You're Beautiful To Me

The psychiatrist and the doctor step closer to each other and start to whisper so I turn my attention back to Miles, nuzzling my face in his hair and whispering soothing words into his ear and his whimpers quieten down as he falls silent, his body still clinging to mine. I start to gently sway side to side, attempting to calm him down further and when I glance up again the doctor is gone, the psychiatrist still standing at the end of the bed watching us. "Mr Iero" he starts and I sigh softly as I say "I'm sorry but I'm not leaving." "Fine I can start this with you here but you can't interrupt." I nod in understanding before gently easing Miles back onto the bed, helping him settle against the pillows and pulling the blanket over his lap again before I take my seat beside the bed. The psychiatrist steps over and closes the door before coming back to the end of the bed and flashing Miles what I'm sure he thinks is a reassuring smile but it makes me feel uncomfortable and when I glance at Miles' face I can see the fear in his eyes. "So Allie, can you tell me what happened this morning? Do you remember?" Miles nods, swallowing hard before saying "I couldn't sleep and Anna and I have been practicing holding our breath in the pool and I tried to wake her up but she didn't want to get up so I went in alone" before turning to me and adding "I know I'm not supposed to go in alone, I'm sorry daddy." "It's ok" I say back softly as I reach out and take his hand and his curls his fingers through mine, holding mine back and the psychiatrist says "And Anna is your sister?" Miles nods and the psychiatrist makes another note on his board before launching into a series of questions about our home life and then school and Miles says "The kids are really mean so I don't go." The psychiatrist pauses in his note taking, turning his attention to me and as he opens his mouth to speak I cut him off to say "We're actually in the process of looking into home schooling, Frank and I don't feel public school is the right environment for Allie right now." He nods and continues making notes before turning the subject onto the scratches all over Miles' body. "Did someone hurt you?" He asks and Miles shakes his head before saying "My skin feels funny and itchy sometimes." "So you scratched yourself?" Miles nods again before adding "It makes daddy upset but I can't help it." "And what does daddy do when he sees you did that?" "He gets really sad and cries." I feel my bottom lip quiver so I bite down on it to keep my tears in and the psychiatrist asks "And has he ever taken you to the doctor for it?" "No." "We've started therapy" I interrupt to say and the psychiatrist nods before asking for the details of the therapist and I tell him her name. After ten more minutes of questioning the psychiatrist thanks Miles for talking to him before turning to me and asking to speak to me outside. I nod, standing up and leaning down to kiss Miles' forehead, whispering to him that I'll be right back before following the psychiatrist from the room and once we're out in the deserted hallway he says "Well Mr Iero it seems that this incident was an accident even though...." "Seems? She's seven years old I really don't think she's old enough or aware enough to want to lie about what happened." The psychiatrist nods before saying "Ok we'll chalk it up to an accident this time, however if she's admitted again I'll have no choice but to have her committed. I'm also going to order that you stick to the therapy sessions and we'll be checking in with the progress of those, along with the home schooling."

Twenty minutes later I am laying on the bed with Miles curled up against my chest, singing softly to him when Frank and Anna come back into the room, Frank taking a seat beside the bed and pulling Anna to sit in his lap. "How are you feeling?" Frank asks and Miles yawns before saying "Tired. Can we go home now?" I chuckle softly before saying "We have to wait for the doctor to say it's ok baby." Miles lets out an impatient sigh before falling silent again and when I look over Anna has slumped back into Franks chest, clearly exhausted by the events of the day. "Frankie" I say softly to get his attention and when he looks up at me I say "How about you take Anna home for a while?" "I don't want to leave" he whispers back and I nod before saying "Maybe we should call Mikey." Frank nods, sliding his phone from his pocket and Anna shifts in his lap, her head resting on his shoulder as her eyes remain closed and Frank calls Mikey, telling him what happened and asking if he can come and get Anna and fifteen minutes later he comes into the room, both Anna and Miles sleeping and he walks over and leans down to kiss Miles' forehead as he sleeps against my chest before standing back up and shooting me a sad smile. "Thanks Mikes" I whisper as he turns and takes Anna from Franks arms, cuddling her to his chest and he turns back to me and softly says "Whatever you need I'm here, you know that. Call me and let me know if you need anything else." I smile gratefully and nod, Mikey smiling back before turning and leaving the room with Anna, Frank moving his chair closer and reaching out to take my hand as I let my own eyes slip closed, my mind needing an escape from the stress.

Notes