my greatest fear ➳ the dentist

chapter 4: broken braces

It is Sunday the 28th of October, just a week after getting my braces on. I sit down at the dinning room table opposite Brooke and Ollie, we were having roast chicken. Ollie looks at me and smiles "Eat up." I smile a little and pick up my knife and fork, ready to dig in to my dinner. I begin to eat and everything is alright so far, a little bit of pain from my braces but nothing I can't handle. Brooke tucks into hers "Thank you so much for cooking this babe." Ollie smiles at her "You're welcome, I think my cooking is improving." A proud smile appears across his face, Brooke and I exchange glances and try not to laugh. His smile drops "Surely my cooking isn't that bad." Brooke lets out a little laugh "We saw the packets baby, they were ready made meals." Ollie turns red with embarrassment "Okay maybe I cheated...but it's good isn't it?" He smirks. Brooke and I nod "Yeah it's delicious" she smiles and finishes hers.

I'm so close to finishing my dinner. I pick up the last potato and it's a little burnt but I am certain I can still eat it. Bad idea. I bite into the potato and I feel my wire slip out of place and some of my back brackets come lose. "Shoot.."'I mumble to myself, Ollie hears and quickly looks up from his dinner and directly at me. "Everything okay?" He asks in a concerned tone. I sigh "I can feel my braces.. they've broken.." Ollie sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose "Great..." I panic thinking he's angry at me "I...I'm so sorry, I really didn't mean to." He quickly tries to calm me down "Hey hey hey, I know it's not your fault. I'll book you an emergency appointment with Luke tomorrow, okay sweetheart?" He gently smiles at me and then begins to clear the table. I smile a little "Thank you."

As soon as all the dishes have been cleared from the table, washed and put away Ollie turns to me. "Go clean your teeth and get ready for bed princess." He smiles and places a gentle kiss on the top of my head. I smile back "Goodnight." I head towards the stairs and Ollie turns around "Lei wait!" I turn around, worried that i've done something wrong. All he says is "I love you." I let out a little laugh "I love you too." I head on upstairs to bed.

**THE NEXT MORNING**

Ollie walks into my room, dressed in his tracksuit. He kneels down beside my bed and gently kisses my temple and whispers "Time to get up sweetheart, your appointment is in an hour." I slowly open my eyes and sigh "Do I have to get them fixed today?.." Ollie gives me a sympathetic smile and begins to stroke my hair "I'm afraid so, yes. If you don't then your teeth will start to shift back to where they were before and we don't want that, do we?" I groan "Nope.." Ollie stands up as I get out of bed. "Meet me downstairs in 10 minutes." He says as he kisses my head and walks out of my room. I get ready, dreading what's to come.

As soon as i'm ready, I walk downstairs to where Ollie is waiting for me by the front door. He walks over to me "Did you brush?" I nod "Of course I did, you know I always do." He places his thumb and index finger on my chin to tilt my head back a little "Open" I groan and open my mouth as he inspects my teeth. "Good girl" he smiles and lets go of my chin. I roll my eyes and walk out to the car with him.

The car journey to the clinic took us just under half an hour, yet it only felt like 5 minutes. Ollie pulls into his reserved parking spot and glances over at me "Remember your manners and be a good girl." I roll my eyes and let out a little laugh "Ollie i'm not 5, I think i'm more than capable." He raises his hands to surrender and chuckles "Okay okay, i'm just making sure." I unstrap my seatbelt and get out of the car, as i'm about to close the car door Ollie says "Text me when you are finished and I will come and pick you up." I nod and smile a little, my stomach feeling like it's about to explode with how nervous I am.

I walk up the steps and through the big door of the dental clinic. I approach the reception desk and Sophie gives me a wide grin "Well if it isn't our favourite patient." I laugh a little "I'm sure you say that to everyone who comes here." She laughs "You'd be surprised" she then changes the subject "Appointment with Luke?" I nod "Alrighty, let me check you in." She types away at the computer and I stand there, trying to not make it obvious that i'm the slightest bit nervous. Sophie looks back at me and smiles "All checked in, you know where to go." I smile and nod "Thank you."