Page 21 of Saving Little Lina: Part One

Mike, in his own Little state, was supposed to be my rock. But the amusing irony of the situation was not lost on me. He, too, was a victim of dental anxiety, his fear matching mine. Both of us were seeking comfort from each other, despite being scared ourselves.

"Mike, what if it hurts?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper. He squeezed my hand, attempting to put up a brave front.

The thought of sitting in the big, daunting chair, with the sharp, scary tools being prodded into my mouth was enough to make me want to bolt for the exit.

"Uncle Luke is nice. He won't hurt you," he reassured, clutching onto his teddy bear, but the tremor in his voice gave him away. "He has magic fingers. You won’t even feel a thing. And... dentists are good. They help keep our teeth clean."

I arched an eyebrow at him, finding it absurd that he was trying to console me when he himself was visibly terrified.

"You're more scared than I am!" I pointed out, a hint of laughter in my voice despite the situation.

While we wallowed in our fear, Joe seemed to be thoroughly amused. He sat across from us, a smirk playing on his lips as he observed our antics.

"Both of you are as scared as kittens in a dog house," Joe teased, his eyes twinkling with amusement. "I should've brought a camera."

"Hey!" Mike protested, pouting up at Joe. "I'm not scared. I'm... I'm just concerned for Lina."

"Now, now, Mike," Joe interjected, amusement clear in his eyes. "Aren't you the one who usually hides under the bed at the mere mention of a dentist appointment?"

Mike looked up at him, aghast. "Daddy!" he protested, his face flushing with embarrassment. "You're not helping!"

Joe simply shrugged, his grin widening. "What? It's true," he declared, unable to contain his amusement. "Now, be a brave Little for Lina, okay?"

Mike, drawn by the comfort only his Daddy could provide, crawled into Uncle Joe's lap. The sight would've been heartwarming, if it weren't for the fact that we were in a dental office.

"Daddy, tell Dr. Luke to be gentle with Lina, okay?" Mike pleaded, looking up at him with wide, pleading eyes.

"He'll be as gentle as a feather, sweetheart," Joe assured, a comforting hand ruffling Mike's hair.

Mike, attempting to be my support, was himself shaking like a leaf.

"You know," Mike started, his words punctuated by shaky breaths, "they say that the...the drill isn't even that loud."

"But what if they slip, Mike?" I whispered, my voice trembling as much as my hands. "What if they drill my tongue?"

I could relate to the look of horror on Mike's face. "Lina, don't say things like that!" He gasped, a new fear now added to his repertoire.

His wide-eyed look of terror only increased my own fear, creating a vicious cycle. We were like two children trying to scare each other with ghost stories, except the ghost in our tale was Dr. Luke with his shiny, sharp dental instruments.

To make matters worse, Mike had a knack for vivid storytelling. "Did you hear about the Little who swallowed her tooth while the dentist was cleaning her teeth?"

My eyes grew wider at the gruesome image he painted. "Really? That can happen?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

Mike nodded, swallowing hard. "Yeah, and then they had to go to the hospital to get it out."

I gulped, my mind running wild with all the things that could go wrong. Each new scenario we conjured up seemed worse than the last.

"Have you ever had a root canal?" I asked, biting my lip nervously.

Mike paled at the mere mention of it, his eyes growing wide. "A root canal?" he stammered, swallowing hard. "No, I've never had one. Why do you ask?"

"Oh, no reason. I just heard rumors at the club that they use this really huge drill to dig into your tooth. I heard it's the size of a small jackhammer."

Mike's eyes nearly bulged out of his head. "A jackhammer?" he echoed, his voice squeaky with fear. He gulped audibly, his hands trembling more than before. "That sounds... terrifying."

I nodded, finding a strange sense of camaraderie in our shared fear. "Yes, it does. And then there are the needles. You know they have to numb your mouth first, right?"

Mike's face turned a shade paler. "Needles?" he squeaked out. "I...I don't like needles."

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