorted. ‘I swear to God, Iosef, if you don’t unlock the door this second, I’m going to scream!’
And even if hewasunlocking the door now, even if it was opening and she was running out, it was like being thrown into prison, a prison of her own making— the sentence for her crime never more evident as Melanie swung out of the mini-kitchen with a tray of coffee for Rebecca’s family.
‘Annie, are you still here?’ Her friendly greeting faded, concern etched on her face as she took in Annie’s tear-streaked face. ‘What on earth happened?’
‘Nothing.’
‘You’re crying!’
Worse than prison, Annie thought, she’d been placed in solitary.
‘It’s just been one helluva shift,’ Annie attempted. ‘You know, Mrs Lucas, the baby and her mum—I guess it just gets to you sometimes.’
‘I’ll come over,’ Melanie offered. ‘As soon as my shift ends.’
‘No.’ Annie shook her head and lied to her friend because she had to. ‘I’d really rather be alone.’
Chapter 12
ForAnnie it was excruciating to sit in the staffroom where she’d once been so comfortable and attempt to groan about the weather or empty coffee-jar. Hell, to talk to him about a patient, or work alongside him, and just, just... unbearableto have to walk into his office on occasion and not remember what had taken place on his desk.
‘These are the files you wanted.’ She couldn’t look at him and couldn’t look at the desk either, couldn’t even put the notes down where her bottom had been, so instead, taut with tension, she sort of thrust them at him.
‘Thank you. Annie, could we—?’
‘Jackie wants everyone in the staffroom in fifteen minutes.’ Annie cut him off as she always did when he tried to talk to her about them.
‘She is going to announce that I’m being offered a consultant’s position.’
‘Congratulations.’
‘If it is a problem for you...’
‘There are a million exe’s working alongside each other—I’m sure we can manage to remain civil! ’ Annie snapped, thankful for Melanie’s unwitting words. Maybe there were, as Melanie had said, a million exes working alongside each other and managing to be civil, but on reflection maybe she was wrong.
A working relationship with someone you’d had a personal relationship with wasn’t an ideal scenario.
