Page 15 of Cash
“You did good, Lily.I’m so proud of you.”I said, my voice rougher than I intended.I started to pull my hand away, thinking she would want her mother now the crisis had passed.
Lily’s fingers tightened around mine with surprising strength.“You won’t go anywhere?”she asked, her voice slurring slightly from the medication.
“Wild horses couldn’t drag me away, kid,” I promised, the words coming without thought.
Satisfied with my answer, Lily’s eyelids fluttered closed.Her breathing deepened into the even rhythm of sleep, though her hand remained firmly wrapped around my fingers.I stayed kneeling beside her, unwilling to break the connection even though my leg had begun to cramp from the position and my other foot had gone numb a bit ago.The medical staff moved around us, adjusting monitors and checking vitals.
Eventually, I felt a gentle touch on my shoulder and looked up to find Eliza standing beside me.Tears glistened in her eyes, but they weren’t the desperate, broken tears from earlier.Gratitude and trust shone in her expression and my chest tighten in response.
“Thank you.”Her whispered words were filled with emotion.
I nodded, unable to form a proper response.The truth was, I didn’t understand my own actions any better than she did.Something about Lily had gotten under my skin from the first night in her hospital room when she’d been so scared and upset, and now I couldn’t imagine walking away from her.Or her mother.And that was the real problem because her mother didn’t know me.I didn’t know her.But every time I closed my eyes, I saw Eliza.
As if reading my thoughts, Lily stirred slightly in her sleep, her small fingers squeezing mine once more before relaxing.I knew with absolute certainty I was exactly where I needed to be.Wild horses be damned.
Chapter Six
Eliza
I couldn’t stop pacing the small curtained area around Lily’s stretcher, my body moving on autopilot while my mind raced in circles.The beeping of the heart monitor created a steady rhythm that should have been reassuring but only reminded me how fragile she was.Lily lay so still, her small chest rising and falling with each breath, her newly immobilized shoulder strapped firmly against her body.The pink cast on her other arm stood out against the white hospital sheets.Too many injuries.Too many hospital visits.And now they thought I caused them all, even though she hadn’t hurt herself in my presence this time.
Cash hadn’t moved from his position beside Lily’s bed, his large hand gently covering hers.He looked out of place in the sterile environment, his tattooed skin and leather cut stark against the clinical white and pale blue of the hospital room, yet he radiated a steady calmness I found myself clinging to.The nurses who came to check Lily’s vitals worked around him without comment, perhaps seeing his determination to keep his promise to my daughter.
“They hurt her,” I whispered, more to myself than to Cash.“They took her to protect her from me, and they hurt her instead.Yet, I’m the bad guy in this story.”
Cash looked up, his gaze meeting mine.“You’re not.”
I rubbed my hands over my face, feeling the grit of dried tears on my skin.My hair had fallen from its ponytail hours ago, and I knew I must look as wrecked as I felt.But appearances were the least of my concerns as the doctor approached with his tablet in hand.
He was young, probably still a resident, with dark circles under his eyes suggesting he was hours into a long shift.He nodded politely to me as he checked Lily’s vitals, making notes on the chart.
“How long will she sleep?”I asked, my voice sounding rough.
“The sedation should wear off gradually over the next couple hours,” he replied, his tone gentle.“But she’ll probably be groggy for most of the night.Let her sleep.”
“You’ve brought her in quite a few times in the past two years,” he continued, his tone carefully neutral.
I stiffened, the familiar defensiveness rising in me.“She falls.She gets hurt easily.I’ve been trying to get answers --”
“I can see that,” he interrupted, his voice lacking the accusation I’d come to expect.He continued to study the charts, flipping between pages with growing interest.“These notes from her pediatrician mention requests for additional testing were denied by your insurance.”
“Multiple times,” I confirmed, hardly daring to hope he might actually listen.“I’ve been concerned about how easily she bruises and how severe her injuries are from relatively minor falls.”
The doctor nodded thoughtfully, turning to a fresh page in the chart where the ER staff had documented tonight’s injury.“The shoulder dislocation happened when someone grabbed her arm while she was struggling?”
“Yes.The social worker.”My throat tightened around the words.“Apparently trying to get Lily to the foster home they were sending her to until they could determine if I a-abused her.”I stumbled over the word, nearly breaking down again.It was so frustrating to have this conversation so many times.
Cash shifted in his seat, his jaw tightening visibly at the memory.He remained silent, but I could feel his anger simmering beneath the surface.
The doctor frowned at the medical history again, his eyes moving rapidly across the pages.“Her injuries over the times she’s been here, along with what we got from her family doctor, aren’t typical of abuse cases,” he murmured, just loud enough for me to hear.“I could be wrong and I definitely want the radiologist’s opinion, but I think there might be an issue with her bone density.Which would suggest something else might be at play.If I can see decreased bone density on the regular X-ray we took to verify her shoulder reduction, then there’s a bigger issue than the shoulder injury itself.”
My head snapped up, hope flickering through me for the first time in hours.“I suspected something like that.I’ve researched it online, but her doctor always said I was overreacting.And I’m fully aware Dr.Google rarely has the correct answers.But I’m desperate.”
“Online research can be problematic,” the doctor acknowledged, “but parents often sense when something isn’t right.”He gestured to the chart.“Accidents can often be mischaracterized as abuse, but we always want to err on the side of the child.”He laid the tablet on the counter as he leaned against the edge before continuing.“I know your attorney has set up some testing to further evaluate Lily.Please take her for the testing.I’m no expert, but I really think there’s a chance there is something treatable going on.And I don’t think you’re abusing your daughter.”His smile was kind and genuine.
My eyes filled with tears, but for once they weren’t tears of frustration or despair.Someone was finally listening.Someone with medical authority was seeing what I’d been trying to tell doctors for years.
“What does that mean?”I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.“For Lily?For us?”
