Hello again. This is just a quick one shot from Zoe's POV. This was inspired and is now dedicated to Callie (Or Rosie as she has know named herself) who is amazing I'm sorry this isn't that good as I don't usually write in the 1st person. (I will try and get back to 'Freedom' when i have the inspiration) Enjoy x
I couldn't believe my eyes. What I had just witnessed was not at all what I wanted to see of even thought I would ever have the horror of seeing. What was he playing at? Okay they were having an argument, but that was no reason to go and hit her. Maybe I'm thinking too much into it. Maybe it was just an accident. I was snapped out of my stream of thought by the sound of the staffroom door slamming and Sam pretty much running towards the toilets. I sighed; I was going to have to say something. I slowly made my way over to the toilet and pushed the door open cautiously, not wanting to scare Sam anymore than what was already presented to me from a distance. I stepped inside and let the door fall closed behind me. After listening for what seemed like ages, I finally picked up on the subtle sniffles Sam was emitting as a result of her upset. "Sam..." I whispered. The sniffling stopped almost immediately, almost as if she was trying to hide herself from me. "Sam please. I know it's you in there." I continued to say.
"Leave me alone." Sam mumbled to me. I knew I'd get this response but it wasn't exactly what I wanted to do at this exact moment in time.
"Please Sam. I know what happened. I saw what Tom did to you so please let me see you." As I said this, I heard the click of the lock and the cubicle door opened revealing Sam. She walked over to the mirrors. She looked awful. Swollen eyes, tear tracks and a red cheek was all I needed to see to know she wasn't in the best pace right now. She turned to me. I've never seen her look so young and deflated. "Why did he do it?" I queried.
"I can't say." She responded whilst turning away from me.
"Why?" I asked simply.
"Because it will get me and Tom in trouble. I can't afford another GMC hearing Zoe. I just can't." She said with anger obviously building up inside her. I could tell by the way she was standing that she didn't want to have this conversation, but it was going to happen at some point so now seemed better than later to me.
"Sam, I won't tell anyone for now okay? Just tell me what happened and why." I pleaded.
"Fine. We were fighting over Diazepam." She said with a defeated tone. To be honest I didn't think she'd let her walls down that easily.
"Diazepam? Why were you fighting over it? Please tell me you didn't take it all?" They way she was staring at me showed me that this was going to be a long conversation.
"No well yes. After the misdiagnosis I prescribed him one bottle of pills but I never gave him anymore. He told me he had stopped taking them and I fell for it. Zoe I didn't mean for any of this to happen, I was only trying to help. Please believe me." She begged. She's only told me half the story but I can already tell this is going to be messy.
"But Sam that doesn't explain why he hit you."
"He hit me because I caught him taking another bottle out of the controlled drugs cabinet. I confronted him about it and tried to take them off me. That's when he got me." Upon saying that final statement, a tear slid down her already bruising face. I didn't think I'd ever see Samantha Nicholls cry, but I guess there's a first time for everything. I sighed again. What am I going to do about all of this? Tom has a history of violence within the workplace and this is the first time he's done it. What if it gets worse and he starts attacking more and more staff? "Zoe?" Sam voiced obviously wanting to bring me out of the trance I had fallen into.
"This is a right mess. You've both done wrong but I can't just ignore it." Sam looks at me in shock.
"Please Zoe you can't tell anyone. Tom and I, we'll sort it. I promise." She pleaded.
"Sam it's not that easy and you know it. It's not the first time he's done something like this in the ED. Please tell me this is the first time he's done it to you." Sam nodded. Thank god. "Good." I say. Relief evident in my tone. "I'll do you a deal Sam." She looked up. I could see into her eyes. They were glazed over with tears that were threatening to fall. "I won't say anything just yet, but if he does this again, or stays on the Diazepam, you have to tell me okay. He's stealing controlled drugs and he's abusive. He could face a lot of charges for this if he doesn't stop." I say quickly. I looked to Sam again and I could see by her facial expression that she was digesting what I had just said to her.
"Okay. I'll try and reason with him, but I', not going back to him. He needs to realise that he'll lose those around him by being violent and that's what I intend to do. I can't put up with his shifty behaviour anymore Zoe, I just can't." She sighs. I place my hand on her arm and rub it gently to try and comfort her in some way.
"Good. Now go home and put some ice on that cheek. It's starting to bruise." She half-smiles at me and begins to walk to the staffroom to get changed. "Oh and Sam remember what I said. Tell me if it doesn't stop." She nods in response before vacating the toilets. I lean against the sink and let my head drop back. What have I just let myself in for?
Thanks for reading and please review. Hope you liked it. x