Page 158 of Nocere

Anita set her purse down on her desk and drew in a deep breath as if trying to compose herself. Nora sat in Anita's usual chair while Sam and I took the sofa. Anita cocked a brow at Nora when she joined us, then folded her arms over her middle.

Nora surrendered immediately, holding her hands palm up before sliding over to the circular ottoman beside the sofa. When Anita sat, she crossed her legs and her eyes fell on me first.

"Hi, Rosie."

"Hi." I glanced around the room at the women. "I'm upset with Nora."

"What? Why?" Nora folded her arms and frowned. "I feel personally attacked by this whole situation."

"Because you told Jordan about Samirah's business and thereby told them of my business and she used it to tease me." I mimicked her posture and crossed my arms over my middle. "I don't appreciate that."

Nora made to answer me back, but Anita intervened, "Nora, did you say something to Jordan?"

"I did not say anything to Jordan about Rosie."

"Maybe not, but you told Jordan that you did a scene with Samirah and her girlfriend and that wasn't fair. You're not supposed to say anything." The heat rose in my face as I could hardly control the secrets flying out of my mouth. My heart pounded and tears pricked my eyelids. "You're not supposed to tell people Sam's business."

"Jordan shouldn't have said anything either," retorted Nora, though she had no heat behind it. Her gaze continued to flicker toward Sam and the moment they locked eyes, Nora slouched slightly.

"She's right. Does Caroline know?" asked Sam, her tone firmer than before.

"Yes, I—wait, why am I being ambushed here?" Nora's eyes welled up and business attire or not, her resolve tumbled away.

"Okay, everyone take a breath for a moment." Anita held her hands out in a gesture meant to quiet all of us.

"I don't want to breathe, Anita." I choked on my tears when she looked at me. "You can't be my doctor anymore because your girlfriend slept with my girlfriend, and Sam and I as good as slept with Nora and Caroline. I know it's not ethical, and I'm allowed to be upset about it."

"For good measure, Anita and I slept together, too." Nora's words earned her a double backlash from Sam and Anita.

"That's pushing it," spat Anita.

"Jesus Christ, Nora." Sam shot up to stand, and Nora flinched as if expecting a blow. She leaned away from Sam and lifted her knees as if to shield herself. Right away, Sam's demeanor shifted from angry to controlled. She lowered herself down to crouch in front of Nora. "You're okay." Sam's hand fell to my knee. "You're both okay. I'm going to reinforce Anita's directive. Everyone breathe."

"I didn't know, Sami." Nora sniffled and Sam placed her hand on top of Nora's head, her eyes on Anita.

"We know you didn't mean to upset Rosie and that we did ambush you by accident. Let's all calm down and start this over, okay?" Sam glanced to all of us and I nodded.

Anita's focus remained on me. "I'm sorry, Rosie. It seems I've lost control of a situation that I never intended to be so intimate."

I nodded and drew in a deep breath before looking back to Sam. "I want to talk to Anita alone for a minute."

"All right, honey." Sam leaned over to kiss my cheek before standing, her hand held out to Nora. "Come with me for a minute, Nor."

Nora took her hand and gnawed her bottom lip when she glanced at me. "I'm sorry."

"Accepted," I told her, because seeing her so upset made me more worried than my hurt feelings.

Sam pulled her phone from her pocket as she ushered Nora out, her eyes on me until she closed the door behind her.

In the quiet room, Anita offered me a sad smile. She, too, wore less of a clinical expression, and more one stifled by pain. "I didn't know about you and Nora."

"I didn't know about you and everyone else." I laughed when I said it, but sniffled anyway when I reached for a tissue. "I don't mean that in a bad way."

She chuckled, though a tinge of pink made it to her cheeks. "In almost twenty years of this field, I can honestly say that this is a first."

"You never shared a conflict with a patient?" I dabbed at my nose and pulled a pillow in my lap.

"Not like this. One patient I became quite close to over the years while we both worked with law enforcement. She and I terminated our relationship, then chose to stay friends," she explained, and slowly fell back into her usual posture.

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