Code Blue

~ Chapter 65 ~

Chapter 65
Friday December 1st
Mallory's POV

"I opened up to Harry last night" I confessed to my two best friends in the entire world. The two people who have been here for me since well before my residency and have never been anything less than supportive and protective of me were sitting across from me at their breakfast table.

Although last night really meant just a few hours ago. It was an early morning, the first of the month, and I was going to be surviving on coffee today. I think I only managed to get about 3 hours of sleep by the time Harry and I made it back to the hospital and then I had to get up for work again. I could feel the exhaustion radiating off of my body, and Veronica already lent me some of her makeup products to cover up the large circles under my eyes.

My hands were gripped tightly around the coffee mug that Eli had made for me, afraid that in my tired state, I would drop it and cause it to shatter all over their floor. It obviously wasn't the smartest decision to go out in the middle of the night with Harry for a few different reasons, but my impending shift creeping up on me was the main one right now. I needed to find some sort of energy or willpower so that I can get through the day, and soon.

The sound of their utensils coming to a halt and dropping onto their plates had me clutching the mug tighter, scared that my body would instinctively follow suit from their reaction. I gulped, looking up from the plate that they made from me, to meet two sets of surprised eyes at my random admittance. It was words I said that I didn't expect to, although the contemplation of telling my friends has been coursing through my mind since I arrived.

"Really?" Veronica asked in slight shock, licking her lips nervously on how to proceed, because my parents have always been a sensitive topic. I feel very safe talking about them with Veronica and Eli, because I know they care about me and just always want the best, but it's not something I discuss that much in length with other people. I mention them occasionally, but the way that I discussed it with Harry last night is something rare for me to do. Even Noah and I avoid the topic a lot of times, because we were always at a disagreement, and it came to a point where it wasn't solving anything for either of us.

"Yeah" I answered, looking back at them. "I don't...It just kind of happened"

"Are you okay?" Veronica asked first and foremost. With everything that's happened recently with them between my mother's alcohol poisoning and my father's physical abuse, Veronica just wanted to make sure. It's hard enough to speak about their addiction in normal circumstances, but when you add those other factors in as well, she just wanted to look out for me.

"Yeah" I repeated, biting the inside of my cheek. "It was just nothing, you know?"

"Nothing?" Veronica tilted her head, confused at my disposal of something so personal. I could feel her protective nature coming out, which isn't surprising considering her emotions towards Harry still aren't favorable. She still thinks of him as the attending that made my life miserable during my early internship, and I don't see that changing much anytime soon. Veronica can hold grudges for a while when she really wants to, especially if she feels someone hasn't changed, but she just doesn't spend any time with him to know how different it is.

"I mean, it was just because our case was similar" I clarified and shrugged my shoulders, brushing it off once again. Although it was the truth. Harry and I spent a lot of time working with Joey and Emma yesterday, and their situation was like a mirror of my childhood. It was obvious to me the first few minutes I laid eyes on them, and Harry understood it just as much. The case, and Harry talking about Stevie last night, is what prompted me to even take the risk and ask him about his childhood. In return, he asked me more in depth about my own, to fill in the pieces that he didn't know already.