Slow Burn | HS

let the flames begin

"Wait, what?" Joelle takes the phone away from it's spot in the crook of her shoulder, gripping it firmly in her hand as she sits up straight in her chair, her focus no longer on her computer screen.

"Do you not know?" she replies.

"Mara," Joelle says, a bit fiercely. "Is something wrong with Harry?"

"Uh, yes? He took a crazy risk again and ended up falling through the upstairs' floor to the main level." Joelle tries to process this information quickly, her mind still focused on sterile fields and bandages that need to be ordered for medical centers. "He has a small fracture in his left arm from landing on it. They say it's a miracle that that's the extent of his injuries." Mara pauses, and Joelle can tell that, much like herself, she's confused. "He should heal pretty quickly."

"He broke his arm?" Joelle responds, still processing.

"Jo, seriously?" she asks, puzzled. "He was taken to Mass Gen. He's literally in the same building as you." When Joelle doesn't respond, Mara's tone is much gentler. "You really didn't get a call? Liam said he was going to talk to Harry and offer to get ahold of you.... Niall's already there."

Joelle doesn't know how to react. Her emotions are blurring together into some sort of menagerie. Some of her emotions seem valid to her: worry, frustration, betrayal. There's one emotion that surprises her, however: embarrassment. No one is watching her (other than Cindy, who's shooting a burning glare to the back of her head, but she's easy enough to brush off). If she had to justify her embarrassment, she'd use the argument that Harry would be one of the first people she would call in an emergency. Not just because of his job and the fact that he's trained to respond to emergencies, but because she would want him to know and give him the chance to be there for her. She's embarrassed because she's stuck caring too much for a man that can't extend her the same courtesy.

"I didn't get a call," Joelle finally replies, settling with being frustrated for the time being. It's the easiest emotion for her to handle right now. "Is he okay?"

"He's definitely been through much worse," Mara reassures, but it doesn't make Joelle feel any better. "It should only take a couple weeks tops before he's in tip-top shape again!"

"Well, if he doesn't want me there, I'm not going to drop everything and rush over," Joelle huffs. "I have a lot of work to be doing anyway."

"I'm sure that's not it, Jo," she reassures. "Harry gets weird about this sort of thing."

Glancing at the clock on her monitor, Joelle decides, "I'll stop by and see him later. I'm done in about an hour or so. He'll probably still be there because the ER is a bit slow for non-life-threatening cases."

"Okay, Jo. I'm heading over now." Mara sounds a bit worried but, at this point, Joelle is just eager to get off the phone. "I'll be there in about twenty minutes or so. I guess I'll see you in a bit. When you're done with work."

"Bye, Mara," she says. And when she begins to feel guilty for her aloofness, she adds, "Thanks for calling me."

Joelle hangs up her phone and places it back on her desk, face down once again. She places her head in her hands.

"Joelle," Cindy says from somewhere behind her. She quickly raises her head in attention. "Is everything okay?"

"Yes," she says, moving her mouse to get her computer back to life after the screen went black from lack of use. "Everything is fine."

"Good," she says, tone clipped, any traces or worry or sympathy all but vaporized. "Then let's get back to it. We have a lot of work to do."

xxx