Free Don't Make Me Beautiful by Elle Casey Page A

before going back to staring at his pretend-sister.   Briana.
    “The doctor would like to speak with you.   Do you have a moment?   I’m going to clean her up a little while you’re in the consultation room.”
    Brian stands, loathe to let go of the girl’s hand.   “Can’t he come in here?”
    “He said he’d rather talk outside the room.   He’ll explain when you talk to him.”   Her voice is soft.   Caring.   Brian can’t refuse her.   He wants to know what the doctor has to say, anyway, and Briana hasn’t woken up yet from whatever drugs they’ve given her.
    “Okay.” He very carefully slides his hand away from Briana’s.   He watches as she frowns.   The slightest whimper comes from her lips and it breaks his heart all over again.   “I’ll be back in just a few minutes,” he says.   He takes her hand without thinking and kisses the back of it.   Her expression smooths out, like she’s just fallen back to sleep.
    Leaving the room, his head is swimming with all the horrible things he’s experienced in the last several hours.   He hasn’t had time to process any of it, and it’s just sitting there like a nightmare he’s trapped in and can’t get out of.   He pushes open the door the nurse pointed him to.
    “Brian Jensen?”   A man wearing a polo shirt and khaki pants holds out his hand.   “I’m Doctor Bruce.”
    “Hi, Doctor Bruce, nice to meet you.”
    “Have a seat.” The doctor gestures to one of the chairs around a small, round table.   He takes the one on the opposite side.   “I’d like to talk to you about your sister.”
    As Brian’s sitting, the door opens and a woman walks in carrying a stack of folders.   She’s wearing a black and yellow pantsuit, reminding Brian of a giant bumblebee.   The doctor looks up and nods at her.
    “Mr. Jensen?”   The bumblebee holds out her hand.   “I’m Betty-Lou Grimble with the Family Outreach Domestic Violence Center.   I’m a liaison here at the hospital for patients who come in as victims of domestic violence.”
    Brian stands and shakes her hand, pulling out a chair next to him for her to take.
    “Thank you, that’s very kind,” she says, putting her folders down and sitting.   She slides the top one over to Doctor Bruce and he puts it with the one he already has in front of him.
    Brian sits and waits for them to speak.   He’s playing this by ear, knowing that it’s probably a really bad thing to lie to the hospital about who he is and who the girl is, but in too deep now to stop.   And he doesn’t want to stop.   He knows if they find out he’s not related to her, they’ll kick him out.   Something about her makes him take this risk.   Maybe it’s because of his son’s interaction with her or just because she’s a broken human being needing a friend, but he can’t just walk away.   Now that he’s seen her face and heard her cry, he could never just leave her behind.   Not until he knows she’s safe.
    “We understand you’re the one who called the ambulance,” says the doctor.
    Brian nods.   “That’s right.   I went over to her house and saw her through the window.   She was lying on the floor.”
    “She’s your sister, right?” asks Betty-Lou. One of her eyebrows is up and she’s definitely using a tone that says she’s not quite sure she believes his story.   She looks down at his hands.
    Brian follows her gaze and sees the cut on his knuckle.   He puts his palms flat on the table.   “I restore furniture for a living.   I don’t hit women.”
    The doctor and Betty-Lou exchange glances.
    “Where’d you cut yourself?” asks the doctor.
    “On the window.   That’s how I found her.   There was a hole in the front window of the house and I put my hand through it to pull the curtains out of the way and I cut my hand on the glass.”
    Doctor Bruce takes Brian’s hand and pulls it closer, examining it.   “It isn’t from hitting anyone.   The edges are too