Healing Hearts

Chapter 6

"Why would I want to celebrate my divorce!?" a voice boomed from down the hall. Charlotte stood in an exam room, completing her portion of the voluntary treatment agreement the patient had just signed. Her pen had stilled on the paper in response to the loud intrusion.

Offering a tight smile, she lied, "Another patient is having a rough night." Of course, Charlotte knew the voice didn't belong to a patient. She could recognize Macari's voice anywhere.

After ensuring her patient would be monitored and brought upstairs as soon as her labs were done, Charlotte made her way toward the source of the disturbance. Sure enough, she found Macari standing in the middle of the nurses station, dish of some kind in hand. A group of nurses stood nearby, Nikki at the helm.

"We thought it would be fun..." the blond trailed off. "I've been divorced more than once and each one was a happy occasion."

Macari stepped closer to her and growled, "That's because you go from guy to guy like they are rides at a theme park! They don't mean anything to you."

Nikki folded her arms across her chest and huffed. "How dare you say something like that to me! You know nothing about my relationships."

Macari didn't seem to care that he had offended her. "And you know nothing about my marriage!" he yelled before chucking the dish onto the ground, shattering it. The smell of chicken and verde sauce wafted from the ground.

Spinning around, Macari addressed the room, "Thank you all for this wonderful party. I have so appreciated being reminded about my failed marriage." He gestured to the food that wasn't currently on the floor. "Please enjoy your refreshments. I'm afraid I can't stay."

Charlotte watched as Macari strode to the door and left the ED. Her instinct as a mental health professional was to go after him and try to help. She had seen the pain in his eyes and her training meant she was likely the best person in the hospital to assist him right now. This urge was heightened by the lingering feelings of affection and attraction she had buried deep inside. Together, these pieces of Charlotte ached to follow Macari and comfort him.

But then there was the part of her who didn't want anything to do with Macari. This part was the woman whose heart had been painfully ripped apart by him only a few days before. She didn't care and didn't want to be involved.

In the end, it was the caring psychiatrist with lingering feelings who won out. Charlotte found herself darting after Macari as their colleagues stood frozen in shock. She caught up with him just outside the south entrance of the hospital.

"Macari, wait!" she yelled after him as he exited the building. His pace slowed. Nearing a bench, he stopped altogether and sat down. Looking up at Charlotte walking toward him, he asked without much venom, "Here to kick me again?"

Charlotte stopped in her tracks, taken aback. "No, I'm not. I came to see if you were okay." She walked the rest of the way to the bench and sat a respectable distance away.

Macari rest his head in his hands and took a deep breath. "I don't know, Charlotte. I really don't." He turned his head to look at her and she could see tears forming in his eyes. Whether they were from sadness or frustration, she didn't know.

He continued. "I don't have a family anymore. My best friend slept with my wife and fathered the child I thought was mine. My co-workers apparently think divorce is all fun and games." He paused as his eyes met hers. "And I keep fucking things up with you."

Their eyes remained locked together, his words thick in the air. Charlotte could feel her heart racing, the blood rushing through her body. Is he going to....?

But instead of leaning forward like she'd thought, Macari blinked, ending the moment. She tried not to feel disappointed.

"Nikki is such a bitch," he spat out, looking around. His foot tapped at the ground while his hands clenched repeatedly.