Twenty | Dom
Twenty
Dom
I sat in the clinic's waiting room, which was basically a living room in the house that had been converted into a clinic. Jo had to come in earlier than she was assigned to work because an elderly man had fallen while trying to clear his driveway. I didn’t ask any questions, but the look on his worried wife’s face had made my heart hurt.
I sat and talked with her while Jo and Dr. Foster tended to her husband and learned quite a bit about farm life and how they had moved to Nowhere a few years ago when their son got into some trouble.
By the time her husband was ready to go, it was lunchtime, and my stomach was growling.
I knew the bar was right across the street from the clinic, but I had no idea if it was open.
I also didn’t trust that Jo wouldn’t lock me out if I left, so I stayed put and ignored the hunger pangs while she talked with Dr. Foster in the back.
The front door opened, sending a gust of cold air into the room as a young girl rushed in. She looked nervously at me and then lowered her head. She was about to turn and leave when I stood up and stopped her.
“Are you looking for Dr. Foster?” I asked, trying to keep my voice soft so I didn’t startle her any more than she was.
Poor thing looked terrified, and it killed me to see someone so young in distress.
She nodded, the hint of a bruise under her eye catching in the light as she moved.
Her jacket was pulled tight across her, but I could see more bruises along her neck before she tried to look away.
“Don’t worry,” I assured her calmly. “You’re in the right place. Let me go grab Jo real quick.”
I took a few steps down the hall, not wanting to invade their space while keeping an eye on the girl as I called over my shoulder.
“Jo, can you please come up front?”
The girl chewed her nail as she shifted her weight and looked around the room.
“What do you nee—” Jo started and then stopped as she stood beside me and looked at the girl beside me. “Macie? Is that you?”
The girl turned around, and I noticed the way Jo immediately scanned her face, taking everything in. I knew she saw the bruises when her features tightened as her eyes traveled down to the girl’s neck.
“I didn’t know where else to go,” she whispered.
“You’re safe, Macie. Come with me and let’s get you checked out.” Jo extended her hand and helped her to one of the back rooms while I sat down.
A few minutes later, Jo returned, her energy so tense that it made me immediately go on alert. She rushed to the door and locked it before shoving one of the chairs in front of it. My brows furrowed as I watched.
“If anyone comes to the door, do not let them in,” she warned. “Got it?”
“Yes,” I said quickly. “What’s going on?”
She looked over her shoulder toward the hallway she’d taken Macie down, then looked back at me.
“Macie has been coming to the clinic for a few years. She lives with her brother, who became her legal guardian when their parents died four years ago. They moved to Nowhere shortly after their parents passed, and he’s been abusive to her since the day I met her.
She showed up here one day, covered in blood and bruises, so we helped her.
She’s been to the clinic several times since then, and we can usually treat her without him knowing.
But there have been a few times where he’s come looking for her... ”
“I will make sure no one gets inside this clinic,” I promised her, my stomach tightening at the thought that Macie was being abused by her own brother.
Jo nodded and headed back to take care of Macie.
I sat down, keeping my eyes on the door and watching to see if anyone showed up. I tried to ignore the pain I felt every time I compared what Macie was going through to what could be happening to Lauren.
Growing up, I wasn’t ever close to Lauren.
She was my father’s love child, who broke up my parents’ marriage when I was ten.
I didn’t necessarily hate Lauren, but I resented her for tearing my family apart.
I grew up as an only child for so long that I didn’t care about having a little sister, especially one I was supposed to babysit when I wanted to hang out with my friends instead.
I tried to tell myself that things with Lauren would be different because she was older than Macie and hopefully able to take care of herself. But then I remembered who Tray was and what his men were capable of, and realized Lauren wouldn’t be safe until I got her out of there.