Promise

chapter 7

Elijah

We arrived at the doctors shortly after. We were now sat in the waiting area, again I left a chair in between us to give her space. I was lost in thought about Avery being my daughter when the doctor called. I quickly snap out of my thoughts and stand up "come on" I say to avery and we head towards the doctors room.
The doctor was an old friend of the family, so I trusted him with her however I didnt want to leave her alone, i dont think I'll ever leave her on her own. "So how can i help you today Mr West" he asked still looking at his computer. "I need you to do a quick check up on Avery" his head snaps up at the mention of her name, he was one of the few that knew I had a daughter. He gave me a questionable look which I gathered meant 'is she your daughter' and so in response I nodded. He smiles at my confirmation then turns to Avery "hi Avery, I'm Dr Mathews but you can call me Damon" Avery nodded in response.
"Ok could you please take of your shoes we will start by weighing and measuring you"

A while later

Damon had just finished a quick check up on her and a fearful Avery got up from the check up bed thing. He had lifted her top up a little so it exposed her stomach, he was pressing on her ribs to make sure non were broken. While be was concentrated on her ribs my eyes were focused on her back, bruises, burns and scars littered her back making me angry at who did this, when damon looked back up i gave him a little motion to check her back in which be did with a shocked gasp.
"Ok so i dont see any signs of broken bones, of course if you want I can refer her to be xrayed but like I said there is none. She is average height for her age, what concerns me is her weight, she is severely malnourished in fact i dont think she would have lasted another week. Finally the markings on her back suggest years of abuse" the doctor informs me, thank god I found her when I did. I trusted him when he said there was no broken bones but at the same time I wanted to be sure however looking at Avery, I was sure she wouldnt be able to handle a X ray just yet. "Ok thank you doc" I say relieved that there wasnt something wrong with her that I didnt know already "no problem, feel free to bring her back at anytime"

We left the doctors and drove to the shopping centre, it was big and usually I wouldnt have a problem with it only this time I did, I didnt want to loose my little girl in the crowds of people "stay close to me" I say as we enter the shopping centre, she complies and walks next to me. "So we will start with clothes, then electronics, then bedroom and bathroom stuff and anything else you want" I tell her and a confused look passes her face "you know you dont have to" she tells me. "But I want too" I tell her, I would give her anything she wanted, she deserved the world. "No one has ever wanted too" she says quietly. I could tell she was a little sad now so I decided to change the subject "then let's get shopping"

Hours later

We had finally done shopping, it was one of the best experiences ever. Shopping with my little girl. She now had tons of clothes, everything she looked at I would pick up when she wasnt looking, I wanted her to have the best, I had gotten her a phone, laptop and tablet which she straight up refused but I got them anyway and told her they were optional to use, I got her all the bathroom supplies she would need, she didnt want anything for her bedroom so I decided not to push it and finally when I asked her if she wanted to get anything else she said no, as expected but then when we walked past this book store her eyes lit up just looking at it so I took her inside. During the middle of the shopping trip once she realized i wasnt going to hurt her she became more relaxed, we had little conversations. I wanted to tell her that I was her dad but I didnt know how to. I didnt want to force the subject nor did I want it to seem like a cruel joke.
"Let's get icecream" I say as we put the bags in the car. Getting icecream was something I've always wanted to do with my daughter and now I have the chance.
"I've never had icecream" she replies and I shake my head. No kid deserves to be deprieved of icecream. "Then we must get some, I saw a icecream bar a few minutes from here" I say and she smiles. "We will drive" I say and we both get in the car. I couldnt wait to have icecream with her. I was planning every detail out in my head as we drove.