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After he left, Matt sat at the nurses’ station and compared the reports. The two kids sitting in the front, Nick and Mia, had been severely affected by the car and truck collision and by the air bags’ impact.
“Dr. Winston, do you still need me? Are you checking on the fourth patient?” Marly asked.
“Yes, give me a couple of minutes.”
The three kids he’d examined had taken drugs during the party. How about Mia?
He sorted through the pages for her lab report. She had no drugs in her blood or urine. Matt read and reread the paragraph with relief.
Good girl, he mumbled under his breath. She’d resisted the temptation to follow her friends’ bad examples. He pledged he would do everything in his power to save her from the nasty accusations and restore her pretty features.
His phone rang. It was Royce.
“Matt, Susan received several calls from Cody who can’t find Mia. Any news about her? Where’s Brenda? Where are you? Anything wrong?”
“Yes. There was an accident involving four kids. Mia’s badly injured.”
“Cody wants to see her.”
“We’re all at Bethesda. She’s in room 410. I’m sure his visit will help her morale.” He pocketed his phone. “Marly, it’s time to visit Mia Clark.”
This would be a formal visit from the doctor and his nurse to a patient and her parents, as he’d previously done for the three other kids.
His folder in hand, he knocked, braced himself for a difficult situation if Tyron was still around, and entered. The cozy picture of the mom and dad sitting on both sides of the bed, watching their daughter stabbed at his heart. For months, he’d made sure Mia was safe, protected and loved, but now he had no place at her side.
He cleared his throat. “I’m here to examine Mia.” With effort, he’d maintained a professional tone.
“Hi Matt.” Brenda offered him a weak smile. “Glad you’re here. Mia woke up and said a few words.”
She and Tyron moved away from the bed to let him come closer.
“Is she in pain?”
“My chest, if I try to move,” Mia answered in a murmur.
“You’re awake. Does it hurt to talk?”
“Yes, my mouth and my chest. Are they broken? Please, Dr. Matt, tell me. Mom and Dad say I’ll be okay.” Her voice was low, yet her tone became more forceful.
“I’ll tell you everything.”
He glanced at Brenda’s whose face scrunched in pain as she shook her head.
“You’re a strong person with a positive character,” he added more for her mother, than for Mia. “You’ve been in a very bad accident.” He covered her hand with his palm. “You have three broken ribs, one of them caused a collapsed lung. It will take time for the ribs to heal and for the lung to get back to normal. Same thing with your broken arm. There’s more.”
“More bad?”
“The airbag hit your face too strongly and caused injuries. A broken nose and a fractured jaw. That’s why you can hardly speak.”
“My nose?” She tried to raise her hand.
He kept it in place. “In a few months, I’ll have you in surgery to repair that problem.”
“Broken nose and jaw? I must be hideous.”
“No,” Brenda and Tyron cried at the same time.
“Look at me, Mia. Right now, you’re a patient recovering from a terrible car accident,” Matt said, his voice firm. “You have to give yourself time to heal. Keep your positive attitude, keep your good mood. Trust me. I promise that in three months you’ll be your pretty self again. Do you trust me, Mia?”
