Chapter 46

Aaron sits on the couch and stares into the bottom of his empty tumbler of scotch, wondering whether or not to pour himself a second glass. He hasn’t heard from Holly since she walked out on him yesterday evening, carrying the overnight bag that she had arrived with less than thirty minutes before.

He realizes his bluntness and lack of sympathy drove her away, but he couldn’t help himself. Why does she always insist on trying to connect everything? The situation is bad enough as is.

Then again, what else could he expect from her?

Holly’s intransigence has been the bane of their relationship. It led to their first fight, which happened before they were even romantically involved, while Holly was still a junior resident in psychiatry. She had admitted a violent patient from the ER, a biker who was suffering from crystal meth?related psychosis. Despite Aaron’s strong warning against it, Holly had insisted on releasing the patient from his four-point restraints, claiming the man had calmed enough, and that it would be cruel to keep him bound any longer. As soon as the patient was freed, he tried to smash down a door with a chair. It took three security guards—one of whom ended up with a broken nose—to subdue him. Despite Holly’s remorse over the incident, the experience had taught her little. Her obstinance led to further mistakes during her residency and early in her practice. If anything, she is even more stubborn now. And she has never been able to leave well enough alone.

Just as Aaron gets up to refill his glass, the door opens, and Graham trudges into the living room wearing a deep scowl.

Aaron steps over to the counter and pours himself another glass of scotch before asking, “What happened, Graham?”

“Those fuckers canned me.”

Aaron takes a slow breath. “Why?”

Graham helps himself to a beer from the kitchen fridge. “Some bullshit about my attendance. But I have zero doubt Hassan got me fired. That little prick has been up my ass since day one.”

“What about your attendance?”

“I’m not working an assembly line, Dad. I took a couple afternoons off. What do they care? I got my work done on time.”

“Why are you taking time off in the middle of the day from a new job?”

“I had shit to do, OK?” Graham grumbles. “Little did I know that Hassan was just waiting to rat me out.”

Aaron rubs his temples. “It was going to be different this time, remember?”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it, Dad. I’m a habitual fuckup. There’s no hope for me.” But his tone sounds bored, not repentant.

“What do you think, Graham?”

He takes a long swig from the bottle. “About what?”

“Are you aware how deliberate your self-sabotage is?”

“And are you aware that things don’t come as easily to me as they do to the Golden Boy, Nate?”

“Constantly.”

“Yeah, well, then cut me some slack.”

“Which is what I’ve been doing your whole life,” Aaron says. “Always giving you the benefit of the doubt. Always bailing you out. But who’s it helping? It’s not a safety net, is it? It’s more like a web that’s keeping you trapped.”

Graham’s eyes narrow with a flicker of concern. “What does that mean?”

“It’s time I cut you off, Graham. After this month, I won’t pay your rent anymore. And I’m canceling your credit card.”

“What kind of bullshit—”

“I can’t keep reinforcing your self-destructive behavior.”

“You’re abandoning me?” Graham glares at him. “Your own son?”

“I’m doing this for you.”

“Bullshit!” he cries. “You want to talk about reinforcing behavior? You let that wife of yours walk over you like a doormat.”

“This is about you, Graham. No one else.”

But Graham ignores him. “You let her humiliate you. Constantly. You dote on her when she needs something and then ignore the tire tracks she leaves across your back on her way out the door.” He lays a hand across his own chest. “And all the while, she just keeps poisoning you against me.”

The words sting more than Aaron is willing to let on. Holly does have a habit of loving and leaving, but all he says is “You’d be surprised how little thought Holly gives you, Graham. There’s so much you don’t understand.”

“Oh, I understand plenty. Her patients are dropping like flies. And what do you do? You help her dispose of the bodies.”

Aaron shakes a finger at the door. “It’s time for you to leave.”

Graham pivots and stomps to the door. He looks back over his shoulder, his lip curled into a sneer. “Did it ever occur to you that she might be the one killing them?”