Devotion [h.s]

222

Amelia Adams

"She has endured some head trauma and has dislocated her shoulder and knee. We haven't gotten her CT scans back but we did a physical exam and that went well. She should be fine, she is actually awake right now." The doctor, our doctor, informs us after we've been in the waiting room for two hours. It was Dr. Anderson, the same doctor we had during my pregnancy.

I let out a sigh of relief, closing my eyes and gripping Harry's hand hard.

"Thank god." Harry says quietly.

"Her name is Mariah Ellington. She's fourteen and is a foster child in Ashbourne. It turns out she ran away from her foster home because she was being abused." The doctor tells us like we don't know already. I pretend to act shocked, gripping Harry's hand hard.

"How do you know this?" I ask.

"She told us. She said she ran away yesterday and when the storm was coming, she crawled up into a tree for safety. But she fell and that's when you both found her when driving by. You really did save her life, both of you should feel very heroic." She informs us.

I looked up at Harry for a moment and he looked just as lost as me. I was confused of why she would lie to the doctors and the police about us. Why didn't she tell the truth? Why didn't she tell them how we have been lying and hiding? She could've ruined us but she didn't.

"Can we see her?" I ask.

"Of course. But before you do that, there is something else you need to know.." She steps closer and looks around before talking more quietly.

"The foster care she came from, was marked a crime scene as of last night. It turns out the foster mother Gene Young was found murdered in her room. There we're pictures on the wall of all the kids she abused." She whispers as we listen intently. I put on my best surprised face, placing my hand over my mouth and hoping my little amount acting skill won't fail me.

I was always semi good at acting, I mean I spent the first two months with Harry acting he wasn't the most beautiful man I ever laid eyes on.

"That's awful." I state.

"Yeah, the police are looking into it but there's no leads. It seems that this woman was awful to the kids and it had to have been someone who was angry at her. They questioned Mariah but her story added up. The murder happened around 1am and you both found Mariah a far way away in the next hour. So it couldn't of been her. She couldn't of gotten to that distance on foot." She tells us more then she probably should but it was good to hear.

"Well, please keep us updated if they catch who did this." I say.

"I will, but between the three of us.. the police aren't going to try really hard with this case." She says even quieter, I arch my brow in curiosity.

"Why is that?" Harry asks.

"She was a child abuser, every kid in that house had a bruise or bad cut of some sort. Whoever did this had a good reason, so the police aren't very keen on locking up the man or woman that potentially save twelve children a life of abuse. The killer didn't harm any other person under that roof, just the woman. Who ever they are, they aren't dangerous." She says and it makes so much more weight be lifted off my shoulders. If the police don't try hard to find the culprit, then Harry will be safe.

I didn't realize how tight my hand was holding Harry's until I felt my fingers strain.

This doctor was so trusting of us and it was surprising. But I quickly came to realize that this doctor doesn't see us the same as we see ourselves. She doesn't know Harry's past and everything he's done. To her, we were just the loving couple that came in every month to get an ultrasound. She was technically with us on the pregnancy journey, and she was there to witness the best side of us - the best side of our lives.