Dying For You

Chapter 16

Laila's POV

I don't like this. I'm so nervous. I want to believe this is a good doctor who won't hurt me. But the doctor I know hurt me so much. That's all he did was hurt me. I'm so tired of it.

Theo held me until I stopped crying and told me to get ready. I didn't want to, but I didn't want to fight and make this worse. Fighting always makes it worse.

Please don't let today be the day they kill me.

Now Theo is holding my hand as we walk thru the big house outside our home. Mom said we could walk outside again so I could see the flowers again on the way to see the doctors. I like the flowers, but I don't think I'll be able to enjoy them knowing what's coming.

I feel pressure on my hand and look over to see Theo looking at me. He stops walking and is turned to me as his lips move, but I can't hear him. He moves closer, putting his arms around me, bending some so he is right next to my ear while giving me what I think is a hug. "Please don't be nervous. I won't let anything happen to you. I know you're scared, but you don't need to be." he is speaking so quietly that I can barely hear him. He smells nice.

I nod in hopes that Theo will let me go. That seems to work because he eventually lets me go. I look at Mom and Dad, who are a couple of feet away, and Mom looks like she could cry as Dad glances around us. Theo grabs my hand, and we start walking again.

We walk outside and down the stairs stopping in front of a row of flowers. I do like flowers. They are so pretty and smell very nice. I used to sit in my space in the dark, dreaming of things like flowers, something pretty and soft instead of hard, cold, and scary. I'd imagine the sun's warmth on my skin as feeling and smelling this soft and delicate.

Why would they show me everything I've ever wanted just to take it away again?

"Laila?" Mom calls me, moving closer. "It's ok, sweetie." she hugs me. "Don't cry. You're ok. I promise you're ok."

"I'm scared," I admit.

"It's ok. You don't need to be scared." Dad walks over, hugging me too. "You're our little girl. If we thought something was even remotely harmful to you, we wouldn't ever ask you to do it. You're our baby girl. You mean the world to us. We would die before we let anything happen to you."

"Please don't make me go, Dad," I beg.

"You have to go. But we will be with you the whole time. We'll even do some tests, too, so you can see they aren't dangerous." Dad offers.

"Yeah!" Mom nods. "Then, once we're done, we can come back and look at the flowers, or you can eat or nap. It's up to you; we support your choice." Mom says.

They hugged me until I calmed down enough to keep walking. They walked me to what they called the hospital, where the doctor is apparently. I don't like this. They're going to kill me. I don't like this. "I don't like this. I can't do this." I shake my head and try to pull away out of their reach. I break free of Mom and Dad's grasp and turn to run, only to immediately run into Theo, who grabs me, preventing me from running away. "Please don't make me do this." I whimper.

Theo looks past me for a moment, then back at me. "It's for your own good. We just want to make sure you're ok." he sighs.

I hate this. I can feel my heart beating loudly as my eyes water, making everything blurry. Theo grabs my hand and walks me down the hall to the doctor.

We all walk into a room with machines, chairs, and a bed. There are already people in here, but the rooms are dark. I can't see them too well. The three guys turn when we walk over when we enter the room. I've never been so nervous in my life. Once the men are closer, I recognize them as my brothers, Reid, Brad, and Eric.

"Good morning Sis. How are you feeling today?" Eric asks, now standing next to me.

"Ok," I nod.

"We're nervous today," Mom says to him.

They all nod. "We are going to do the tests with her, so she knows we aren't trying to hurt her, and we aren't forcing her to do something we aren't willing to do ourselves," Dad says.

"I'll do them too," Reid says.

"Me too." Eric nods.

"Same here," Brad adds.

"Me too. I'll be right by your side the whole time." Theo says, squeezing my hand.

"Why don't you go ahead and sit on the bed while we wait for the doctor," Mom tells me.

"I don't want to do this," I say again, hoping they will let me go this time.

"I know you must be scared, but we got your back," Brad says.

"Yeah, what else would big brothers be for if we weren't by your side when you're scared?" Eric says.

The doctor suddenly walks in the door, and everyone looks at him. "How are we doing today…everyone?" he looks around at the crowded room. A woman in blue follows behind him, walking into the room and looking around as she holds a tray of torture devices.

"We're nervous, so we are all going to take all the tests with her, so she knows that she is safe and it's not scary," Mom says while nodding slowly with every word.

"Ok, well, in that case," the doctor said and turns to the woman in blue. "Go get more of everything." the woman in blue nods, sets everything down, and turns, leaving the room again.

"I'm going to start with a basic check-up, then check her hearing and sight, then move on to the more extensive tests. But I promise this is all for your own good." The doctor says, looking at me.

He starts to demonstrate hitting Mom with a little hammer in her elbow. Mom doesn't react, but I cringe, and my eyes start to water. "Laila."

"Dad," I whimper. Dad looks at me. "He's hurting Mom. Dad, do something." I beg, moving farther away from them on the bed. "Please," I pray. I believed them. I wanted to believe them so much. But they let Mom get hurt. It's a small hammer, but I've been hit by a hammer. It hurts! Now they're letting Mom gets hit with a small hammer.

"Laila, honey, come here, my sweet princess." Dad moves next to me, hugging me.

"Help, Mom," I beg.

"Princess," Mom says. It's okay. I'm right here. I'm not hurt." Mom gets close to my face so I can see her through my tears.

"You're ok?" I whimper. Mom nods.

"I'm ok." she nods.

"Are you sure? I've been hit by a hammer before; I know how much it hurts. Mom, please-"

"You've been hit by a hammer!?"

"Shut up, Reid." Dad huffs.

"Boys. Be quiet." Mom says, looking past me. She looks at me and hugs me. "It's ok, princess. I'm ok. Your Dad would never let something hurt me. And your Dad and I would never let anything hurt you. It's not scary, and it doesn't hurt, I promise." she says.

"Momma," I whimper.

"Shhh, it's ok, honey. I'm here… I'm ok. You're ok…. You're ok, princess." she coos in my ear while rubbing my back.

"This is going to be a long day if everything goes like this." Eric sighs.