My Brother, My Fear, Dr. Xavier Blake, DDS

Chapter 8

"Ash! Nice to see ya man!" Exclaimed Xavier.
"Nice to see you too Xav!" Said Ash. "I see you're here for a check up." He said. "Yup." Replied Xavier. "Do you want to come back with me Ari?" Asked Ash. I shook my head and he chuckled. "Still scared?" He asked, and I nodded in reply. "It'll be alright Ari." He said, rubbing my shoulder.
"Can you come on back with me?" He asked again. This time, Xavier gave me a little nudge forward, and I followed Ash.
He then showed me the way to an exam room, and closed the door behind me. "How have you been lately Ari?" Asked Ash. "Good." I replied quietly. "Well that's good now, can I take a quick listen to your heart?" He asked. I nodded, knowing that I didn't have a choice. Ash took his stethoscope from around his neck, and started listening to my heart.
"Deep breath in Ari." He said. I took a deep breath in, and exhaled. "Again." Said Ash. I did it again, and he nodded. "All good, now can I check your blood pressure?" He asked. I again nodded. This one made me anxious, because I didn't like the squeeze.
"I know it might feel tight, but it'll only be for a few seconds, okay?" Said Ash. I nodded back to him, and he strapped the cuff around my arm. It started to inflate, and I started to panic. I tried to take it off, but Ash stopped me.
"I know you don't like it Ari, but just a few more seconds okay?" Ash tried to reassure me. I nodded, tears rolling down my cheek. "Oh sweetheart, don't cry." Said Ash gently. He hugged me, and I cried into him. He hugged me, and let me cry on him.
"Do you want me to call Luke in here?" He asked. "Who's that?" I asked. "He's one of my best friends." Said Ash. "He can just hold your hand." I nodded okay, and Ash left for a moment, coming back a minutes later with a tall blonde guy, who I assumed was Luke. "What's wrong sweetie?" He asked, coming over to me and giving me a hug.
"She's just anxious." Said Ash. Luke nodded. He sat next to me, and let me lean on him. "Next I just have to check your eyes and ears pretty girl." Said Ash softly. I nodded. He then looked in my ears and eyes, deeming everything fine. "Can I take a quick look down your throat?" Said Ash. I shook my head. "Why not? Ari, honey, it'll take two seconds. You just have to open your mouth."
When he said that, I immediately turned into Luke, hugging him and crying. "What's wrong Ari?" Asked Luke. "He just needs to look." "That's what they always say." I mumbled into him. "What did you say sweetie?" Asked Ash. "Nothing." I mumbled.
"Seriously Ari what did you say?" He asked again. "I said, that's what they always say." I repeated. "Ari, did you have a bad experience at a doctor or something?" He asked. "Something like that." I replied.
"Well, whatever happened, it must of scared you Ari. You should talk to someone." Said Ash. I shook my head. "Yes Ari." Said Ash. "I'll get you a referral to a psychologist, maybe that'll help." He said.
I shook my head, but leaned into Luke. "How about you open your mouth, and me and Luke will hold your hands. That way you know we won't do anything to you. How about that?" Suggested Ash.
I slowly nodded, and stuck out my hands. They each grabbed one, and I opened my mouth slowly and shut my eyes. "Thanks Ari." Said Ash softly. "I know it's hard." He said. I sighed. "Can you lay down now Ari? I need to check your stomach." I laid down, and Ash quickly felt my stomach, and stepped back.
"Almost done now Ari, height and weight now. Can you come over here and stand next to the wall?" Asked Ash. I stood up and walked over to the wall, where Ash took my height. "Perfect. Now can you step on the scale please?" I walked over to the scale, and stepped on.
Ash took a look, and wrote it down. "Perfect Ari. You're all done. I'll email your brother about the psychiatrist, and I'll see you soon!" Said Ash with a smile. I thanked him, and walked out to where my brother and Gabe were waiting.
"All done?" Asked Xavier. I nodded. "Good job Ari! Gabe and I were thinking about going to a trampoline park. You in?" I grinned and nodded. "Great! Let's go!" Shouted Gabe.
We all walked out to the car, and Xavier drove us to the trampoline park. He paid and we all started jumping. Since I'm clumsy, I tripped and fell flat on my face. "Ow!" I yelped. "Ari are you okay?" Yelled Xavier. "I'm fine." I said. "Just the pain of the metal glued onto my teeth digging into my gums isn't the most comfortable thing in the world." I sassed, and glared at Gabe.
He gave me a guilty look, and turned away from me. "Stop blaming Gabe Ari. You would have gotten braces anyway, and it's probably better for you to get them form someone you know than a random stranger." Said Xavier. I sighed, knowing he was right. 
"I'll race you guys to the foam pit!" Yelled Xavier, and we all started running. Gabe won, but also fell flat on his face. "I didn't know you were that clumsy Gabriel." I laughed at him. He winced as he got up, rubbing his jaw. "Neither did I." He replied, wincing. "Are you okay?" I asked. "Yeah, I'm fine..." Said Gabe. "Are you sure Gabe?" Asked Xavier. "You keep wincing." "I'm fine!" Snapped Gabe, as he stopped off. "I guess we're going home now." I said. "I guess so." Replied Xavier. We walked out to the car, where Gabe was already waiting.

Gabe's POV

When I fell, I knew right away I had broken or cracked something. Being a dentist, I know what chips and cracks look like, and I know I have a few of those. Unfortunately, Ari noticed me wincing, and asked me if I was okay. I said I was fine, but then Xavier asked. I said I was fine again, but I'm pretty sure that he knows something's up.
That's bad, because I haven't been to a dentist in a few years, and I don't plan on going. I know I should go, but I'm scared. I know it's stupid, but it's just something I never grew out of as a kid and it's stayed with me. We drove back to their house, where I had a nap as soon as I entered the guest room.
When I woke up, my teeth hurt even more, and I knew I had to do something. I went to the kitchen to grab Advil, but Xavier stopped me.
"What are you doing Gabe?" He asked. "Just grabbing some Advil. I've got a terrible headache." I replied. It's not a lie, my teeth are technically in my head, so my head does hurt.
"I think it's more like a toothache." Said Xavier. "Nope." I said, denying it. "Come on bro, I know when you fell you did something. You were wincing like crazy." "I'm fine." I said quietly. "Gabriel..." He said quietly. "Can I take a tiny look?" I shook my head. "Please?" He asked. "I know something's bothering you, and I care about you. I don't want you in pain."
I shook my head again. He just doesn't get it. I'm terrified, and that won't help my fear. "Then you might have to stop working at the office." Said Xavier. "Wait what? Why?" I asked.
Even though I don't like going to the dentist, I love helping kids with their teeth. "I can't have someone teaching kids how important it is to have healthy teeth when they don't take care of their teeth." He said. "Fine..." I said quietly. "Just... be gentle." I said quietly.
"I will be super careful." He promised. He lead me to the couch, where he sat down, and pulled on a pair of gloves, and patted his lap. "Just lay down and put your head in my lap." He said gently.
I did as he asked, and laid down. I could feel my nerves, but I tried to ignore them. "Can you open?" Asked Xavier softly. I squeezed my eyes shut, and opened my mouth wide.
Even though I'm scared, I know how frustrating it is when a patient doesn't cooperate, so I will always open my mouth wide at the dentist, no matter how scared I get. I could feel Xavier looking around my mouth, and I knew there was something up.
"I'm done looking." Said Xavier. I closed my mouth and opened my eyes, sitting up to face him. "It's not great news Gabe." He said. I sighed. Of course it wasn't.
"You have two chips and a crack. You already know what the treatments are for this but I'll tell you anyway. The chips are easy, I can fix them tomorrow easily. The crack is more difficult. I could try to save the tooth, but you know the chances of infection with that. The other option it to extract the tooth, and replace it with an implant." I sighed.
None of this sounds like any fun. "We'll have to do this tomorrow Gabe, because after that I'm booked for a week, and we both know you can't wait that long." Said Xavier. "I guess." I replied.
"Can you try and save the tooth? I'd rather not have an implant screwed into my jaw." I asked. "Sure." Said Xavier. "Thanks Xavier." I said. "No problem." He replied. That night, I went to bed dreading the next day.