You Complete Me [Jemily]

The End of Innocence

TW! mentions of sexual and physical child abuse
Long chapter! ~1600 words

I arrived at my clinic within 10 minutes and got in the elevator right away.

"Emily!" Peg called out to me as soon as I walked through the doors. She ran over and handed me Abbie's chart. I flipped through the pages quickly, running my eyes over them to absorb all the information.

I set my bag down and asked Peg, "Is the father here?"

"He's in there with Abbie... what do you think it is, Em?"

"I can't be sure, but I just... I have a bad feeling about the father. Do me a favor and call Mrs. Welsh? Tell her what's going on?"

"Should I tell her we think something is going on with Mr. Welsh?"

I thought about it for a second, "Pffftt... yes, but not in an accusatory way... ask if she ever had reason to believe he'd be abusive— physical or sexual." Peg nodded and jogged over to her desk. I put my phone in the pocket of my white coat and made my way to Abbie's room. I knocked on the door and walked in.

Abbie smiled at me, "Dr. Emmy!"

I walked over to her and gently felt her forehead, "Hi sweetie," I turned my attention to her dad, "Hi, you must be Mr. Welsh I'm Dr. Prentiss, I examined Abbie a few days ago... Maybe you remember?"

"I do, doctor, so why are we back? If there's a problem why couldn't you diagnose it?" He wasn't being very understanding but I was trying to remain calm.

"Mr. Welsh, I have reason to believe that the sensations your daughter is experiencing are a resulting from anxiety... I'd like to speak with her alone."

"Come on, she's six years old! No six-year-old's gonna have those kinds of issues!"

"Sir, mental health doesn't operate based on age... now, if you'd kindly exit and take a seat in the waiting room then I can find out what's going on here." I had another doctor escort him to the waiting room to ensure he wouldn't just step outside and press his ear to the door. I took a seat in my desk chair and wheeled over to sit in front of Abbie.

I gently asked, "Do you know why I wanted to talk with you alone?"

"You didn't want daddy hewe?"

"I want you to know that anything you say to me, is going to stay with me... Abbie, has anyone ever talked to you about good touching or not so good touching before?"

"My mommy told me about private pawts... that no one s-should touch them if I don't want dem to."

"Good, that's absolutely right. Has anyone ever told you not to talk about private touching?"

"D-Daddy doesn't let me talk bout it"

"Daddy doesn't? Abbie, you seemed to get nervous before when I asked you about staying with your dad," her face changed to an uncomfortable expression and she wrapped her arms around her belly, "Does staying with your dad make you uncomfortable, Abbie?"

"M-Mmhmm"

"Why?"

"D-Daddy isn't good s-sometimes."

"What makes you think so?"

She started to pant, "I-I-I don't know..."

"Abbie, you can tell me anything and I promise I will help you, okay?"

"H-He told me not to talk bout it though!"

"He asked you to keep a secret?" She nodded. "What was the secret?" She started to whine a little bit. "Abbie, I know sometimes it's hard to talk about things that have happened to you, but I talk to lots of kids about things that are bothering them. It's always okay to talk to doctors about anything, even secrets are okay to tell to the doctor. You aren't going to get into any trouble, I promise."