Me, Love, & Secrets

Dr. Thibault

"Could you tell me how this happened?" the doctor asked.

I pursed my lips and looked away. I wasn't going to say anything.

"I'm telling you she won't say anything. I've tried to get her to say something, but she's been ignoring me," Lucas explained. "...I think it was her father, but she won't admit to that."

"Sometimes it takes someone who can relate to get someone to open up about domestic violence. I would suggest a therapist. Maybe she'll talk then."

"She barely talks to her friends. I doubt she'll say anything to a worried adult."

The doctor looked at me and sighed. Yeah, you can't get me to say anything. As bad as I want my father to go to jail, I can't risk my mother not getting away from him the way she wants to. I don't want to fight her fight for her. I can leave. I'm eighteen. Mom is the one who needs to be saved from the man no one dares to admit is a horrible person.

"Why don't you get her some water?" the doctor suggested to Lucas. "I'll see what I can do here."

"Yes, sir."

Once Lucas left the room, the doctor turned to me with a frown. I knew what was coming next. He's going to tell me I needed to tell him or at least tell him if I was safe in my home.

"Are you going to tell me how long you were going to live with fractured ribs?" he asked. "You could get seriously ill if you leave fractured ribs untreated."

"...I didn't know that," I muttered.

"Of course, you didn't." He grabbed his clipboard and began writing something. "Did you not know your ribs were fractured? Or did you pretend you could handle the pain?"

"I..."

"Has it happened so much that the pain dulled and you assumed it wasn't as bad as it seemed? Ms. Roberts, I believe there's a lot you need to tell me."

"It's Dominguez," I said. "My last name is Dominguez. And I knew they were...bruised. Pain wasn't on my mind until Lucas decided to force his way into my life."

"Be glad he did. You could be facing a case of a punctured lung, blood vessel, liver, kidney, or spleen."

"It's fractured, not broken!"

"You don't know that."

"Dr. Thibault, I'm fine. I'm not choking on blood or anything. My organs are fine." We stared at each other before Dr. Thibault stepped closer. I tried to keep my breathing steady, hoping he wouldn't notice how excited I was.

"You got beat just to have an excuse to see me again, huh?" He grinned, tilting my chin up to look at him. I bit my lip. "You're a brave woman, Ms. Dominguez."

"I do what I need to do. If getting hurt allows me to see you, then I'll get beat everyday."

"I wouldn't allow that to happen to you, but what did you do to have him hit you this time?" Dr. Thibault began tilting my face every which way. "Were you being a smart aleck?"

"You seem to know me well. I told him it was his fault mama left and the guilt hit him. It's not my fault it's true." I smirked, grabbing his hand and putting it on my cheek. "I missed you."

"You did?"

"...Yes. I've been thinking about it since I got back from France. I've been missing you, but there's not enough time for us to be together this week."

"Why not?"

"I'm leaving again. I don't know if you'll still be here when I get back."

Dr. Thibault leaned down to kiss me. I melted at the feel of his lips. He parted my lips with his tongue and slipped it inside. This was new. I leaned into his touch, hungry for whatever he could give me at the moment. He pulled away after a few seconds, his lips lingering too close to say he didn't want to kiss me again.