The Guard To My Sanctuary

Chapter 9

MARCO

I couldn't help but take in the scared look Elm had written across his face as he held my hand. His father had parked in front of the hospital, and we had been sitting there for about five minutes. We could all see a panic attack coming. Elm was a trooper, though, because, after just a few minutes, he gathered himself, stepped out of the car, and waited for his family to start walking.

His hand was in mine as we took the first steps. I looked down at him and said, "Everything will be fine. I'm not gonna leave you."

"What if they say I have cancer or something worse. They didn't really check for anything besides diseases. I could be really sick and not know it may be too late," Elm said just soft enough that only I could hear it.

"Look at me," I ordered as gently as I could. Elm looked up, his eyes meeting mine. I tried to send positivity toward him as if that would make this moment better.

"They're just gonna run a few tests to see exactly what's going on with you, and if anything's wrong, it can be handled. I've seen people who should have died be saved by doctors; if you were sick, you would know it," I said reassuringly.

"Alright," Elm replied. His dad turned to me, but I just gave him a nod, letting him know his son was ready to walk into the building. The emergency room lobby wasn't very crowded; there were just the sounds of people coughing or a couple of babies wailing.

I thought we were going to the receptionist's office to ask, but Elm's father, John, kept walking. He made a few turns like he had done it 100 times before, only for us to end up in a small hallway titled Specialty Clinic.

An older black man with a gleaming bald head stood waiting for us. I knew it was a doctor based on the lab coat he was wearing over a simple dress shirt and khaki pants. He didn't have many remarkable features, but he did have a kind smile that seemed to put on Eddies as his hand loosened in mine.

"Good afternoon, Elm. It's been such a long time since we've seen one another. I'm so glad to see you in one piece," the doctor greeted. The doctor held his hand out for Elm to shake, but Elm didn't reach out.

"Sorry, he's... Anxious," John said as the doctor put his hand to his side. The doctor didn't seem to mind very much. He must have been briefed on the situation.

"I'm Dr. Nussbaum. Who might you be?" Doctor Nussbaum asked.

"My name is Marcoit's. It's nice to meet you," I said, holding my hand out to shake. The doctor took it in cold hands and gave me a firm grip before releasing my hand and looking at the group. I could tell things were about to get very serious.

"So, team, I'm going to perform many exams today. Many of these exams will be minor, and we'll have a few major ones that might take several hours. I can only bring two of you in the back for privacy reasons. Hence, I suggest those of you not entirely necessary to be in the room for Elm during this process go to the cafeteria or prepare whatever you're gonna be sleeping tonight. This is going to take a while. To ensure we aren't further stressing Elm out during this very intensive process, I can't take the time to explain every procedure and process in depth to each person," Dr. Nussbaum explained. He was direct, but there was still warmth to his voice, something that only came after years of dealing with patients and their families.

"Alright, well, who's going to stay with Elm?" Elm's uncle Kunaal asked.

"Well, I'm definitely going," John stated sternly, even though I doubted anyone would argue with him in the first place.

"I want Marco to be there with me, too," Elm told John. John looked at me and then backed down at his son like he had several times since we'd met, and then he nodded at his son.