Safe Haven | Demi Lovato

7

Demi

The next day I walked into work and Emily came up to me.

"Mia Valderrama has a therapy appointment with you in an hour. Then Jessica Valiant, then Cori Brooks."

I nodded and examine the chart she gave me. "What is Mia's schedule for today?"

Emily tapped on her iPad. "She's got free time after her time with you, then goes to art therapy, lunch, group, free time until dinner. Then after that she has phone call slots, then in dorms and night meds."

I nodded. "I want to see her after dinner, and I want a nurse monitoring her at a distance to report to me after every meal."

She nodded again. "And you have a parent meeting at four. Should I confirm? They called a few minutes before you got here."

I nodded. "Confirm. Who is it?"

Emily checked. "Wilmer Valderrama. Mia's dad."

I exhaled slowly. "Okay, confirm."

"Are you sure?"

I glanced at her, my eyes hardening. "Positive."

"Right away, Dr. Lovato."

She scurried away and I strode into my office, hanging up my coat and replacing it with a white lab coat. I sat at my desk and began to look over patient files, but my brain didn't want to cooperate. I kept drifting off to the feeling of Wilmer's lips on mine. It had to be unethical. Even if I did wait until Mia was out of my care.

"BOO!"

I let out a yelp and clutched my throat, closing my eyes. Loud laughter made me open them, and I saw one of my best friends, Olivia, who was another doctor here, standing by the door.

"Jesus Liv, you scared the shit out of me."

She laughed again. "You should've seen your face! It was priceless!"

I smiled sarcastically. "I'm sure it was."

She plopped down in the chair in front of me. "So what's up? You seemed pretty deep in thought."

I sighed and leaned back. "You can't tell anyone."

She cocked an eyebrow. "When have I ever told?"

"Is it... entirely unethical... to have a relationship with a patient's father?"

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" She shouted, jumping up. "You finally got laid?!"

I rolled my eyes. "No. But we may or may not have made out in my kitchen."

She blinked. "Why was he in your house?"

Taking a deep breath, I told her the whole story. When I finished she sat the with her mouth hanging open.

"And I don't know what to do because it's.... I can't stay away from him. I'm just so drawn to him. I haven't felt this way since.." My voice cracked. "Since Greg."

Olivia scoffed."Before or after he beat the shit out of you for staying out too late? Before or after he stabbed you through the gut when you tried to run away from him?"

I closed my eyes. "Before I saw that side of him. Before all of it, when I was in love with him."

Her face softened. "Demi, you and I both know you still are."

I pinched at the sound of my name. "I'm just... I'm so scared. I'm scared he's gonna come back to me, and I'll have to pretend to love him again, so he doesn't hurt me."

She shook her head. "Demi, he's not gonna find you. You changed everything. Even if he's still looking, I won't let him hurt you." She hesitated. "And if the way you feel about Wilmer is mutual, I don't think he'll let anything happen to you either. But to answer you question... It's a touchy subject with the code of ethics. There's nothing about girlfriends and family, but if it effects her recovery or her treatment, then it goes against the code of ethics. If it goes further I'd keep it low-key. Just don't like, screw each other in the closet or anything."

I gasped and threw my pen at her. "Olivia!"

She smiled. "I'm serious! But keep it about Mia when you're here, and whatever you do privately is just that; private."

I nodded, taking a deep breath. "Got it."

She smiled. "On the bright side, when Mia is out of treatment and technically out of your care, feel free to screw him anywhere you want!" She paused and snickered. "Legally of course."

Just then, the door cracked open, and Mia's head peeked in. "Oh, I'm sorry. I thought we had an appointment."

I sat up. "We do. Dr. Lawlor was just leaving Mia."

Olivia stood up. "That's right. See you later Dr. Lovato."

She walked out and Mia sat down in her chair, giving me a tentative smile, which I returned as I opened her file.

"Okay, so I just wanted to talk about how you're adjusting, and how you're feeling this morning. Then we'll get into the nitty gritty."

She nodded. "Uhh... I guess I'm adjusting good. I made a friend. I think. Some lady followed me into the bathroom this morning which I thought was weird. I ate my breakfast and I really want to throw up right now, but the lady is still following me everywhere."

I chuckled. "I'll tell Emily to take a step back, but she's doing the right thing, following you into the bathroom."

Mia rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

I wrote down a note to talk to Emily, then looked up. "So you made a friend? Who?"

She shrugged. "Her name is Jessica. We just sit next to each other. Her food is always sealed and unwrapped in front of her, which is kinda weird, but I guess I've got to get used to weird."

I smiled. "Jess is a nice girl, and a very loyal friend. I'm glad you two have bonded."

Mia nodded. "Me too."

I cleared my throat and leaned back, pressing my fingertips together. "So... Do you have anything specific that you want to talk about today?"

"Not really."

I sighed. "Okay... let's talk about your mom."

Mia stiffened. "No thanks."

I raised an eyebrow. "How about your dad?"

She rolled her eyes. "What about him?"

I shrugged. "You tell me... Why did you feel that way about moving on?"

Her eyes flashed angrily. "Because he forgot about her. He stopped loving her. You can't kiss another woman if you still love your wife."

My breath caught. The way she was looking at me, it was as if she knew. Could she? Was she listening at the door?

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-Rachel