AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She looks up at me with her signature guarded expression and says nothing. She goes back to her stack of papers and shuffles through them. Her head falls onto the desk, and she groans in despair.
“I can’t raise her at all, Dr. Graves. She needs someone more equipped for her care. I’m not cut out to be her guardian”
Her confession takes me by surprise, and I’m not sure how to react. I’ve never seen myself as a parent either, but if a young family member needed me, I’d step up to the challenge. Then again, who am I to judge? I’m an only child and I don’t speak to my family as it is. I’m not the person to be casting a stone.
Still, to give Charlie up to a family member? I can’t imagine that.
“Please call me Graveyard. And like I said, we can help you find resources. We’re a community here, we always offer help when we’re called upon. If you need anything-”
“With all due respect,” she cuts me off. “You don’t know anything about me or my sister. So just drop it, okay? I know what’s best for her, so I’m going to do what I see fit.”
“Fair enough,” I cough. “Well, speaking of Charlie, I should probably examine her,” I say, coming behind her and standing awkwardly. “I want to make sure her vitals are good since leaving the hospital. And ask her a few questions.”
“She won’t talk to you,” Meredith tells me, lifting her head back and turning back toward me slightly. “She doesn’t trust men at all. Especially doctors.”
“She trusted me enough to get her here,” I remind her. “She had no issues climbing into that body bag.”
“That was different,” Meredith mutters. “She knew we didn’t have a choice.”
“Look, Pocus and Abigail are two of my closest friends in the entire world. I trust them with my life, and they feel the same. Daisy is my goddaughter. I don’t want them to experience the volatile side of Charlie I saw a few days ago. Let’s just say you don’t have a choice about this either.”
“Fine.” Meredith grunts, stands, and heads toward the door.
I follow her down to the living room, where Daisy looks up, noticing me for the first time.
“Uncle Graveyard!” she screams, jumping up to hug me.
I notice Charlie watching us carefully, probably shocked at how much her new friend trusts me. Of course, Daisy says something that causes her to tense up again.
“You’re not here to give me a shot, are you?” Daisy asks in her sweet voice.
I smile at her and shake my head, then meet Charlie’s gaze.
“I’m not here to give anyone a shot,” I tell her honestly. “But I do need to talk to your new friend Charlie for a few minutes. Would that be okay?” I address Charlie, and I notice her demeanor change.
Still, she nods slowly and stands to walk toward me.
“How do you feel, Charlie?” I ask her, hoping an innocuous question will put her at ease.
“Fine,” she says in a surly tone.
“Do you mind if I check your heart rate?” I ask, opening my medical bag.
“Can I help?” Daisy asks excitedly. She immediately plunges her hands into my bag, pulling out my stethoscope.
“That’s a great idea,” I tell her. “Would that be okay, Charlie? If Daisy and I check your heart rate?”
Charlie considers us for a moment, then nods. I look up at Meredith, who’s watching the scene play out with a curious expression. Charlie’s new alliance with Daisy has worked out better than I’d hoped. Daisy makes everyone feel at ease.
I take Charlie’s vitals and write them down on a makeshift chart. Everything is normal. I test her reflexes next, which she only lets me do once Daisy asks for her own medical exam. She’s not one to be left out of anything. Once Charlie sees how at ease Daisy is, she lets me complete my exam. I feel Meredith behind me, hovering. Her anxiety is palpable.
“How come Daisy calls you uncle Graveyard?” she asks carefully, looking down at her hands.
“That’s my road name, Graveyard. Everyone calls me that. You and your Meredith can call me Graveyard too. Plus, I’m very good friends with Daisy’s dad,” I say as I check her thyroid. “We’re kind of like brothers. That’s what makes being part of a motorcycle club so great. Family.”
“But Graveyard?” she deadpans. “That’s a pretty awful name for a doctor, don’t you think?”
“Worse than Dr. Graves?” I tease, but she doesn’t seem to find it funny at all.
