Page 111 of Unspoken Words
“It won’t hurt,” the dorky doctor added. “It’s just a super cool camera that can see through your skin to your bones. A bit like Superman’s X-ray vision.”
“It won’t hurt?” Max asked.
“Nope. Won’t hurt one bit.”
“Okay.”
“Excellent! Right, Mum and Dad can come with us.” Doctor Dexter unlocked the brakes on the hospital trolley bed with his foot, his eyes flicking from me to Ellie and Lilah then back again.
“That’s us.” Lilah raised her hand as if she was in fucking school. “Me and him,” she added, moving closer to my side.
Ellie stepped back to let us pass.
“We shouldn’t be long,” I reassured her, following the bed, my hand in Max’s. “Maybe grab yourself a coffee or something?”
She nodded, waved, and mouthed ‘good luck’ then she was gone as we turned the corner en route to Radiology.
“Na na na na na na na na. BATMAN!” Dr Dexter sang.
Lilah rolled her eyes, but Max giggled, and the weight of a ton of elephants lifted from my chest.
“Here we go. This is my secret hideout.” We stopped outside the radiological department. “Are you ready to enter?” he asked Max while rubbing his hands together.
Max nodded.
“Good. This won’t take long at all, but I will have to ask Mum and Dad to wait outside. Bat cave rules.”
“Sure.” I pried my hand from Max’s grip. “We’ll be right here, okay?”
“Don’t go anywhere.”
I chuckled. “We won’t.”
“Promise,” Lilah added.
Still chanting, “Na na na na na na na na. BATMAN!” Doctor Dexter wheeled Max away until it was just Lilah and me standing and staring at the door they disappeared behind, the grey barrier still swinging on its hinges.
“Oh my God! Our baby!” Lilah launched herself into my arms, hugging me tightly. “What are we going to do?”
Unlatching her talons and freeing myself from her melodramatic and completely out of the ordinary display, I released her arms and took a seat on a chair in the waiting area. “What the hell was that?”
“What?”
I pointed at her. “That? The hugging and shit. We don’t hug, Lilah. We haven’t hugged in years.”
“I was scared, Connor. I mean, Iamscared. That’s our little boy in there.” She sniffed and subtlety wiped the tip of her nose then sat beside me.
I sighed. “He’ll be fine. Dr Dexter has it under control.”
“I hope so. Dr Dexter is an idiot.” She picked up a magazine and started flicking through it, the snap of paper grating my nerves. “Soooo … that was quite a surprise seeing Ellie. How did that come about?”
“We’re working on my album together.” My response was deliberately short and sweet. I wasn’t in Lilah’s business, and I sure as shit didn’t need her in mine. We had one thing in common: Max.
Her page flicking stopped, and she looked up at me. “Your album? She’s helping you?”
“Yeah. She’s a professional lyricist.”
“Oh.” She turned another page, this time slower. “So has she moved back to Melbourne then?”
