Page 111 of The Doctor's Truth

“I’ll give you the full run down at the hospital. Okay?”

She smiles, tightly, but I can tell she’s anxious.

“Can you stop the car?” Otto says from the backseat. He’s been quiet this whole drive and I blink in surprise.

“You okay, bud?”

“Just—stop. Please.”

I glance at Kenzi. She smile falls and she looks just as confused as I feel.

I pull the car to the side and, the second it stops, Otto unbuckles his seatbelt and jumps out.

“Otto!” Kenzi starts to get up, but I put a palm up to stall her.

“Give us five?” I ask.

Her eyes are wild, frantic. “But—”

“Five minutes. That’s all.”

I squeeze her hand and then release it. Reluctantly, she hangs back.

I get out of the car. I know where Otto’s going.

He’s climbed the rope separating the road from the dunes and he trudges through a narrow footpath that’s almost completely snowed over at this point. I follow him and we wind through the trees.

The clearing opens up at Donovan’s “Screaming Rock.”

Otto goes to the edge, but he doesn’t scream. He just sits down on the ground, hard, and stares out at the long stretch of ocean below.

His puffy jacket makes his movements awkward. He digs a small rock out from the hardened dirt. I watch as he launches the rock through the air to the ocean below.

“Otto.” I say his name, but he doesn’t turn around. He just pries out another stone.

I step over and sit down beside him. The morning cold freezes the inside of my throat and I can see my breath in front of my lips.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

He shakes his head. His blue eyes are cast down. He looks like he’s holding back tears.

“I miss Dr. Donovan,” he says then.

“Yeah…I know you two had a special relationship.” I glance out to the water. “I uh…I’m not really good with kids.”

Otto looks up at me, blinks. But he’s listening.

I continue, “My dad…he wasn’t really good with kids either. When me and my brother were growing up, he didn’t know how to play with us. Support us. I guess what I’m trying to say is…I’m not going to get this right all the time. But. If you’d let me…I’d really like to be there for you.”

Otto looks at me. Those blue eyes are glassy now.

I slip my hand to his shoulder and give a light squeeze. “You’re a strong kid. Really strong. I’m proud of you, bud.”

He sniffs and glances away. “Thanks.”

His small body leans against mine, and I can hear him sniffling. I draw my fingers through his hair.

“It’s okay,” I murmur to him. “It’s going to be okay.”

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