My Brother, My Fear, Dr. Xavier Blake, DDS

Chapter 9

Gabe's POV

When I woke up, I remembered I have an appointment today. This is one of my worst nightmares come true. I got up and got dressed, gently brushing my teeth. When I went downstairs, Xavier and Ari were sitting at the counter talking but then stopped as soon as they saw me.
"How are you doing Gabe?" Asked Xavier. "I'm fine." I replied, getting a smoothie for breakfast, because I don't want to have to chew anything. "What's wrong with him?" Asked Ari.
"Nothing." I answer, but at the same time Xavier told her that I have an appointment. "Why?" Asked Ari. "He chipped a few of his teeth yesterday." Said Xavier. "Oh Gabe... Are you feeling ok?" Asked Ari.
"I thought you hated me." I joked. "No, I don't! I'm sorry! I don't hate you! Sometimes I just get scared, but I don't hate you. I care about you a lot Gabe, I don't want to see you in pain." Said Ari.
I sighed. "Thanks Ari." I said. Twenty minutes later, I was in the car with Xavier and Ari, driving towards my fate. I know it sounds like an overreaction, but I am really scared.
I begged Ari to come with me, and luckily she agreed. Xavier parked, and we all got out. Xavier lead me though the office, all the way to the back, to where we have all the rooms for anxious patients. "Take a seat." Said Xavier quietly. I looked at the chair, and didn't move.
"Come on bro, just take a seat. I'll take it slow." Said Xavier, as he tried to coax me into the chair. Ari came up to me and nudged me into the chair, forcing me to sit down, and held my hand. I feel bad for her.
She always has to deal with being mine and Xavier's patients, and she's also scared. Once I was seated, Xavier started to recline the chair. "Can you open your mouth Gabe?" Asked Xavier gently.
I opened my mouth wide, and he started to look around. I knew what he would do for the chips, so I wasn't scared.
What scared me was the crack. If the crack went below my gum line, he would have to pull my tooth, and put in an implant, which would be painful. I felt him take the tools out of my mouth, and I closed my mouth.
"How bad?" I asked. He sighed. "Not great." He replied. "The chips aren't too bad, those are an easy fix. The crack is what's looking pretty bad. I can't tell if I'll need to extract the tooth, so I'll just take an x-ray, but it's not looking too good Gabe." I exhaled. This sucks, and I can't do anything about it.
"I'm just gonna take an X-ray now." Said Xavier. "Open." I opened my mouth, and he placed the film inside my mouth.
Him and Ari left the room, and I heard the X-ray being take, and they came back in. Xavier pulled the X-ray up on his computer, and I could see clear as day that my tooth would have to be pulled.
I groaned, holding my head in my hands. "Is that bad?" Asked Ari innocently. I groaned again. "It's definitely not good." Said Xavier. "What's wrong with him?" Asked Ari. "Nothing's wrong with me, Ari." I said with a small smile. "What's wrong with his tooth?" Asked Ari again.
Xavier sighed. "His tooth is cracked down to the root, which makes it so that I can't save the tooth. I'm so sorry Gabe." I sighed. "It's not your fault." I said to him. "I just have crappy teeth." "But your teeth look perfect?" Said Ari.
I smiled. I had spent so much time in dentist offices when I was younger, so I'm glad it payed off. "That's what five years of braces and other random appliances does to your teeth." I said to Ari. "I also had lots of cavities as a kid, gosh I spent so much time in the dentists chair." "That must have sucked." Said Ari, and I nodded.
"So Gabe what do you want to do about your tooth?" Asked Xavier. "Can't we just like, leave it for a week and then see?" I begged, even though I knew he would say no. "You know I can't do that Gabe." He said.
"You would almost be guaranteed an infection." I groaned. "Please?" I begged. "No Gabriel. The only choice you get today is when you're going to get that implant." I slumped against the chair, defeated.
"What if I don't want an implant?" I asked, even though I knew it was false. "First of all, you're getting an implant, and second, we don't want all those teeth shifting after five years of braces, do we?" He asked with a smirk. I sighed. I knew he was right, but I was scared.
"I'm scared..." I said in a small voice. Ari reached for and grabbed my hand, and I held on for dear life. "You'll be alright Gabe." Said Xavier. "You know I'm gentle." I nodded. He was. "I can do the post in two weeks, does that work for you?" He asked. I nodded, not looking foreword to it.
"I'm gonna fix your chips now, so can you just lean back and relax?" Asked Xavier. I nodded, and opened my mouth. I wasn't scared for this part, because it doesn't have any pain or needles.
He fixed the chips carefully, and soon he was done. I started to get up, but Xavier pulled me back down. I groaned, hiding my face in my hands. "Not done yet buddy." He said with a sad smile.
"What are you going to do to him?" Asked Ari. "I don't think you want to know Ari." I said to her. "But I do." She whined.
"He's going's to stick a needle in my mouth so I won't feel anything, and then he's going to yank my tooth out of my head." I explained graphically. I laughed at the look of horror on Ari's face, but stopped when I saw the anger on Xavier's face.
"Dude! She's going to be traumatized!" He yelled at me. "I just told her what you would do! She'll be fine. She doesn't need any teeth pulled!" I exclaimed. "You should be nice to the guy who's going to get a tooth pulled." I said with a fake sad face.
"It's fine Xavier." Said Ari. "He just said it like it is." I smiled at her, happy she took my side. "Fine, but can I do my job now?" He asked, annoyed. I sighed. "Fine." I said, holding Ari's hand tight and opening my mouth.
I felt Xavier put numbing gel on my gum, and I heard him prep the needle. I closed my eyes as he injected the numbing medicine into my gums. Soon he was done, and I opened my eyes.
"Not done yet Gabe." He said, teasing me. I fake glared at him, and opened my mouth again. He used two more needles, and then he was finished numbing me. "Now we wait." Said Xavier. Then reality hit me. Xavier was going to yank out my tooth. "No!" I yelled, trying to get out of the chair and run away, but Xavier blocked me.
"Stop Gabe!" He said, hugging me. "Use your smart-ass brain, and realize, you need this." I stopped struggling against him, and let him push me back into the chair, and Ari grabbed my hand.
"Gabriel, I'm serious, if you don't start cooperating, I'm going to strap you down." I stared at him. "No! You don't get it Xavier! He's just scared. He need you to be patient with him." Yelled Ari.
"Thanks." I whispered to her. She smiled back at me. "I'm sorry Gabe..." Said Xavier. "It's okay." I replied. "Should I start now?" He asked, and I shrugged. "I'm going to take that as a yes." He said. "Open."
I closed my eyes, and opened my mouth, accepting my fate. I could feel him positioning the pliers on my tooth, and I squeezed Ari's hand. I felt him wiggle out half of my tooth, and Ari gasped. My eyes flew open, looking at Xavier to see if anything was wrong.
"You're fine, you're fine." He reassured me. I felt my mouth start to fill up with blood, and Xavier suctioned it out.
He then wiggled the other half of my tooth out, and immediately placed gauze to stop the bleeding. "Just stay like this for about five minutes, and then I'll replace the gauze." I nodded, my jaw throbbing. I closed my eyes, and the next thing I knew I was on the couch at Xavier and Ari's house.

Ari's POV

Gabe was so brave, I knew I wouldn't have been able to do that. It looked like Gabe had fallen asleep in the chair, and I don't blame him.
"Don't you feel bad for him?" I asked my brother. "I do." Said Xavier. "Getting an implant can be rough. It's gonna suck for him, but we can be there to help him out." I sighed, and nodded.
Xavier took the gauze out of Gabe's mouth, and took a look around. He then rinsed his mouth out with water, and replaced the gauze. He looked so peaceful, but he must have been in pain.
Xavier cleaned up the room, and picked Gabe up, which is no small feat, because he's pretty tall. He carried Gabe out to the car, and drove us home. He carried Gabe into the guest bedroom, and put him to bed.