Since Tony’s office was on the last floor, he had no idea what was going on with Lily. Some of the doctors who weren’t on duty had been informed and Lily was summoned by Dr Harrison who had been informed of the chaos that happened at the cafeteria. By now, Manuel was already long gone and on his way to rile Louis up.
Lily had no regrets for what she had done. As a matter of fact, she was happy with what she had done. She didn’t think she would ever be able to stand up for herself, especially to Manuel and Louis but she did and she was proud of herself for doing so even though it might get her punished.
Lily placed a knock on the doctor’s door and went in. Surprisingly, Dr Raphael was also in the office but he seemed to be on his way out. As he walked to the door, he stopped and smiled at Lily.
“Are you alright?” He asked. He had just heard about what happened at the cafeteria from Dr Harrison and he felt bad for Lily. According to the nurse who was at the cafeteria, Lily was only defending herself from a man who looked like had been making her life a living hell.
“Yeah, I am. Thank you.” Lily whispered and he nodded before walking out of the office.
“Lily!. Please, Sit.” Dr Harrison said as he finished up with his paperwork.
Dr Harrison was a fifty-four-year-old doctor who had been working with Tony even when he was in New York. He was one of the oldest in the hospital and was like a father to most of the employees. He was also one of the kindest so, Lily knew not to be afraid. She wasn’t expecting him to let her off the hook though. She knew she was wrong and was ready to face the consequences of her actions.
“I heard about what happened, Lily.” Dr Harrison started and took off his glasses.
“I am deeply sorry for my actions, Dr Harrison. Although, I cannot assure you that something like that won’t happen again. I will try to avoid it as much as I can. I will accept whatever punishment you give.” Lily said in all honesty.
“Oh, Lily.” Dr Harrison sighed. “If you think that I called you here to punish you then you are wrong, Lily.” He said and Lily’s brows creased in confusion.
“I agree that you may have caused a scene at the cafeteria but from what I heard, you had a genuine reason for doing so. The last thing we want is for our employees to be harassed in our hospital. We care about you Lily and we want you to be safe.” As he spoke, tears welled in Lily’s eyes.
It felt unreal to have people that cared about her. She had been expecting to get punished or even get scolded but, things had turned out differently.
“We caught his face on the CCTV and have informed our security to never let him in. We will make sure that as long as you are inside these walls, you will be safe.” Dr Harrison assured and Lily let the tears flow.
“I…. i.” Lily stuttered, sniffing and trying to stop her tears. “I don’t know how to thank you, Dr Harrison. I really don’t.”
“Oh, Lily. Come here.” Dr Harrison said and stood up to hug her. As his arms went around her, Lily felt like she was in the arms of her father.
She suddenly had the urge to find her family and reunite with them. She needed them at a time like this and all she wanted was to bury her face in her father’s chest and let out all the tears she had been holding in.
“I don’t know the full story but I can see that you are hurt. I just want you to know that whatever you are going through will soon pass and in the end, you’ll come out smiling.” Dr Harrison said as he pulled out of the hug.
“Thank you so much,” Lily replied, cleaning her tears with the back of her hand.
Meanwhile, after seeing Lily in that terrible state, Raphael rushed to Tony’s office to inform him about it.
“You know there’s a door for a reason, right? You’re meant to knock before walking in.” Tony mumbled as Raphael barged into his office.
“Have you heard?” Raphael asked, ignoring Tony’s complaints.
“Heard what?” Tony asked without looking at him. Raphael shook his head and moved closer to Tony’s table.
“There was a commotion at the cafeteria and apparently, Lily was involved.” He revealed and that got Tony’s full attention immediately.
“What?” His head shot up and his eyes widened. “What happened? What commotion?”
“From what I heard, a guy she is acquainted with showed up at the hospital and said a few words that riled her up. She was screaming at him and shaking, according to the nurse who was at the scene. She also…” Before Raphael could finish his speech, Tony was already at the door, running to Lily.
“She’s at Dr Harrions’s office!” Raphael screamed, hoping Tony heard.
Of course, he heard! Tony hurried to the doctor’s office and just as he arrived at the hallway, he saw Lily walking out of his door with tears in her eyes and a sad countenance. Tony’s footsteps slowed down as he neared her, his heart aching for her.
Lily looked up and saw Tony standing a few steps away from her and somehow, the tears she had managed to contain found their way back to her eyes, even worse this time.
Lily had no idea why or how she did but, she found herself running to Tony. All she wanted was his embrace, his comfort, and his presence.
Being with him calmed her much more than she thought possible and at that moment, she didn’t care that anyone could have seen them. She just wanted to be with him.
Tony wrapped his arms around her tightly, holding her like he would lose her at any moment. Her body shook like a crying child and her sobs could be heard across the hallway.
It wasn’t just about the conversation with Manuel and Tony could see that. All the things she had gone through for years were hurting her and she just couldn’t hold them in anymore.
Tony was glad that she was finally letting the tears flow. They were bound to come out one day, better sooner than later.
A few minutes passed and they stayed in the same position with Tony’s arms around her. Some nurses and doctors passed by as they hugged, staring at them with wide eyes but, neither of them cared, not even Tony who made a rule against open romance in the hospital building.
As Lily calmed down and her sobs seized, Tony decided that it was time to call it a day.
“Come on, Lily. Let’s go home.”