by Gina Ardito
In that respect, though, luck was with me. When I peered through the double doors into the waiting room, I found no drunken escort anywhere in sight. Desi’s knight in tarnished armor had already ditched her. Ah…young love.
I quickly gathered the medical supplies I’d need, tossed them on a cart, and headed back to the exam room. Thank God, Desi sat exactly where I’d left her. I wheeled the cart closer to her. “First things first.” I set up the icepack and placed it gently over the knot on her forehead.
At first contact, she sucked in a sharp breath, and her body tensed.
“Sorry,” I murmured. “The sting will ease soon.” At least the icepack’s sting would. The blow to come...not so much.
“It’s okay,” she replied and pressed her hand to the pack to keep it in place. “Are you going to do the pregnancy test now?”
“Well, here’s the thing.” I pulled a pair of latex gloves from the box marked Medium. “I can draw blood now, but I won’t have the results right away.”
“Why not?” She actually looked disgruntled at the idea.
“Because it’s three in the morning, sweetheart, and you’re not a life-threatening case.”
“Isn’t there any way we can know now?”
“Yes. You can do a urine test. It’s not a hundred percent accurate, but the odds are better than guessing. And we’ll confirm with a blood test in the morning.”
She dropped the pack from her head and gripped the edges of the exam table. “Can we do it now? Please?”
I reached into my cart and pulled out a home pregnancy test still in the box. “The bathroom’s down the hall.” Gripping her upper arm, I helped her off the table. “Come on. I’ll walk you down there.” When she stood beside me, I received my first real glimpse at the skimpiness of her outfit. If her skirt were any shorter, I could give her a pelvic exam.
“Oh, you don’t have to walk with me.”
I averted my eyes as I replied, “Someone has to. Hospital rules. So it’s either me, or the nurse.”
“You. Definitely you.”
“Okay, then. Let’s go.” I propelled her forward and out into the hall. Once we reached the bathroom, I opened the door and flipped on the light. “Here you go. Just leave the stick on the counter by the sink. Got it?”
“How much should I...?” She waved the box at me.
I understood what she meant. “You don’t need a lot. Just enough to wet the test end. Read the directions carefully. And don’t worry. You’ll do fine.”
While Desi took care of her end of the process, I strolled back to Ana and directed her to handle the pregnancy test and bring the results to me in E.R. one, stat.
“Poor kid,” Ana clucked. “Who is she?”
“The sister of a friend,” I replied evasively. The whoosh of the toilet allowed me to avoid further clarification, and I hustled back to Desi just as she reopened the door. “All set?”
“Uh-huh.” She cast a glance backward. “Are you sure...?”
I took her arm again and led her toward the exam room. “Trust me. We’ll have the results in a few minutes.” I ushered her back inside and settled her in a chair. “In the meantime, I’ll draw some blood to run an HCG test, to be sure.” Along with a tox screen, but she didn’t need to know about that. To distract her, I handed her the icepack again. “On the bump, kiddo.”
“What about Garrett? I should tell him I’m gonna be a while.”
Ah, yes. I’d almost forgotten about the creep. I frowned. “Listen,” I said, “I checked the waiting room for your friend a few minutes ago. He’s not there.”
Her face crumbled, and she practically folded into herself. “Oh.”
“He’s no good for you, Desi. I think you know that.” I snapped the latex gloves into place, which perfectly punctuated my statement.
“Yeah,” she replied on a sigh. “I know. But he’s cute. And he’s older, you know? I thought it would be so cool to have a guy like Garrett as my boyfriend. But he’s no better than the clowns in high school.”
“Is he the...” I swallowed my distaste. “...possible father?”
“Yes.” She looked up then, her eyes—so like her brother’s—bright and lucid for the first time since I found her in here thirty minutes ago. “But if I’m not pregnant, I’m done with him. I swear it, Dr. Florentino.”
“Call me Frannie,” I said and smiled out of sheer pride. Desiree might not be the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree, but she was learning. Now, I just had to hope she wasn’t tied to Garrett D’Amico for the next twenty years.
“Josh calls you Frannie,” she said.
“Mmm-hmm.”
“Do you like my brother?”
“Yes, I do. Very much.” I quickly detoured the conversation away from that area. “But now, you might want to consider calling someone to come get you here. I can’t let you leave without a ride home.”
“But I can’t go home,” she insisted. “I told you. It’s not just about me. I can’t get Casey in trouble.”
Great. Now what? “Well, can you call one of your sisters? Or your brother?”
“No way.” She shook her head enough to rattle her brain.
“Don’t,” I said. “Don’t do that. Keep the icepack in place, please.” I needed a solution. Fast. Only one idea came to mind. “Okay, listen. I’m here until eight in the morning, and the E.R. happens to be pretty quiet tonight so far. Plus, I’d really like to keep an eye on that bump. Provided we don’t get crazy busy over the next few hours, would you be willing to stay in this room until I get off work and I can take you home?”
“You would do that?”
“Yes.” I was pretty certain I was dancing a very thin line between professional courtesy and personal conflict, but I convinced myself I’d do the same for any teen who showed up in my E.R. in similar circumstances. “But I really want you to consider finding a responsible adult to confide in. A sibling, an aunt, a neighbor. You’re at a tenuous time in your life and making the wrong decisions could have far-reaching effects.”
“I’ll think about it,” she replied.
I supposed that was the best I could hope for.
A sudden rap of knuckles preceded Ana’s arrival in the exam room. “Got your results,” she announced, a slight smile on her lips.
My nerves stretched taut. “And?”
“Negative.”
Chapter 16
Francesca
The E.R. stayed quiet and slow, with only a feverish newborn and a food poisoning case in the wee hours, allowing me to keep Desiree resting in the exam room until my shift ended. Early Saturday morning, I crept in and found her curled up on the padded exam bench, a pillow folded under her head and a blanket wrapped around her hips. The swollen bruise above her eye still ruled supreme on her brow, the cold pack clutched in her hand, useless, at her side.
“Desi?” I shook her gently until her eyelids fluttered open. “Sorry to wake you, but it’s time to go.”
She sat up slowly, stretching her arms wide. “What time is it?”
“About eight-thirty.” One hand on her arm, I helped her off the table.
“I can’t go home yet,” she said, panicked. “It’s too early.”
“I figured. I’ll take you to my place for a few hours. You can clean up, take a shower.” I indicated the torn strap of her dress. “I might even have something you can change into that won’t get your parents questioning you the minute you walk in the door.”
Her cheeks filled with rosy color as she glanced down at the torn and stained hem of her party dress. “You’ll do that for me?”
“Yes.” Her smile beamed, and I held up a hand. “But I’m going to say it again. You really need to come clean about this. Tell someone in your family the truth.”
“I can’t.” She stamped her foot, an action I would have sworn most teenagers reserved for their most dramatic tantrums. “You know my parents. How do you think they’d react if they found out where I was and what I was doing last night?”
>
“How do you think they’d feel if they received a phone call from me or the cops last night because someone found your raped and beaten body in the woods somewhere?”
She shook her head. “Garrett would never do that. He’s a jerk, but he’s not a criminal.”
“Uh-huh.” I bit my tongue and stayed silent for the ride to my house. She wouldn’t listen. What teenager did? They all thought they were immortal. Until they showed up on a gurney in my emergency room. Unfortunately, sometimes at that stage, they didn’t get a second chance.
Once we reached my home, I led her to the guest room with its private bath. “There are some jeans, leggings, and t-shirts in the closet,” I told her. “They won’t be a perfect fit, but you’ll definitely be more comfortable than you are now. Do you want to sleep for a while first?”
“No, I’m good.” She reached into the tub area to turn on the water, and I stepped out of the bathroom. “Frannie?”
Her voice stopped me in the doorway to the hall. “Hmmm?”
She dipped her head, her dark brown hair shielding her face. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome,” I replied and headed down to my kitchen to grant her some privacy. I put on the kettle for tea, poured myself a glass of orange juice and took my vitamins. Seated at my kitchen table, I wondered. What would a teenager want for breakfast? Especially after a hard night of booze, pot, and a trip to the E.R.
“Pancakes,” I said aloud as I stood and aimed for my pantry. The carbs would help soak up any excess alcohol still in her body. If I threw in some bananas, walnuts, and honey, it would almost pass as healthy, too.
While my tea steeped, I gathered the ingredients, whipped up the batter, and ladled circles onto the hot griddle. From upstairs, I heard the water turn off and footsteps overhead. Good. Perfect timing.
“Knock, knock!”
Crap. Josh. With the worst timing ever. I raced toward the front door, my mind scheming for some way to get him out of here fast. “Josh!” I wrapped my arms around his neck and turned him back toward the door. “What are you doing here?”
He brushed his lips on mine, a sweet hello kiss. “Working on the McNeils’ place today. Saw your car in the drive, thought I’d say good morning.” His chiseled face tilted upward, and he inhaled with a loud, long sniff. “Wow, something smells good.” Releasing me, he strode into the kitchen.
Great. I sped past him to the stove. Maybe I could push him out the back door before Desi came down. “Banana pancakes,” I said as I flipped them over. “But you can’t stay.”
“Why not?”
Of course, Desi chose that exact moment to appear in the doorway. “That smells great, Frannie. What are you—?” She stopped short and came face-to-face with her brother. “Josh? What are you doing here?” She whirled to me, her cheeks flushed with anger. “You called him, didn’t you?”
Josh stalked forward and pulled his little sister into the light near the kitchen window. “Desi? What the hell happened to your face?”
She ignored him, her fury focused on me. “You promised!”
I held up my hands, the pancake turner my flag of surrender. “I swear. I didn’t call him.”
“Why not?” Josh demanded of me. “What’s going on?”
“Why don’t we all sit down?” I suggested and pulled out a chair. Around me, battlelines were drawn, and the volley had begun.
“Who hit you, Desi?”
“No one.”
“Bull.”
“No bull. I hit my head against a rock.”
“Where?”
“None of your business.”
I removed the pancakes from the griddle, piled them on a plate, and placed them on the table. “May as well sit and eat, guys, while everything’s hot.” They ignored me, totally engrossed in their heated debate.
“Do Mom and Dad know you’re here?”
“That’s none of your business, either.”
“Umm...” I tried again. “Guys? Pancakes? Orange juice? Dueling pistols?”
“In other words, no.”
“What do you care? You’re not my father.”
“And I’m betting Dad doesn’t know squat about what you’re doing. Get your stuff. I’ll take you home.”
“I’m an adult now. You can’t tell me what to do.”
“You’re nineteen, Desi! You’re not even legally old enough to drink yet, but I’m betting you did anyway.”
Desi folded her arms over her chest. “So what? It’s not like you were a saint when you were nineteen, Josh. Or eighteen. Or sixteen, for that matter. You had plenty of nights when you stumbled home drunk before you turned twenty-one.”
I assume he didn’t have a valid argument for that because he switched tacks. “Whose clothes are those?”
I took in the red SUNY Stony Brook Seawolves sweatshirt and black leggings she’d borrowed. “Those are mine,” I volunteered.
At last, Josh turned to me and jabbed his index finger in Desiree’s direction. “What’s she doing here?”
“She came home with me. It was too early for her to go to your parents’ house so I invited her to take a shower and change before I took her home.” I rose and stepped toward him, my hands outstretched. “Josh, she’s fine. It’s okay.”
His lips compressed in a tight frown. “No, it’s not. You’re not answering me any more than she is. How did my little sister wind up in your house at nine o’clock on a Saturday morning? Where was she that you brought her to your house? Was she in the hospital? Where are her clothes? And how did she get that huge knot on her forehead?”
“This is asinine,” Desi retorted. “I’m outta here. Thanks for everything, Frannie. I’ll just walk home from here.”
“No, Desi, wait.” I raced to stop her. “Please. Don’t go. Look, I swear to you, I didn’t call your brother, but maybe it’s a good thing that he showed up. You promised to tell someone—”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Yes, you did.” Wonderful. I’d just entered the Candolero family war. But on nobody’s side.
“No. I said I’d think about it.”
“Forget her,” Josh remarked. “Frannie, just tell me what’s going on.”
I turned to him, my tongue tied up in a promise knot. “I...er...I...can’t.”
“Why not?”
I shrugged. “She’s my patient.”
He planted his fists on his hips. “She’s my sister.”
“Yes, I know, but, by law, I can’t divulge anything about her condition or how she wound up in my care without her permission.” I shot a questioning glance at the teen, but she folded her arms over her chest and shook her head with slow deliberation. Okay, then.
“She’s my sister,” Josh repeated through gritted teeth.
“She’s my patient,” I replied with an apologetic wince. “I’m sorry. I can’t tell you unless she gives me permission to do so.”
He thumped his chest. “I’m giving you permission.”
“That’s not good enough.”
Fumbling at his belt, he pulled out his cell. “Fine. I’ll do it my way.” He punched in a number.
“Who are you calling?” Desiree asked.
“Hi, Mom?” he said into the phone. “I didn’t wake you, did I?”
Desiree went into mute hysterics. Waving her arms, she scrunched up her eyes in a pleading expression and mouthed, “Don’t. Pleeeeeeease.”
He turned his back to her. “Is Desiree home?” A brief pause and then, “Oh, she spent the night at Casey’s? Oh, okay.” He whirled to give his sister—and me—a scathing glare that parched my throat and pitched my stomach into freefall. “No, it’s not important. I wanted to ask her about...”
Once again, Desiree attempted to stop him with silent gestures, racing around my table to face him with clasped hands and a quick kneel on the floor.
“Never mind, Mom. I’ll catch up with her on my own. Thanks.” He hung up, shoved the phone back into his pocket and glared at both of us. “Now, Desiree, sit dow
n and tell me everything, or I’ll call Mom back and you can explain it all to her. Obviously you’re not at a slumber party at Casey’s house. So, where did you spend the night?”
She looked up at me, tears of defeat shimmering in her eyes as she sank into a chair.
Standing behind her, I placed my hands on her shoulders and offered her an encouraging nod. “Tell him, Desi. Please. It’s going to be okay.”
“You stay out of this, Frannie.” Josh jabbed an accusatory finger in my direction. “This is a family thing.”
I shook my head. “It’s more than that. And I promised your sister—”
“Stay. Out. Of. This.”
“No.”
He blinked. “No?”
“No.” I didn’t want to argue with him, but I had promised Desi I’d stick with her, and I would. I gave her an encouraging squeeze. “Tell him.”
She sniffed and focused her gaze on the quickly cooling pile of pancakes. “I went to a party at a frat house.”
“You did what?!” His fist pounded the table, and the dishes clinked together.
I hoped the impact hadn’t chipped them. “Josh, please,” I said. “Let her finish.”
Sinking into a chair across from her, he leaned forward and gave her his undivided attention. “Okay. Tell me.”
“Casey and I went to a frat party.”
I had to hand it to Josh. Though his eyes bulged a few times, and his fists tightened more than a few times, he managed to keep his cool and let her tell the story in her halting and emotion-filled way. She left out the pregnancy test, and I didn’t feel the need to embellish. Since the results had been negative, unless the blood test came back with a different result, there was no need for Josh to know how much deeper into the trouble pool his sister might have fallen. When she finished, he looked up at me for confirmation, and I nodded.