Chapter 6
Six
Charlie
I heard voices as they came up the stairs after Axel went down to meet his friend.
I had been a nervous wreck from the moment he mentioned her, but I also knew that I wasn’t doing my baby girl any good by allowing the cut to stay infected.
Having her come to treat it was the best I could do right then, since I couldn’t risk seeing a doctor I didn’t know and having to explain what happened.
As soon as they walked through the door, I felt a mixture of relief and anxiety when I saw the woman from earlier.
“Charlie, this is Jo,” Axel said as he stepped to the side and let her approach the bed where I was sitting. She had a decent-sized medical bag with her, which made me wonder how many times she’d made house calls like this.
“Thank you for doing this,” I said, hoping to keep any emotion out of my voice.
She kneeled in front of me and looked up as her eyes caught mine. Beneath her left eye was a faint scar that I hadn’t noticed before.
“Do you mind lifting your shirt and holding it up for me?” she asked, her voice lacking any emotion.
I nodded and slowly lifted the fabric, hoping it didn’t get snagged on any dry blood.
She didn’t show any reaction to the wound like I had expected she would. Her eyes quickly scanned my stomach before she reached into her bag and started gathering supplies before putting on medical gloves.
“How did this happen?” she asked, briefly looking up at me as she waited for an answer.
I looked from her to Axel, who was standing there with a frown on his face and arms folded across his chest as he looked at the gash across my stomach.
“You can trust her,” he assured me, his features softening again.
I looked down at her and let out a heavy breath.
“I was cut with a knife. Several times.”
She arched one eyebrow as if this was the start of a juicy story, though I had no desire to tell her the rest.
“Did you do it yourself?”
I blinked quickly as I tried to process her question. Why would she assume I did this to myself?
“No.” My answer was short and curt, which she seemed to enjoy based on the hint of a smirk gracing her lips.
“Husband?”
“Why do you say that?” I asked, tilting my head to the side as she poured something onto a gauze pad and rubbed it lightly over my stomach. I knew better than to tell anyone too much, so I decided to answer her questions with a question and deflect from the truth.
“Most women I meet are running from their husbands.” She shrugged and then got a clean gauze pad and pressed it against the bleeding, open wound.
“It’s not my husband that I’m worried about. It’s the devil he made a deal with.”
The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them.
“What kind of deal?” Axel asked, but I didn’t bother to look at him when I answered.
“The kind that sent me on the run after some guy broke into my house and tried to cut my baby out of my stomach. Apparently, my unborn child is payment for a debt my husband owes.”
“This is going to sting a little,” Jo warned, her tone softer now.
I closed my eyes and tried to ignore the pain as she continued to clean my cut.
“When was the last time you had a prenatal visit?” she asked as she rubbed an ointment over the cut and gently massaged it into my skin.
“A few weeks ago. I started having Braxton Hicks contractions, so I went in.”
“Are you still feeling the baby move since the attack happened?”
“Not as much, but I think I’ve just been a little distracted. She moved earlier when I was eating dinner.”
“You’ll be stuck here for at least a week or two,” Jo said, standing up and tossing her gloves into the trash with the stuff she had used.
“I suggest coming in to get checked. I did the best I could to clean it tonight, but it is infected. We’re going to need to keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn’t get worse, as well as check on the baby to make sure she’s doing okay.
I’ll be at the clinic tomorrow after ten if you want to come then. ”
I shook my head, the panic already rising over how I was going to be able to afford to see a doctor when I barely had enough cash to get me to the next town once the storm passed.
“I’ll be fine. Thank you.”
She stood in front of me, looking me over for a moment.
“I wasn’t asking. Either you show up at the clinic around ten, or I will bring the doctor here. The choice is yours.”
“I can’t afford to go see a doctor,” I objected, pushing myself up off the bed as I lowered my shirt over my stomach.
“I know that I’m from out of town, and maybe you think I’m loaded and full of money so you can rip me off, but I’m not.
I literally have the clothes I’m wearing and the few things in that duffle bag. ”
“I never said anything about you paying for it. We do things differently here in Nowhere. Even if you had money, I wouldn’t want it.”
“Seriously?” I put my hand on my hip and leveled her with a look.
“Seriously. We take care of our own here, and right now, that includes you.”
“But why? Why would you do something like that for someone you don’t know?”
Jo cast a glance at Axel, who lowered his head before she returned her attention to me.
“Because I’ve been in your shoes before. I’ve had to run from someone who wanted me dead and would stop at nothing to make sure it happened. If I can survive that, then you can survive this. I’ll make sure you do.”