Broken (Prequel to Beauty and the High-Functioning Sociopath)

Wisdom Teeth Removal

Alexandra Watson was a teenager now. She was very beautiful. She had long, golden hair and stunning blue-gray eyes. They were almost silver. John watched over her carefully. He was training to become an army doctor now. Alex lived with him. She was still rebellious. John was trying to channel her energy, but it wasn't working. He and her fought a lot. For the second time since she'd lived with him, he was taking her to the dentist. He read in the waiting room until the dentist came out.

"Mr. Watson, could you come back here?" He asked.

"Uh, yeah, sure." John said.

John came back. He saw Alex waiting for him. She looked nervous. The dentist never got guardians unless something was wrong. John gave her a smile.

"Don't worry. It's probably just a cavity." He said. 

"Um, I'm afraid it's a lot different than that." The dentist said. "Alex's wisdom teeth are misaligned. This is very common in teenagers and young adults, so it's not like she's much different than anyone else. I think that you should bring her in for surgery next week."

"How much would the surgery cost?" John asked. 

"Seven-hundred-eighty-six pounds." The dentist said. Alex gaped and John put his face in his hands.

"Alright. I can probably take the money out of my savings account." He said.

"No, John, don't. Take it out of my college fund." Alex said.

"No." John said. "Alright. I'll bring her in next week."

John made an appointment with the receptionist on the way out. Alex looked to her brother, feeling awful about her wisdom teeth.

"John...I-"

"It's not your fault, Alex. There's nothing you could have done to prevent this." John said. "We're going to get it fixed and it's going to be okay." 

The next week, Alex and John went to the dentist. Alex was terrified. She knew that she was probably being silly. John took her to the back room. They had decided to let him be back there while they put her to sleep. John held her hand tightly until she had fallen asleep. He was then forced to leave the room.

The surgery was generally supposed to take forty-five minutes, but it took an hour. John hoped nothing had gone wrong. Finally, the dentist came out to get him.

"It took a little while, but it went perfect." He said. "She's still asleep. Do you want to see her?"

"Yes, please." John nodded. 

The doctor took John to the back room. His sister was sleeping peacefully, but he winced when he saw the bloody gauze on the table. She was going to be in so much pain when the medication wore off. 

"How long until she wakes up?" John asked.

"Probably around thirty minutes." The dentist said. "Let me know when she wakes up."

"Okay." John said.

Thirty-five minutes later, Alex's eyes opened and she looked around groggily. Where the hell was she? Where was John? She wanted to go home! Alex burst into tears. John's eyes widened.

"Hey, hey, sis, it's okay!" He said. Alex looked up at John, who wiped her tears away with a tissue he had found in her purse.

"John?" She asked. Her voice sounded odd because of the gauze.

"Yeah, it's me. You're okay." He said. 

"Where are we?" She asked.

"You're at the dentist." John said.