They ended up making it through the day relatively unscathed. Jess was the first to leave with a heavy, burdened sigh and less of a spring to her step than usual. Antonio was next, leaving without saying goodbye, or looking back. Nicole was left on her own and to her own thoughts.
Since Jess' outburst earlier that afternoon, Nicole had been doing an effective job pretending that she was reading the files, going over information and test results. In reality, it wasn't so true. She'd been reading the same file for the last three hours and not absorbing a since word of the information written in it.
Much of what Jess had said Nicole knew to be right and smart. For the small, young woman she was, Jess knew a lot and that very few things now escaped her vision. Still, Nicole had the hardest time sharing and letting people know exactly what was going on in her head. If she was to be honest, she was afraid of getting hurt again.
But Antonio knew that. He'd always been careful around her, careful to say the right thing and not tread on the wrong toes when he couldn't support himself. He knew what she had gone through in her childhood, at least the surface of it, and he hadn't turned her away yet. He knew about the job, knew about the scheduling conflicts and knew the after-effects of a particularly hard case.
Knowing what she had to do, Nicole stood and made her way out of the office.