Worthless (Camren)

"May I sit here with you?"

"I will call you in a few days when I get the result of Camila's blood work and we'll make an appointment for her x-rays and syphilis shots. I'd like to talk to you outside for a bit, Lauren, if you'll excuse us for a minute, Camila?"

Lauren allowed herself to be led out of the kitchen and back into the living room, Mike had vacated the room at some point, so it was empty. Dr. Holland took a seat on the sofa chair, while she sat down on the couch.

"Now, Lauren, I know this is an unpleasant topic, but I'm sure you're aware of what Camila's previous owners used her for." The doctor looked around and on second thought added "Would you like your father to be here for this conversation?"

Lauren shook her head grimly, she really didn't. Her eyes darted to the kitchen door that separated them from Camila, she hoped their absence didn't frighten the girl.

"I sent you out earlier so I could examine her in private and", she sighed, rubbing her forehead, her usual smile had vanished from her face. Somehow Lauren was glad that this wasn't easy for the doctor either. "I found a lot of scarring to both her anal and vaginal tissue, some of it rather old as far as I could tell. That indicates that she has been raped repeatedly over a long time. You've seen the way she reacts when someone tries to touch her Lauren", she looked at her very earnestly "I know you're a good kid and you didn't buy her to use her or hurt her, but that girl, she's very fragile and people have hurt her ... a lot." Lauren nodded grimly. "You'll have to be really careful and patient with her, if you want her to get well."

"I do, I will be" she said seriously. Doctor Holland leaned against the back of the chair, nodding as if she was relieved about her answer.

"I found a chancre on her, that's an open sore that usually appears in the first stage of syphilis", she explained "given the situation it's the best possible scenario, really, it means that it's easily curable. I'm going to run her blood and test for other diseases as well, so we can be sure there isn't more, but if there isn't I'll give her a shot of penicillin when you come to my office next week and that should be it for the syphilis." She sighed. "There will be a follow up exam later, but I will tell you all about that when you come by next week, I think you've had enough to stomach for one day. We'll decide what to do about her knees then as well."

At that Lauren frowned "I thought they'll heal on their own?"

"Maybe, but if they don't we'll have to drain them and treat them, but right now this kind of treatment would interfere with her STD treatment, so for now, just keep her off her knees."

Lauren buried her face in her hands and ran them over her face, there was just too much to absorb and process. The doctor smiled at her sympathetically. "It's gonna be okay." She whispered softly.

"Do you have any immediate questions?" Doctor Holland asked. SHe thought hard. "If something comes up later, your dad has my number, you can call me any time, I don't mind."

"Thank you." SHe was about to tell her she didn't have any questions when her stomach growled. "SHe's so thin, do you think she's up for regular food?"

The doctor shook her head and provided her with a list of food that Camila could stomach, before handing her the prescription she had written up for Camila, so Lauren could pick it up at the pharmacy.

"I'm afraid I have to get going, I have another patient waiting for me," she told her. Lauren nodded and got up to shake her hand.

"Thank you so much for coming by." Lauren said not entirely sure how to express her gratitude sufficiently, but the doctor seemed to understand anyway.

The doctor left after saying a brief goodbye to Mike and Camila. She packed up her examination table in a hurry leaving Camila standing in the centre of the kitchen in only Lauren's underwear and bra.