It Hurts When It's True (Affaire de Coeur, #1)

Chapter 22: Backseat

If Damian was asked if he were to ever feel strongly protective over someone, especially a woman who was not his mother or sister, then he would have attested to how stupid the questions was. He never thought that he would ever feel that way in his 34 years of existence. Never until Maggie.

Just an hour ago, the nurse had gotten on his car with an unusually expressionless face. The air around her was so tense that he almost did not realize that she was the same Margaret that he had him captivated.

"Is everything okay?" Damian inquired.

All of a sudden, she had burst into tears with her heart-wrenching sobs echoing in the small space of his car. Listening to her had felt like his chest was being gutted by thousands of knives. And he just sat there, feeling like the most useless man on the face of the earth.

"I've t-tried my b-best," Maggie started, stuttering as she tried to speak in the middle of crying.

"I've been d-doing my best since my transfer, but th-they never showed me acceptance, Damian. They t-treated me like a novice in the ward," she continued, sniffling in between words.

"I-I'm better than that, Damian. I graduated with goddamn honors, a-and," her voice rose higher and higher. "And I sure as hell have better c-credentials th-than the rest of them."

It was the first time for Damian to hear her curse, regardless of how mild her profanities were. For a second, he wondered how filthy her mouth could get in other more interesting situations. Well, he should receive another punch for having such thoughts in that particular moment with Maggie.

"But I had acted so stupidly today. I f-feel so ashamed," Maggie added, and there was another bout of sobbing again.

"It cannot be that bad, can it?" Damian commented without expecting for response.

"D-dr. Croft was really a-angry," She continued. "I gave another dose of our patient's IV a-antibiotic even though he had already discontinued it. But I didn't know...I should have known," She paused.

"I should have known better. It was so basic, but I didn't even check and re-check the charts. Damian, they would not let me see the charts unless I have to write my nurse's notes."

Damian could not really understand what she was talking about. From the sound of it, however, he thought it was terribly serious and it had gotten Maggie into trouble.

"They've been making me do all the bedside care, but they never allowed me to spend so much time on reviewing the all the patients' charts. Since I started working in the pediatric ward, they've only given me limited to no access to those charts."

"Then, why did you allow them to do that to you, Margaret?" Damian could not help but ask.

"That's exactly why I feel so worthless right now, Damian. They've made me look like the newbie nurse that they wanted to see me as from the very beginning." Maggie breathe in loudly.