Chapter 5 - The Shadows of Jealousy
By Monday afternoon, the atmosphere in the nurses' station on the third-floor surgical ward had turned noticeably hostile.
Aurora could feel the stares the moment she walked through the double doors carrying a stack of post-operative patient charts.
In the breakroom, whispers echoed behind half-closed doors.
“...never seen Callahan talk to a nurse like that...” “...she was just a floor intern last week...” “...I heard she spent an hour in his office on Saturday morning...”
Aurora kept her head down, placing the charts on the central counter.
Dr. Kyle Apprentice was leaning against the desk, a cup of lukewarm cafeteria coffee in his hand, talking animatedly to Head Nurse Brenda Hayes.
“I’m just saying, Brenda, it’s a safety concern,” Apprentice said loudly enough for half the ward to hear. “She’s moving weirdly. Yesterday during the bypass case, she was standing awkwardly near the sterile field. And Callahan is protecting her. He kicked me off cardiac traction to give it to her.”
Brenda Hayes, a veteran nurse with twenty-five years of service and zero patience for hospital drama, crossed her arms and glared at the young resident.
“Dr. Apprentice,” Brenda said dryly, “if Dr. Callahan kicked you off traction, it’s because your hands were shaking like a leaf in a hurricane. I’ve seen you in surgery. Don't blame Nurse May for your own lack of composure.”
Apprentice’s face darkened. “It’s not just that! Look at her! She walks like she’s trying to hide something. She skips the physical stamina evaluations every quarter—”
“That’s enough, Dr. Apprentice,” a sharp, icy voice commanded.
The entire station fell silent.
Dr. Owen Callahan walked around the corner, holding a tablet. His presence instantly sucked the air out of the room. Apprentice straightened up so fast he nearly spilled his coffee.
“Dr. Callahan,” Apprentice stammered. “We were just discussing... shift assignments.”
“You are a surgical resident, Apprentice, not a floor manager,” Callahan said, his voice dripping with venom. “Why are you loitering at the nurses’ station when Ward Four has three post-op patients waiting for drain removals?”
“I was just about to go, sir—”
“Go now,” Callahan ordered coldly. “Before I decide your time would be better spent reviewing basic anatomy in the basement medical library for the next forty-eight hours.”
Apprentice shot a venomous glare at Aurora before turning on his heel and hurrying down the hallway.
Callahan didn't even look at Aurora. He turned to Brenda Hayes. “Nurse Hayes, I need Nurse May assigned exclusively to my surgical trauma cases for the remainder of the month. Clear her schedule with floor duty.”
Brenda raised an eyebrow, looking between Callahan and Aurora with a sharp, perceptive gaze. “Exclusively, Dr. Callahan? That’s irregular for an intern.”
“This hospital is irregular, Nurse Hayes,” Callahan said dismissively. “Make it happen.”
He turned and walked away, his long strides carrying him down the corridor without a backward glance.
Brenda watched him leave, then turned her keen eyes toward Aurora. She walked over to the desk where Aurora was standing.
“Aurora,” Brenda said softly, her voice losing its sharp edge.
“Yes, Nurse Hayes?”
Brenda looked down at Aurora’s legs, then back up to her eyes. “You’ve been working twelve-hour shifts on this floor for six months. You never complain. You never take long breaks. But I’m not blind.”
Aurora felt her blood run cold. “Brenda, I—”
“I don't know what kind of agreement you have with Callahan,” Brenda interrupted gently, holding up a hand. “And frankly, I don't care. Callahan is a brilliant surgeon, but he’s a lonely, obsessive man who lives in this hospital. Don't let him push you past your physical limits, child. You don't have to prove anything to him.”
Aurora swallowed hard, moved by the older nurse’s unexpected kindness. “I’m not trying to prove anything to him, Brenda. I’m trying to prove it to myself.”
Brenda patted her shoulder gently. “Just be careful. Apprentice is small-minded and vindictive. He’s been snooping around the HR records office during his lunch breaks.”
The warning hung in the air like a dark cloud.
Later that evening, after her shift ended, Aurora walked down to the hospital’s basement level to return a set of specialized surgical loupes to the equipment room.
The basement corridors were quiet, dimly lit, and mostly deserted at night.
As she rounded a corner near the medical records archive, she saw a light gleaming beneath a door marked: EMPLOYEE HEALTH & DISABILITY RECORDS.
The door was slightly ajar.
Aurora slowed her steps, keeping her footsteps light as she approached.
Inside, standing in front of a filing cabinet under the dim glow of a desk lamp, was Dr. Kyle Apprentice. He had a keycard in his hand and was pulling a thick manila folder from a drawer labeled M – MAY, AURORA.
Aurora’s heart dropped into her stomach.
He was breaking into her confidential health records. If he opened that file, he would find her amputation medical discharge summary, her physical limitation waivers, and the official accident report from Interstate 90.
He would expose her to the entire hospital board, framing her as a safety hazard who had lied on her employment application.
“Looking for something, Dr. Apprentice?”
Aurora’s voice cut through the quiet room like a whip.
Apprentice jumped, dropping the folder onto the desk with a loud smack. He spun around, his face pale, but quickly recovered his arrogant sneer when he saw it was only her.
“May,” he spat, stepping toward her. “You scared me for a second. I thought it was someone who actually mattered.”
“That’s confidential medical data,” Aurora said, her eyes blazing as she stepped into the room, blocking the doorway. “Put it back. Now.”
“Or what?” Apprentice taunted, leaning against the desk and crossing his arms. “You’re going to report me? Go ahead. Tell them I was looking at your file. Then we can talk about why an intern nurse has a massive gap in her physical clearance records and why the Chief of Surgery is hiding your personal health history!”
He grabbed the folder from the desk, waving it in her face.
“I knew there was something wrong with you,” Apprentice hissed maliciously. “The way you walk. The way you stand. You’re broken, May. And Callahan is covering for you. I’m taking this file straight to the Hospital Ethics Board tomorrow morning!”
Aurora stood her ground, her body tense, her fists clenched at her sides.
Before she could speak, a cold, heavy shadow fell over the doorway behind her.
May you like
“I wouldn't advise doing that, Dr. Apprentice.”
Owen Callahan stepped into the room.
