One Hope {A Lachlan Fanfic}

Fourteen

"Ms. Davis?" A doctor asks, and I immediately stand up.

"Yes, Doctor?" I ask.

"Please come with me for a second." He says, and I nod. He takes me into a room down the hallway with pictures and X-rays of Autumn. "You're training to be a doctor, right?" He asks.

"Yes. It's my goal to be a doctor." I hesitantly respond.

"So you should be able to understand what is happening from these pictures." He says, and I examine them more closely.

"Y-yes." I glumly respond. "She originally had whiplash, meaning she hit her head hard on something, most likely resulting in a concussion."

"Correct. She has been treated for that and it has proven successful. She does have a concussion." The doctor confirms. "Anything else?"

"Slight damage to the spinal cord; it can be treated somewhat easily." My voice slightly trembles as I notice something I didn't want to notice.

"Yes?" The doctor says, noticing my voice falter.

"S-she has internal bleeding." My voice trembles as I put my hands over my mouth in shock.

"Very good diagnosis. You will become a very good doctor." He says.

"W-why did you show me this?!" I ask in shock.

"You're a close friend of hers and you wanted to be a doctor. This is what you signed up for." He says, new realization forming in my eyes.

"I-I understand. T-thank you for showing me this. Isn't there anything we can do?" I respond, putting my professional face back on.

"It may stop on its own, but if it doesn't, we will have to perform surgery." He responds, and I nod. It is at that exact moment that I notice his name tag.

Dr. Davis

I look at his face, realization dawning on me. "Ben?" I unsurely ask.

He nervously smiles. "Yo, little sis."

My eyes widen in shock and a few tears roll down my face. I don't know how to react. My legs move before I can say another word. I run out the door and to the elevator, pressing the down button. I get inside and wait for it to get to the lobby, then run away. I run to the only place I can think of and stop when I reach it.

The park.

I walk to my familiar hidden spot and sit down in it, crying. I wasn't prepared to see him. I wipe my eyes as memories resurface from years ago, back when I was a child, maybe two years old or so? It was when things started to get bad.

"Why can't you understand anything?!" My mom yells at my father.

"I do understand it!" He retorts. I lay in my crib and start to cry.

"Look at what you did!" My mother yells, walking towards me. She picks me up and cradles me, and I immediately cease my crying. I pick a strand of her hair up and smile.

"M-mommy?" A timid voice asks. Ben. He's about eight years old and frightened.

"Not now, Ben." My mother responds, as dad looks towards him.

"You!" My father yells, and starts to chase after him. Ben gives us a look and runs away.

That was the last time I saw him.

I always thought he died or he just left me and mom to deal with him.

But whatever. All I knew was that I took his place. Sometimes the beatings weren't that bad, but it was mostly because mom took the hard ones for me.

Nobody knows this secret. Not even Autumn. That's why I can't go back. That's why I can never see my father again.

Moms death? It wasn't an accident.

I snap out of my thoughts, full on tears running down my face. I rest my head against the tree and hug myself, hoping it will make me feel better.

But it doesn't.

I slowly stand up, needing a break from all these new ideas being shoved into my brain. I sigh, running a hand through my hair. Suddenly, a man wearing a back overcoat covering his face violently pushes past me, and I glare at his back. I am about to say something, but decide against it.

I walk around the park for a little bit, and decide it's probably best to see Autumn again before I go back to my place.

"Yo! Need a ride?!" A familiar voice yells, driving up to me.

I smile, realizing who it is. "Sure, JJ."