Page 105 of The Last One You Loved
Written by Skib / Hammack / Finchum
My heart was full.Mila’s and Maddox’s faces were smiling again, and that eased the tension that had remained in my heart. It was amazing how resilient kids could be. I had a feeling she’d have nightmares at times, she might need to talk to someone who could help her process what had happened in her own way. But she’d been saved by her father, and that was what she would remember most—at least, I hoped so.
I was taking the food wrappers and empty bottles back to the kitchen when my phone rang. Dr. Gomez’s name flashed across the screen, and my stomach twisted right back up into angry knots.
“Hey, Dr. Gomez,” I greeted hesitantly.
“Good evening. I know it’s rather late. Is this a good time for a talk?”
“Yes, of course.”
“I went by your apartment, but no one answered,” she said.
How long had it been since I’d been in California? It felt like years, but it had barely been a week. A week and my entire life had changed.
“Sally and I went out of town for a few days. Things were getting…heated.”
“I’m sorry,” she said softly. “I wanted you to know the hospital has officially let Roy Gregory go and filed a complaint with the medical review board asking them to revoke his license.”
Relief flooded through me.
“Wow…I don’t know what to say.”
“It wasn’t just the abuse charges pending against him now that Layton has come forward. We also have proof he altered your personnel file. From what we gather, yours wasn’t the first file he’d asked Shirley to change.”
“I’m grateful you believed in me enough to open the investigation to begin with.”
“You did the right thing, Dr. Lloyd. I looked over your notes and reviewed the history you saw. If Dr. Gregory’s name hadn’t been tied to it, it would have been an easy call for me to make. With his name attached, I think I would have hesitated, but you didn’t even blink.”
“I know the signs really well,” I told her, and it didn’t stab at me as it would have even a few weeks ago. Somehow, being here, with Maddox and Mila, was helping me put the last remaining vestiges of my childhood trauma behind me.
“You lived it,” she replied softly.
I took a deep breath. I’d never really talked about it with anyone but Maddox, Sally, and my therapist. I’d always been ashamed of the abuse and the role I’d played in keeping it a secret. But, like Mila today, I was a survivor. I’d been strong enough to live through it and still make something of myself. No one could ever take that from me. Not Dr. Gregory, not Trap, not even Sybil.
“Yes,” I finally replied. “I lived it.”
“I’ll understand if you need a few days, but I’d like to be able to tell the ER when they can expect you back.”
The knot in my chest returned as laughter burst from Maddox’s bedroom.
“You’re hesitating. You are coming back, right?” she asked.
“Honestly, I need a few days to figure it out.”
“You’re months away from finishing your residency. Don’t let this stop you now. You’re a damn good doctor. There are other Laytons in the world who need you watching out for them.”
The compliment had me flushing just like with the doctor at the hospital. The realization finally hit me?my medical career wasn’t over. I was going to get to finish what I’d started. Joy spiked, and as my eyes drifted down the hall toward the laughter again, I held my breath, wondering if I might actually be able to have my cake and eat it, too. Could I have all my dreams? The ones Mam?Sybil had tried to minimize, steal, and take away by telling me I’d never be anything and that no one would ever really want me? They’d been her feelings about herself, but she’d taken them out on me.
“I’m going to finish my residency,” I told her. “I just don’t know where.”
“Ahh. I see. Well, under the circumstances, it’s completely understandable. Let me know how I can help you make this happen. You’ve earned it.”
We said goodbye, and I immediately called Sally to tell her the news. She screamed into the phone, shouting about justice and dicks who got what they deserved. Then, I told her everything else that had happened, and she got quiet.
“You need each other,” she said.
I didn’t respond because I knew she was right. We did. There would always be something missing in our lives if we weren’t together.
