Salted Wound

Chapter 19 Anastacia- Sep 19, 2018

Estrella and I walk through the automatic doors and I immediately see the fear in my sister's eyes as we walk into the blank white room. Chairs are aligned in rows and a few patients are sitting either filling forms out or waiting to be seen by a doctor. The sound of phones ringing inside the front desk echoes through the small room. I turn to Estrella and see that she has her poker face on. I take a deep breath and walk to the open desk and take out Estrella's information.

    "Hi, how can I help you?" A cheerful woman looks up at me. She has straight blonde hair, perfect skin, and healthy long nails. Her mouth is twice the size of her face and her eyes look like they belong on a doll rather than a person.

    "Hi, I called for an appointment for Estrella Flores at 1:30," I say and she starts scrolling through her computer.

    "Okay, she's scheduled. If you can just have these filled out and we'll have a doctor see her in a bit." She hands me a clipboard and a pen. I take it and Estrella and I find some empty chairs by the door. I hand her the papers and she starts to fill them out. I check my phone anxiously. There's no reason for me too, I just want to feel distracted.

    "Ana, what do I put?" Estrella asks showing me the paper.

    It's asking for parent's information if she's under 18. When I was on the phone I let the receptionist know that we might not have a parent with us at this time.

    "Fill the rest out and I'll talk to the lady right now," I say and she does that. Once she's done with the paper's I take them back to the desk.

    "I have a question," I say handing her the paper and pointing to the section we need help on. "When I called I mentioned that we might not have a guardian with us and you guys said it was okay as long as we had her information in. What should I write instead?"

    She looks over the pages and flips back to the same page and scribbles a note.

    "Don't worry sweety, I'll let the doctor know. She shouldn't be long so if you want to wait in the patient area." She says and motions to the chairs. I thank her and go back to my seat.

    Estrella is tapping her foot and biting her lip. She always gets like this when she's nervous or scared. She was just like this the day Julian fell off his bike and had to get stitches.

    "Hey, remember that time Mom took us to the beach? It was Julian's first time and at first, he was really excited until he saw the waves?" I mention and Estrella laughs.

    "Yes! Julian refused to leave mom's arms and threw the biggest fit when she carried him while walking into the water. People thought mom was abusing him!" She says and I laugh with her.

    "Then we brought him seashells from the ocean and he finally started calming down," I say smiling.

    "And after a few trips from the water and back, he trusted us that the water was safe and had pretty treasures inside,"

    "And ever since that trip he adores the beach," I say and look at her. She looks back and her eyes sparkle. "This baby can be like the beach. I know it terrifies you and you're scared of what it holds, but you have to see the treasures of it. The beauty. And if you decide to keep the baby, you're going to adore him or her, too."

    She bats her eyes and sniffles her nose. I grab her hand and squeeze it tight. She won't go through this alone. Of course, she has Adrian, but nothing is stronger than our bond.

    "Estrella Flores?" We hear a woman call. Estrella and I both rise from our chairs and make our way to the door. A short redhead in a blue uniform stands by the door holding a clipboard.