AllFreeNovel
Share Us
As she listened to them rehearse familiar songs, many of which she and her mom had sung together at church, she began to relax. The stress of the morning faded, and her anxiety lowered to a more manageable level. She hoped that once Janessa was back to work, she wouldn’t have to think about the past anymore and could focus on the future.
A future that she hoped included Gareth in an even more important role.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
That hope buoyed Aria, and her sense of calm lasted until Thursday. When she got home from work that day, there was a brown envelope waiting for her on the small table in the foyer. She picked it up and searched for a return address, but there was none.
Janessa had finally felt well enough to go to work the day before, but she’d gone right up to her room to lie down for a bit. Aria followed more slowly, curious about what was in the envelope. She didn’t remember ordering or signing up for anything.
Up in her room, she changed, then settled down on the bed with the envelope. It felt like it held more than just a single piece of paper. Sliding her finger under the flap, she worked it open.
She pulled out the sheets of paper, frowning as she read the top sheet of paper. Dread slowly filled her stomach with each word.
Aria ~ Do you know what Gareth values above everything else?
His family’s clinic and its reputation.
What would the patients think about the clinic if they found out that the Halversons had hired a nurse who was fired from her job for showing up drunk? Her job at a hospital… where she took care of patients?
You haven’t told Gareth, have you?
Do you think he’d be happy to find out about the horrible decision you made? One that would reflect poorly on his family and their precious clinic. One that could jeopardize his patients if you made another bad decision.
Aria felt like she was going to be sick. With trembling fingers, she looked through the papers, her breath coming in rapid and shallow pants.
There was a report of her dismissal from the hospital. All the horrible details of that day. Then there was a picture of the information she’d put in the baby’s file about the shots she’d administered. Her signature was highlighted on the paper. The last page continued the message from the first page.
Do you want Gareth to see this? To know that you were willing to put his beloved clinic at risk? How will Janessa feel? How about their parents? No one would want someone working for them who has shown that they have the poor judgment you do.
Aria blinked rapidly, trying to clear the tears from her eyes. The ones that escaped dropped on the papers in her lap. She didn’t know what to do.
You have three days to leave the clinic and Serenity Point. Otherwise, I will share all of this information with Gareth, and you’ll be leaving anyway, only with your tail between your legs.
There was no signature, but Aria didn’t need one to know who had sent everything. It all made sense now. The reason Nora had been professional with her over the past couple of weeks. Also, why she’d asked Aria to administer those shots to the baby.
It had all been a set-up, and Aria had been lulled into a false sense of security. Stupid… so very stupid.
She hadn’ttechnicallydone anything wrong in giving those shots, since her nursing license hadn’t been revoked. The hospital hadn’t reported her for showing up drunk because she hadn’t actually begun her shift or treated any patients. Plus, they’d taken into account her work with them up until that point, which had been—according to her supervisor—exemplary.
However, they’d still had to fire her because they’d recently had a high-profile situation where a patient had died as a result of negligent care by an impaired nurse. Her impairment had been because of drugs, but still, a nurse impaired by anything was a bad thing.
So she still had her license, and it was valid in Idaho.
It wasn’t the legality of what she’d done in giving the shots. It was that she hadn’t told anyone about what had led to her dismissal. She hadn’t given the Halversons the chance to make an informed choice in hiring her. Even though she knew how important their clinic was, she’d come anyway because she’d been desperate.
Desperate and selfish.
And so… so… so stupid.
Panic tightened around her chest as Aria tried to figure out what to do. How was she going to leave within three days? If she had lived by herself, she could have just packed up and left. But if she started to carry stuff down to her car, Janessa and Charli would know that something was up.
She was supposed to go with them the next evening to the championship basketball game. How was she going to be happy and excited at the game the way she should be when she was in a state of panic?
Every bit of happiness she’d found since coming to Serenity Point evaporated.
Aria shoved the papers under the pillow, then curled up on her side, wishing she could escape the panic, the heartache, and the pain that were battling inside her. They were familiar feelings. Ones that had taken hold of her after her mom’s death, sinking into her with a ferociousness that had been hard to shake.
The joy and peace she’d embraced lately disappeared, and Serenity Point suddenly didn’t feel like the safe place she’d thought it was. In fact, with the arrival of Nora’s letter, it felt even less safe than her apartment with drug-addicted roommates had.
