"Dr. Harris, texting someone special?" A middle-aged colleague joked as he entered, coffee in hand.
Caught off guard, she slid the phone into her pocket and replied offhandedly, "Just checking in on dinner plans at home."
He didn't press further, settling into a chair with a heavy sigh. "It's a luxury, being alive to send such messages, while some aren't so lucky."
That comment straightened her up, her attention piqued. "What happened?"
"The crash on the coastal highway earlier."
"The driver of the gray sedan was thrown off the cliff, they said he was practically gone before he hit the ground."
"The cops said there was a doctor right there. If she'd intervened within ten minutes, the man might've made it."
"Odd choice, though. She went for the guy in the Beetle, barely a scratch on him."
The doctor shook his head, still puzzled by the decision.
Jessica's face fell, a shadow of guilt passing over her.
As an ER doctor sworn to save lives, she usually throws herself into every emergency.
Normally, any loss hits her hard, and she mourns each one.
But this time, she had consciously made a choice to let someone go.
"He really died?" she asked, holding onto a sliver of hope.