Though my contact with Fallon has been minimal, seeing him blocking the door fills me with panic. Fallon looks like a mammoth. His body is taking up more than its fair share of space.
“Get out, Fallon.” Ellis crosses in front of Fallon to prevent him from getting farther inside.
“I’m not going anywhere. Looks like I got here just in time,” he says, and shoves Ellis aside. He steps toward me. “Did I hear you say you’re leaving?”
My legs won’t move. They feel heavy like something is holding them from beneath the floor.
“Fallon, what do you think you’re doing?” Ellis demands.
“A house call. Isn’t that nice of me?” Fallon spits out each word.
“It’s all fine.” Ellis’s lips are barely moving.
“Oh, really? Have you seen yourself in a mirror lately? It doesn’t look like everything is fine to me.” Fallon moves closer.
Ellis grabs him, struggling to hold him back. I am dumb with fear. Frozen to the spot. No. I won’t be a victim again. I search the room, my eyes wide. There has to be another way out.
Fallon easily pulls away from Ellis and edges closer toward me. The hairs on my neck stand straight up. My breath comes up in shallow bursts. I head for the bathroom. A closed door is better than nothing. I’m only a couple of feet from the threshold when I hear Margaret’s voice.
“This is ridiculous. Ellis, move aside. I don’t have time for this nonsense.”
“This wasn’t expected, Margaret. I didn’t know you were coming,” Ellis says.
“Well, I am here now, and I need to check Kalli’s stomach and make sure it is healing as it should be.”
“You said she should come back in a week. It hasn’t even been a day.”
“I am perfectly aware of how much time has passed. I certainly hope you are not questioning my judgment, Ellis.” The sound of her staccato voice tightens my stomach into a hard ball. I’m practically inside the bathroom.
“Kalli?” Margaret calls out to me.
I stand frozen, fingers touching the doorknob.
“Kalli,” she commands.
I have no choice. I turn and face her.
“It’s fine.” My throat is thick, and my words are lost inside. I swallow, but my throat still feels blocked. “My stomach is fine,” I say a bit louder.
She glares at me, her face frosty.
“I believe I am more capable at drawing such a conclusion.” Margaret sounds annoyed. “I do not have much time,” she continues. “Come here and let me have a look. If that wound gets infected, it will spread throughout your entire body. Is that what you want?”
“Did you discover a problem after we left? Did something abnormal show up on a scan or X-ray?” Ellis asks.
Margaret exhales deliberately. “Yes, there was something I noticed while reviewing one of the diagnostic tests I performed.”
My heart rate quickens. She found something?
Ellis walks over and takes my hand. The instant I feel his skin against mine, a warm calm spreads inside me.
“It’s better to make sure you’re okay.” He leads me back to the sofa.
“Ellis, honestly,” Margaret says irritably, as she walks to the sofa. “We need to move this along. Kalli, come here, and I will have a look.”
We walk by Fallon, who is still crowding the door. I’m not sure how exposed I am going to be when Margaret examines me, and I certainly don’t like the idea of Fallon being so close. I lie on the sofa, still holding onto Ellis’s hand. Margaret shakes her head. She obviously thinks I’m being silly, but I don’t care. The feel of my fingers intertwined with his is the only thing that keeps me from bolting onto the street.
Margaret pulls up my shirt, thankfully revealing very little of my body. The exam is quick. She feels my stomach with her hands and then uses an instrument that resembles a paint roller on one end and a funnel on the other. As the roller paves across my abdomen, Margaret looks into the funnel.
“Yes, everything is proceeding as it should be. Just make sure you keep putting on the cream to prevent any infection,” Margaret says briskly. She bends over and places her instruments into a black bag. “What happened to your face, Ellis?” She gets to her feet, pulling the bag over her shoulder.
“Nothing. Bumped up against something. Wasn’t watching where I was going,” he says, covering the side of his mouth with the back of his hand.
“Well, I suggest you be more careful.” Her eyes linger on Ellis and then she turns to me. “I will need to see you for a follow-up in a week.”
“Another follow-up? I really appreciate your concern and that you actually came out to see me, but I can just go see my own doctor.”
Her eyes narrow. “Can you really?”
“Yes, of course,” I say, sitting up, still holding Ellis’s hand.
She laughs and then stops abruptly. “Kalli, stop playing this game.”
“Margaret, what are you doing?” Ellis says, his voice higher than usual. His fingers tense around mine.
“I agree with Margaret. Let’s stop playing this game and move on to a better one.” Fallon smiles.
“Fallon, get out!” Ellis yells.
Margaret carries on as if there hasn’t been an interruption. “Now we all know that the information you filled out on the chart at the hospital was false. The address and phone number are completely fictitious.” She pauses and stares at me accusingly.
My mouth is dry.
“As I said,” she continues, “I am not legally bound to report you to the authorities, but I do feel a moral obligation to make sure your wound heals properly, and if you are not going to let me follow up, then …?” She glares at me, as if she is challenging me to call her on her threat.
“Margaret! Stop it. What are you doing?” Ellis demands.
I am a fool. I look at him, shocked and hurt. I yank my hand free from his. “You told her?”
“No. Of course I didn’t.” Ellis glares at Margaret.
Margaret looks amused as she nudges him out of the way and puts herself beside me.
“You think we need Ellis to tell us about you?” Margaret asks. “We check all information that patients provide when we enter it into our system, and yours was invalid. Once you entered my clinic, you became my patient, and I am obligated to provide you with the best medical care I can. So you can either allow me to provide this personally, or I can call the necessary authorities and let them see to your care.”
I’m trapped. She knows I’ve left home. Of course she knows. Who else would go to a free clinic? People who can’t afford to pay. Runaways. Me. I can’t let her call the police. I can’t go back home.
My legs tremble as I try to figure my way out of this. She said one week. I can disappear in less than a week.
“Okay, I’ll come back to your clinic to get rechecked,” I lie.
I feel her icy eyes boring into me, like she’s trying to figure out if I am lying.
“Good. I thought you would see that was the best way to go,” she says, with a note of warning in her voice. “And, in the mean time, you will remain here with Ellis. I am sure that is agreeable to you.” She crosses her arms looking smug.
What did Margaret just say? She’s telling me that I have to stay with Ellis? It’s not her decision. I look up at him. Of course staying here would be amazing. A week of warmth. A week of sleeping on something soft. A week of delicious meals. I could rest and regain my strength.
And having a little more time with Ellis, well, that would be…. But I could never ask this of him.
“No, that’s not fair to Ellis. I’ll come back to your clinic, I promise.”
“There is no choice here, Kalli,” she scolds. “If I can’t be certain that you will be properly taken care of and that you will be coming for a follow-up, I will have to call the police.” She brushes past Ellis toward the front door. A cat’s meow momentarily pulls away her attention, but she quickly regains her train of thought. “It would be irresponsible of me to do anything else.”
“You’re right. It’s not fair to ask Ellis,” Fallon says. “You’ll stay with me. I’ll keep a very close eye on you.” He crosses his enormous arms across his chest, as mine fall limp by my side.
“It looks like you do have a choice after all. Ellis or Fallon. You pick,” Margaret says.
I want to scream. This isn’t right. Margaret has no right to make me choose. Going with Fallon is no different than going back home. Either way, I’d rather be dead. But Ellis? A part of me still believes he is my angel, and even though I know it’s too much to hope for, I do want to stay with him. But why would he want me? He doesn’t even know me. Everyone who was supposed to protect me didn’t. Why should he be the exception? I search his eyes hoping to find the answer. And I do, when he speaks.
“Kalli, I’d like you stay here with me.” Ellis reaches down and takes my hand again, grounding me with the warmth of his touch. “I’ll take you to the clinic in a week. I want to help. It’s important to make sure you’re okay.”
His hand surrounds mine, and I don’t pull away. It’s not threatening. It’s protective. He is the exception.
“Thank you. I’ll stay.”
Fallon mutters under his breath.
“All right, now that that is settled, I will see you in one week,” Margaret says sharply.
Before she leaves, she restates the importance of the medicated cream. Fallon doesn’t move. He simply stands by the door, arms crossed, staring at me. His eyes bore into my stomach.
“We’re done, Fallon. Time for you to go.” Ellis holds the door open.
“Are you sure you can handle this, Ellis? Considering your last mess-up, I think I better hang around and help.”
“We don’t need your help.”
They stare at each other, neither one wavering.
“Fallon!” Margaret orders from outside.
“Don’t worry, Kalli. I’ll make sure you heal up just right,” Fallon hisses and then turns, slamming the door shut behind him.