Chapter 3 - The Man at the Door
Caleb raised one hand when he saw me.
“Hey. How is she?”
Security blocked the doorway.
His smile disappeared.
“What’s going on?”
I stepped between him and Nia.
It was instinct. I didn’t think. My body just moved.
Caleb looked at me, then at the guard. “Denise?”
“Don’t come in.”
His eyebrows lifted. “What?”
“Don’t come in.”
Nia shifted behind me.
Caleb’s voice softened. “Baby, I just want to see her.”
“Don’t call her that.”
The hallway seemed to go silent.
Dr. Hale moved closer to Nia’s bed. “Mr. Brooks, we’re still evaluating the patient. For now, we need to limit access.”
Caleb looked at him. “I’m her father.”
“Stepfather,” Nia said.
The words were quiet.
But they cut straight through the room.
Caleb’s eyes snapped toward her.
I had seen him irritated. I had seen him angry. I had seen him slam cabinet doors and go silent for hours.
I had never seen that expression before.
It vanished almost immediately.
He smiled again.
“Of course. I just mean I’m family.”
The security officer asked him to wait in the lobby.
Caleb didn’t move.
“What did she tell you?”
Dr. Hale’s eyes sharpened.
I said, “Why would you ask that?”
Caleb gave a short laugh. “Because she’s a teenager. Teenagers say things when they’re scared.”
Nia sat up despite the pain.
“I told them about the vitamins.”
The coffee cup crushed slightly in Caleb’s hand.
Not enough for anyone else to notice.
Enough for me.
He looked at Nia. “Those are iron supplements.”
“What brand?” Dr. Hale asked.
Caleb’s eyes shifted to him.
“I don’t remember.”
“Where did you buy them?”
“Online.”
“What website?”
Caleb’s jaw tightened.
“I don’t see why that matters.”
Dr. Hale said, “It matters because her blood is not clotting normally.”
The color drained from Caleb’s face.
Only for a second.
Then he shrugged.
“She’s always bruised easy.”
I turned toward him.
“How would you know?”
He looked at me.
Too late.
He knew it too.
Nia pulled the blanket up to her chest.
“Mom.”
I went to her.
Caleb started backing away.
The security officer noticed.
“Sir, I need you to stay here.”
Caleb stopped.
Then his phone buzzed.
He looked at the screen.
And for the first time that night, real fear appeared on his face.
May you like
Before security could take the phone, Caleb hit delete.
Whatever message he had received was gone.
