Werewolves in the Big Apple

14.

The room was quiet as the nerves spiked inside Julie. She could tell Ryder was scared, too. He smelled like pine gone bad.

"Doctor if I may—" She started to say.

"You may not." The doctor opened his office door to the quiet, shuffling group. Diane trailed behind him as they went inside. Whenever she was at his side she stood taller, smiled more, and actually gave a damn about wearing makeup. Less dead than the version of her Julie saw a day prior. The doctor, however, was still the same scowling sixty year old man as ever.

It made her wonder what Diane saw in him that made her so happy—money, probably. Dr. John slammed his folder down on his desk and clasped his fingers together, maintaining strong eye contact with everyone in the room. When his eyes fell onto her she tried to not let her fear show. "Alright." He stated, still staring at her. "What happened?"

For some reason her mind became blank at his question. It took a second of staring into his stoney grey eyes—the same ones as Ryder's—before her brain kicked into gear and searched for an answer. And searched. And didn't find one. "I..." She started, trailing off into a mumble the second her mind blanked again.

"You what?" Dr. John raised an eyebrow.

"I—I—uh," Her mind just couldn't fucking do it, and she was becoming redder by the second.

"Dad, if I may." Even at the voice of his son he did not break eye contact with her.

"No you may not. Julie, I'm waiting." She was waiting too. She was waiting for her mouth to work, for her brain to turn on and somehow save her, or for something else to miraculously happen. But she was kept waiting. If there was one thing she knew about this field, it's that even when you do have an excuse, you really don't. She dropped her eyes to the floor. "Dr. John, I apologize and take full responsibility for the mistakes made today."

"Why are you apologizing to me? You should be apologizing to the patient you almost killed." She didn't have anything to say to that. She couldn't even look up from the floor. But Dr. John wasn't done. "I will be making calls to the Alpha. Him and the rest of the medical board are going to review your package and make a decision. In the meantime you are going to be dismissed from your duties until further notice."

Dismissed until further notice. It was essentially a nice way of saying she was fired. She couldn't believe it, but there it was. It was said. "Yes sir." She whispered, her heart beating faster in her chest, her hands starting to shake. Don't cry. Don't cry. She was better than that.

"You're dismissed."

"Yes sir." The words came out a little weak, but the tears hadn't fallen yet. Just as she was walking across the room, Ryder spoke up. "Dad, we really need to have a talk—"

"Ryder. Shut up. Now."  Julie bristled at the tone of voice he was using on Ryder, as compared to the tone he had with her. It felt more personal. Like he was giving a five year old a spanking instead of telling his twenty two year old son to be quiet. Shivers rolled down her back when a growl left Ryder, sparking a challenge from his dad. He stood in front of her, separating her between him and his dad. Like a wall. On instinct she put her hand on his arm, doing her best to keep him calm.

His eyes looked like storm clouds. For a split second, time skipped a beat. They were staring into each others eyes. He looked back and forth, looking for something in hers. Maybe she was looking for something in his too.

"What's going on here?" She snapped out of it, looking at Dr. John, the one who asked the question. "Why are you touching my employee?" He asked Ryder, then he turned to her. "Why are you touching my son?" As soon as the words left his mouth, Julie snapped her hand back like it had been burned.