A Perfect Likeness by Renee Kira

Author:Renee Kira [Kira, Renee]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-05-31T22:00:00+00:00

20

Isobel

‘So, all of this came from a broken window?’

The doctor looks from me, to my deeply gashed arm, and then to Liam.

‘Yes, I was trying to clean up some broken glass and I slipped over,’ I lie.

The doctor knows I’m lying. She nods, but she doesn’t meet my eyes. There is a quick glance to the nurse that’s beside her. He disappears out of the room.

Why are they so suspicious? It’s not like I came in with bullet wounds.

The hospital at Waringal has a good reputation. It’s oddly calm in here. The walls are a faded green. Disinfectant stings my nose. There are doctors in Cape Cross. It would have been easier to go there than drive the forty minutes to Waringal. But Liam insisted.

‘You’ll wait two hours, pay too much and get a messy job with a bad scar,’ he had said.

He was right, at least about the wait time. Since the old hospital had been closed, the local doctors had been under pressure. And while any treatment in a hospital was paid for by the government, a doctor in a clinic would give me a large bill. I can’t speak to the quality of their stitches. I’ve never needed them before.

The triage nurse at the hospital sent me into a private room. Within fifteen minutes, a doctor had come in to stitch up my arm. While I told them I had broken it on glass, I had lied and said it happened at my home.

‘It’s shallow,’ says the doctor. ‘You’ll have a scar, but it will fade.’

I nod.

With a swish of the white privacy curtain, the nurse comes back into the room. He smiles a lot. I don’t think I’d be smiling so much if I worked in a hospital.

The triage nurse looks straight at Liam, who is leaning against the wall. ‘Sir, could I borrow you for five minutes?’

He raises his eyebrows. ‘What for?’

He smiles even wider. ‘I need a Medicare form filled out for Isobel. I was hoping you could help since she’s out of action right now.’

Liam stands straight, lifting his weight from the wall. ‘I’m just a friend.’

‘Yes, that’s fine.’

He looks confused, but follows him out of the room.

‘Sorry this is taking so long,’ the doctor apologises. ‘There’s glass inside the wound.’ She pulls a piece out of my arm with tweezers and drops it into a plastic specimen container. ‘I think that’s the last one.’

I grit my teeth and wait for her to stitch. My eyes turn towards the green of the wall, I didn’t want to watch.

The doctor doesn’t start. Instead, she speaks. ‘So, he’s a friend?’

‘Yeah.’

‘Are you in any danger?’ Her tone is blunt.

‘What kind of danger? From Liam?’ I’m surprised. My arm is cradled in one of her hands. ‘No.’

‘Okay. It’s our policy to check when people come in with injuries like yours. If you are, there’s people here who can help.’

I nod. ‘It’s fine. It really was just an accident. My Mum’s been through the same thing plenty of times.

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