Jac could feel her lips quivering, trembling; with all of her might she tried to pull herself together, but to no avail. Large, salty tears flowed freely down her cheekbones, smudging the makeup she had perfectly reapplied an hour before, and, shaking violently in her chair, she pulled her legs up against her chest protectively. All of the hurt that she had locked away at the back of her mind for many years came flooding back in the space of a few minutes. It was overwhelming, devastating. Jac Naylor's usually cool composure had evaporated at the blink of an eye, and this was completely down to one man; one man and his poisonous, yet painstakingly accurate, words. She was 'tainted', he was right. She was a repellent force that had pushed Joseph to the brink, compelling him to escape from Holby. To escape from her. Her destructive world.
"You mean absolutely nothing to me"
These were the words that constantly echoed at the front of her mind, taunting her; torturing her very soul.
"I meant everything to you...once", she whispered, between sobs.
His locker door banged shut and he thrust its contents hurriedly into a large backpack: various medical journals; newspaper articles; a change of clothes; aftershave; a spare coffee mug...a packet of the good biscuits. Joseph Byrne took a long, shuddering breath, willing to compose himself. He hadn't cried for such a long time and this sudden breakdown terrified him; it was Jac, she had this affect on him. She always had. A tumultuous wave of emotion overwhelmed him once more so he hastily turned on the radio, turning the volume right up, needing his attention to be diverted from what had just happened in the staffroom.
The last verse of a Billy Joel song was playing on Radio Two.
She is frequently kind
And she's suddenly cruel
She can do as she pleases
She's nobody's fool
And she can't be convicted She's earned her degree
And the most she will do
Is throw shadows at you
But she's always a woman to me
"How...apt", muttered Joseph sarcastically, a feeble smile threatening to break across his face.
He picked up his backpack and walked purposefully to the door, heading to the car park. He hadn't told anybody about his departure because he didn't want the fuss; he just wanted to leave without a trace of him ever working there...ever existing. Mark Williams, the CEO, was the only person in the know, and now, of course... Jac.
Jac.
Swallowing hard to compose himself, his thoughts once again drifted to the sadness that, only a few minutes ago, had spread so swiftly across Jac Naylor's usually hardened features, after he had uttered those awful, awful words. Pausing slightly, he wondered for the umpteenth time if he had made the right decision. The pain in her eyes. The heartbreak. What was he doing? Then, however, he thought of his unborn child, his son, and everything became clear again. His child was his priority, not Jac Naylor. This was for the best, she had to accept that. She was strong enough to accept that, she had to be. And so, with one last look around the room, he departed, closing the door silently behind him.