A Dangerous Caleb
The shattering of glass makes every eye in the room turn towards the source of the disturbance. Their eyes go wide when they behold the doctor's hand that is still holding on to the remains of the shattered glass.
Some are tempted to let their disapproval show but they are met with his blazing eyes that snuff out all of their intentions.
Caleb is beyond livid and if looks could kill, everyone in here would have seized to exist the moment they opened their mouths. He feels like strangling each one of their necks that are holding their brains that he clearly thinks are useless.
"Dr. Young...This is a hard one for us too. We wish we didn't have to do this, but it's out of our hands. We have to think of the hospital first." The person talking looks at him nervously.
"Cowards." He says under his breath before looking up.
His eyes scan each and every person that is seated before him regarding them with contempt. He can't believe that some of the minds he considered brilliant are comfortably seated before him waiting to hear what he has to say for himself. He considers being placed in this situation an outright insult. Even though he knows their hands are tied, he thinks they could have handled it better than dragging him here for what he considers a petty squabble.
"I'm taking time off." He declares before getting up. And before anyone can answer him he starts walking out.
"B...But you need to be here to defend yourself Dr. Young." The board chairman stands up quickly and steps in his way.
Caleb just regards him with disdain before sidestepping him and walking forward. He really doesn't want to say anything that would shutter the good relations he has with the hospital. After all, the hospital is not at fault. He decides to stop a few steps later though.
"You of all people should know that I need to do nothing of the sort." He says, with fists clenched and his back turned to the chairman. He knows they are all listening. The place is quiet, not even the usual whispering among the board members can be heard. Which is good, because he would have probably said much more than he is saying now to those stuck up individuals that he thinks are not useful at all.
"I don't really care what you decide." He resumes his walk and goes straight through the conference door and bangs it so hard it sounds like it's about to fall off its hinges.
"How dare they?" He grinds his teeth while his entire body shakes with uncontrollable rage. He paces like a mad man right outside the boardroom.
"How dare he?"
His gritted teeth feel like they are beginning to crack but he couldn't care less if they did. He is both frustrated and angry at the moment.
"How could they paint you like that?"
Her beautiful face acts as fuel to the fire that is dangerously raging within him.
The memory of the video he just watched back in there makes him wish he could strangle someone. And he has the perfect candidate in mind.
He walks out of the hospital with blind rage, oblivious to the people that are practically flying out of his way. Their faces shocked by the state in which their usually bubbly friendly doctor is in. His mind is set on one thing only.
"We are going to have to ask you to let Miss Jones go back to Mr. Dawson."
"Like hell you are!" He growls as renewed rage floods his soul.
That is one thing he doesn't intend to do even if he has a gun to his head. He flies down the corridors of the hospital like a mad man. He needs to get to her. Something about this whole thing has got him unsettled. The uneasiness in his soul is enough to know something is wrong.
"Darren, meet me at the house." He says into his phone before cutting the line.
He hates doing this to his friend that is probably resting and spending what little time was left from the camp with his family. But this cannot wait.
He starts his car and the vehicle roars to life as if saying yes to its master. He drives out of his parking slot and in a few seconds he is on the main road.
"I wonder what the hospital board has to say about taking advantage of a poor broken orphaned patient."
Simon's words leave him with a bitter taste in his mouth. It's his fault for baiting him and it's his fault for putting Layla in such a position.
He already loathes himself for betraying her. His greed to have her, his desire, his need, his love for her is what has brought this on her. His need to be free and wanting a simple life has put the woman he loves in danger.
"Why couldn't I wait?" He hits his steering wheel in frustration. This is not how it was supposed to be. And he was too distracted on the way back to realise that the emergency had nothing to do with a patient.
"What if?" His blood runs cold instantly when a thought that this whole thing could be a trap crosses his mind. He steps on the gas when he also realizes that it was probably unwise to leave her alone like that. For the first time in a long time, he is panicking. It feels like a bad case of déjà vu yet again. So many thoughts flood his already troubled mind and he struggles to keep a clear head.
"Not again."
"Damn it." He curses yet again before stepping on the gas. He doesn't even bother to check how fast he is going, he just wants to get to her.
"Please be there." It comes out more of a prayer than a thought.
….
"Layla?" He immediately calls her name when he gets in the house but only silence answers him. He gets the odd feeling that something is still not right but he chooses not to listen to it and decides to focus on finding his woman. He goes straight to her room all the while fighting all the negative thoughts targeting his mind.
"Layla?" He gets in there without even bothering to knock and he is met with the same quietness that's everywhere in the house. A look around tells him she hasn't even been here. Her bed is still neatly made with no sign of anyone having laid in it, which is what he expected she would do after the long trip.
"Phone." He reaches for it and hits her speed dial. A ring on the other end gives him a little bit of hope but it goes unanswered. He re-dials the line again and this time it's off.
"What the…" he frowns at his phone before re-dialing. It's probably useless but he tries still. It's the only connection to her that he can think of for now.
When he gets nothing again he decides to head downstairs to check on Darren.
"Hey man, I got here as soon as I could."
The sight of his friend calls him a little.
"What happened, are you ok? Where is Layla?"
"I was right." Caleb says quietly, disregarding Darren's questions.
"What about?" Darren looks at him confused.
"Simon." Just the name makes his anger deepen.
"I was right about him following her, I just didn't know he had cameras on her too."
"Cameras?" Darren exclaims.
"Yes, and the jerk got the incident at the mall all on tape." The line of his mouth tightens a fraction as he remembers the desperation in Layla's eyes on that video. The pain and confusion in her usually beautiful bright eyes was heart wrenching. To someone who didn't know her, they sure would think that she was...crazy.
He sighs loudly as he runs both his hands in his hair. While he knows that she is not crazy, that video just made him realize how much and how deep in pain she is at the loss she has suffered. Not even time has been able to heal that wound that looked so fresh in those desperate eyes.
He can't deny that Simon played this one well too, but there is no way in hell he is going to let him win.
"Layla might not make it in the hands of that he-devil."
"God, I don't even know where to start from." He sighs loudly.
"Maybe this might help."
He turns to Darren and finds him holding out something that makes him frown.
"It was right by the door. You must have missed it when you rushed in." Darren hands him a small white envelope.
His hands shake as he tries to get the damn thing open.
"She will always be mine."
He crumples up the paper the moment he is done reading and for the first time since he took his oath he sees red. The desire to take a life has never been this alive in him.
"Let's go home." He says calmly but anyone who knows him would tell that a calm Caleb in this moment is a dangerous Caleb.
"Are you sure?" Darren asks him nervously.
"Does this look like a joke to you?" He growls before stepping out of the house. He stops in his tracks for a moment though and looks back at it one more time, relishing the beautiful moments they had in it.
"I'm coming baby."