Chapter 2 - WHAT THE DOCTOR SAW
The paramedic took one look at Tommy and stopped smiling.
That told me everything.
“We need to move.”
They placed him on a stretcher.
Lily screamed when one of them tried to carry her separately.
“No!”
She wrapped both arms around my neck.
“No, Daddy!”
“I’m here.”
“Don’t leave me.”
“I’m not leaving.”
Her fingernails dug into my shirt.
I didn’t care.
At the hospital, doctors rushed Tommy through double doors.
A nurse examined Lily.
She was dehydrated.
Underweight.
She had bruises on her upper arms.
Not huge.
Not dramatic.
But shaped like fingers.
I stared at them.
“Where did those come from?”
Lily looked at the floor.
The nurse glanced at me.
“Mr. Carter, we’re going to need a pediatric social worker.”
“Why?”
Her face changed slightly.
Professional.
Careful.
“Because of the children’s condition.”
“Are you saying somebody hurt them?”
“I’m saying we need to understand what happened.”
My phone rang.
Rachel.
For a second, I just stared at her name.
Then answered.
“Where are you?”
Silence.
Then, “Mark?”
Her voice sounded shocked.
“You’re home?”
Not, Are the kids okay?
Not, Where are they?
You’re home?
“Where are you, Rachel?”
“I thought your flight was tomorrow.”
“I changed it.”
Another silence.
“What’s going on?”
I almost laughed.
“What’s going on?”
My hands were shaking.
“I found Lily crawling down the hallway dragging Tommy behind her.”
“What?”
“She’s dehydrated.”
“That doesn’t make sense.”
“Tommy is in the ER.”
“Oh my God.”
There it was.
The performance.
A half-second too late.
“You need to tell me where you are.”
“I’m with my sister.”
“Why were the kids alone?”
“They weren’t.”
I went still.
“What?”
“They were with someone.”
“Who?”
“The babysitter.”
“What babysitter?”
Rachel exhaled.
“You’re tired, Mark.”
Something inside me shifted.
“Do not do that.”
“Do what?”
“Talk to me like I’m confused.”
“I’m not.”
“Then tell me who was watching my children.”
“I’ll explain when I get there.”
“No.”
“Mark—”
“Name.”
Silence.
“Rachel.”
She hung up.
I lowered the phone.
Lily sat wrapped in a hospital blanket across the room.
She had heard everything.
Her face had gone pale again.
“Sweetheart?”
She whispered, “She’s coming.”
I crouched in front of her.
“That’s okay.”
“No.”
Her voice cracked.
“No, Daddy.”
“Why?”
“Because she’ll make me say I lied.”
That sentence almost knocked me over.
Then the ER doors opened.
A doctor walked toward me.
“Mr. Carter?”
I stood.
“How’s my son?”
He took a breath.
“He’s stable.”
My knees nearly gave out.
“But we found something we need to discuss.”
“What?”
He looked toward Lily, then back at me.
“Your son appears to have been given a sedating medication.”
My mouth went dry.
“What kind?”
“We’re still testing.”
“Could it be accidental?”
The doctor’s eyes stayed on mine.
“Possibly.”
Then he added quietly, “But based on the amount in his system, I would not assume that.”
Behind me, Lily whispered two words.
“Blue medicine.”
I turned.
“What?”
She covered her mouth.
Too late.
May you like
I had heard her.
And so had the doctor.
