Page 2 of The Doctor

“Becky, is everything okay?”

She blinked and swallowed. “I’m going to continue wearing the big oversized clothes for the rest of the semester so it doesn’t look suspicious.”

During her pregnancy, Bex had put on weight to ensure she gained all over. Between that and the bigger clothes she wore, her pregnancy went undetected.

I had no idea why we were talking about her clothing, but I sat in the spot her sister had just left. “Okay.”

“Then when I get back from Basic Training, it would look like I lost a lot of weight.” Her eyes stared into the white sheets on the bed. “You’ll be in New York by then. Listen —”

“I can wait a year.”

“No.” Tears streamed down her face but she furiously swiped at them. “You will go to New York. We will break up and you’ll be free.”

“I will—what? What do you mean break up?” I was sure I hadn’t heard right.

Bex took a deep breath, blinked away her tears and lifted her chin. “I’m breaking up with you, Lo. Being with you, looking at you, is too hard. I need time to heal. I need to move forward, and I can’t do that with you.”

I opened my mouth to protest but Bex continued.

“Please, don’t argue with me. Debs is making sure Mason understands what is happening and he won’t abandon you. But I need to be alone for a while.”

With that she pushed herself back under the covers and turned away from me. I had no choice but to leave. My shoulders got heavier with each step until I found Mason in the waiting area. Without another word we left the hospital and I vowed I would move on until I was ready for the fight of my life. Then, I would win her back.

2

DOMINIC

4 YEARS AGO

My mom called from downstairs. I was busy playing in my room and wondering when basketball season would open again. My dad told me I was the best player there ever was. I don’t think he was telling the truth but it didn’t matter. I think he thought I was the best player. He used to go to my games every weekend. Right up until he couldn’t leave the hospital.

With slow steps I made my way downstairs. Some of them creaked. My dad used to comment that he should fix it. Now, I hoped no one ever would. The noise would always remind me of my dad.

I missed him so much. Mom had a new boyfriend. I didn’t really like him. But she was so happy when she was around him. She smiled more. Not the same smile she had for Dad. No, that was only for him. But she smiled and I wanted to see her smile. So, I would pretend to like her new boyfriend, Bill. He came around a lot.

Mom said he was between jobs and I wondered what that meant. She said something about the school needing a janitor. When Mom mentioned that the other night, Bill sneered. Dad used to say that all jobs were important. Maybe the guy didn’tlike cleaning up after high school students. Mom said they were very messy.

When I walked into the living room, I could see my mom through the arch, sitting at the dining table. There was a white plastic stick lying next to her arm.

“Dom, sweetie, come over here.” My mom had the sweetest voice. She would read me stories and immediately I would know I was safe and could fall asleep. I loved hearing her voice. “I need to talk to you about something.”

That was her serious voice. Still sweet, but it meant she was about to tell me something bad. Sometimes it meant I was in trouble. But that couldn’t be it. I had tried my hardest to be good since Dad died.

The last time she used that voice was when she told me my dad was dead. I didn’t like that voice. My grandmother was old. Maybe she died. I hoped not. Besides me, she was my mom’s only family. She was my dad’s mother and my mom often said thesweet old woman already had one foot in the grave.

My bare feet felt heavy as I made my way over to my mom. As I turned the corner into the dining room, Bill came into view. He was sitting at the other end of the large formal dining table and gave me a weird smile. My mom didn’t like using the dining room. She preferred we use the kitchen table. That was a lot smaller.

Bill wasn’t creepy, there was just something I didn’t like. Like Marcus Brewster in my class. We were both good kids and every teacher said we should get along because we had so much in common, but we just didn’t. Maybe it was like that. Maybe Bill and I were just not meant to get along.

Then again, it didn’t feel the same as Marcus Brewster. But I couldn’t say why I felt that way, it just weirded me out. The way he would stop smiling when he thought we weren’t looking. Or the way he snooped when Mom left the room. Maybe it was that.

Not that he stole anything. At least not that I could see, and my mom never said anything. At least not that I overheard. Because she wouldn’t say anything to me. She thought I was still a baby she needed to protect. And I wasn’t. I was the Man of the House now and it was my job to protect her. And I wanted her to be happy. Which was why I pasted on a smile for Bill.

He smiled back. “Hello, Dominic. Your Mom and I have something we need to talk to you about.”

“I’ll handle this, Bill.” Mom used her mom-voice. The one that said not to interrupt her. “Sweetie, why don’t you come sit down next to me.”

I did as she said and shoved my butt on the ugly brown chair next to her. I sat forward so my feet touched the ground. When my feet dangled, I felt like a little kid and I needed to grow up. My mom needed me to be strong for her.

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