Chapter 3 - Urgent care
Michael arrived twelve minutes later.
By then Sarah had left the house.
Not because I asked politely.
Because Michael told her to leave when he called her again from the driveway.
He came into the bedroom.
Saw Olivia.
Stopped.
The blood had already slowed.
Tiny amount.
Still visible on the cloth.
He crouched.
“Hey, Liv.”
She stared at him.
Then reached.
He picked her up.
That was when his expression changed.
Not toward me.
Toward the reality in his arms.
We went to pediatric urgent care.
Tyler came too because neither of us wanted him staying with Sarah.
Dr. Nina Patel examined Olivia.
No nasal fracture.
No concussion symptoms.
No dental injury.
The bleeding appeared consistent with minor trauma to the nose.
A bruise developed faintly along one cheek later.
Nothing permanent.
Nothing graphic.
Sarah’s supporters would later use that.
“She was fine.”
No.
She was medically fortunate.
Different sentence.
The clinic asked the standard questions.
How did the injury happen?
I answered.
“My mother-in-law slapped her.”
Then:
“I slapped my mother-in-law afterward.”
Michael looked at me.
I had not told him yet.
His face changed.
The nurse continued typing.
May you like
No judgment.
Just facts.
