🔞5EX🔞

Red flags

The Emergency department is pretty quiet right now, possibly because it's the morning of a weekday when the majority of people are working and kids are in school, and not a Friday or Saturday night after all the clubs and bars have emptied of their inebriated and often volatile patrons.
We have only been waiting for 10 minutes when a nurse calls me through to be seen. Noah asks if he can come along with me and I'm actually grateful, I'm not a huge fan of pain or blood, so am glad of the company to help keep me distracted.

Once again I am seen by Dr Kendall, whose eyes widen with recognition when she sees me, then confusion crosses her face as she directs her gaze at Noah, no doubt wondering why I'm here with a man other than the 'boyfriend' I was with a few weeks ago, and again, with injuries to my face. The suspicion on her face is clear as she stands and extends her hand for me to shake.

"Hello again Miss Benfield. You enjoyed your visit here so much last time you're back for more?" she jokes, gesturing I sit in the chair beside her.
"So, what can I help you with today?"

I attempt to speak but sound like a toddler just learning to form words, drooling bloodstained saliva down my chin as I do. I look to Noah pleadingly and he replies on my behalf with a short and sharp "she fell!" before turning away and gazing out of the window.

Dr Kendall raises her eyebrows at this, then crosses the room and puts on some gloves. Retaking her seat she removes the cloth from my face and inspects my mouth, pulling my lips around, making me open my mouth as wide as possible, checking my teeth aren't loose and ensuring I haven't bitten my tongue.
She hands me some clean gauze to press to my mouth and hands the wet and bloody cloth to Noah, who promptly drops it into the clinical waste bin with a rather disgusted face, then scrubs his hands clean before sitting back down and squeezing my hand as Dr Kendall explains that most of the damage is thankfully inside my mouth. A two inch split below my bottom teeth, a few small punctures in my top lip probably as a result of biting it in my fall and a superficial split to my outer bottom lip.
There are no stitches or treatment required, the wounds will heal on their own and shouldnt cause permanent damage, but I will need to regularly rinse my mouth with salt water, keep my teeth clean to avoid infection and eat soft foods that don't require too much chewing until it is no longer painful. She advises me that my mouth will swell over the next few days and that simple pain relief may help, before injecting some local anaesthetic into my mouth to help with the pain for the next few hours.
Doing my best to thank her for her time again I stand to leave but she places her hand on my arm and gently guides me back into my chair. Turning her attention to Noah she asks him to please wait outside as she needs to ask some personal questions before I can leave.
Noah doesn't hesitate and immediately leaves the room, telling me he will be waiting in the car for me. She thanks him politely then turns her attention back in my direction. Smiling at me and placing her hand on my arm she tells me that she is concerned that she has seen me with facial injuries twice in a month, and suggests I get a full health check to make sure there is no medical reason for both of my 'falls'. Maybe, she suggests, I have low blood pressure or anaemia? Both easily treatable conditions that could mean I end up with far less injuries from falling.
Something about her tone tells me that she is worried about me, but I don't think she is worried about my medical welfare.

"Sydney, I know speaking is difficult for you right now, so I'll ask you some simple yes/no questions and I'd like you to respond with either a nod for yes, or a shake of your head for no. Is that ok?"
Nodding with an "Mmm-hmm" I sit up straighter in my chair, suddenly nervous about the questions she intends to ask me. As if reading my mind she reassures me that if I do not respond to a question in any way she will presume I'd prefer not to say and will move on to the next. Again I communicate my understanding with a nod. Swallowing my nerves and wringing my hands in my lap I anxiously await the first question.