Petal [h.s.]

Chapter 71

"You've been so unprofessional, what the hell happened?" Victor frowned in confusion and all I could do was shrug, "I don't know. I've been stupid."

"You could say that." He mumbled under his breath.

"I really want to keep this job, you know I love it here," I spoke, "But right now... I have so much shit on my mind, I'm...," I sighed, "I'm in such a bad place, Victor. I can't."

"You haven't been able to in a while," He bit back, "You could've told me all of this when I talked to you last week."

"I know."

Silence again. It was a week ago that Victor called me into this very office to lecture me about my poor job performance, and I just sat there and listened instead of telling him the truth.

"Are you going to fire me?"

Victor let out a sigh, leaning back in his seat as he clenched his jaw and shrugged, "No."

"Okay." I breathed in relief.

"But you are on probation. One toe out of line and you're out of here, got it? You stay home this week and next week. After that, you come back for three shifts a week. I'll draw up a new contract. If you don't like it, quit."

I felt my heartbeat hammering in my chest. He was furious.

"I'm okay with that." I quickly agreed. Working three days a week would mean I would earn so little money for a long time, but it's not like I could get a job anywhere else in this state. I wanted to take whatever he offered me.

"You're not allowed contact with Ian when he comes back."

I frowned slightly, "Why? Harry and I broke up. I won't see Ian on weekends anymore."

"I don't care." He flatly answered, eyes cold and hard, "You're too close with Ian anyways. You don't sneak off somewhere to smoke just the two of you, you don't have therapist chats with him. You treat him like any other resident in group and otherwise, no communication."

I slowly nodded, not understanding how he expected me to do that. I couldn't ignore Ian at work. It was work. "Okay." I agreed.

"You're on thin ice, Violet. Better get your shit together. I'll cover some of your shifts for now but this is your last chance."

"I know. Thank you."

Victor motioned his hand to the door and I quickly got the hint as I got up and left his office. I let out a deep breath once I was in the familiar hallway of the RSP.

My feet took me to the social worker's office on the ground floor, hearing the chatter of the kids and my colleagues. When I popped my head into the office, I was met with Alex who was typing something on the computer.

I closed the door behind me, getting his attention. He saw the stressed look on my face and frowned, "Everything okay?"

I slowly shook my head, "Not really. Hasn't been for a while. I'm sure Victor will fill you in on everything, but he's coming down to cover the rest of my day."

"You're going home?" Alex sounded confused.

Home.

I had no idea what that even meant anymore.

I nodded slowly, "Yeah." I sighed, "I'm sorry. Victor will help you out today. I'll see you later."

Alex seemed too shocked and confused to say anything as I grabbed my bag and walked out the door.

I ran into Eve in the hallway and stopped her for a bit, motioning for her to sit down on one of the benches as we were alone in the silent corridor.