Chapter 9
Amanda was laying on Liv's bed. The pain was really starting to hit her now. She felt like she was going to be sick. Liv told her not to move, but if she didn't, she might not make it to the bathroom in time. Amanda sat up and moved slowly to the bathroom. She was hurting so bad. Thank goodness she made it to the toilet. Melinda and Liv heard the heaving sounds and went running to the bathroom. Amanda was crying while throwing up. She felt like her back, ribs, and stomach was on fire. Liv pulled her hair back and said "Get it out baby, it's going to be okay. It will stop soon." Even though Amanda felt the love Liv was showing her, she was embarrassed about getting sick in front of her, but Liv didn't seem to care. She stood there and rubbed her back the entire time. When Amanda stopped, Liv wet a wash cloth with cold water and held it to her neck and forehead. When Amanda settled down Liv asked "You think you are ready to get up? We can bring the trash can near the bed, but Melinda really needs to check you out, starting with your arm. Okay?" Amanda just shook her head and agreed, to weak argue.
Amanda sat on the edge of the bed and saw an African American woman by the door. She had a nice smile and spoke very gently to her. "Hi! I'm Dr. Warner, but you can call me Melinda. I'm friends with Olivia. Is it ok if I help you?" Amanda agreed because it was better than the hospital. "Sweetheart, I need to take off this hoodie. I need to check the cut on your arm first. Do you have anything on underneath? Amanda shook her head yes. "But I'm hurting, I need help to take it off." Melinda asked Olivia to help her, "before we pull it off, where are you hurting honey?" Amanda was way out of her comfort zone, "My arm of course where the cut is, but I hit my back on the hardwood floor and my mom punched in my stomach. It got worse when I threw up a minute ago." Melinda felt so sorry for her, "Okay we are going to take it easy and go slow." Melinda and Liv helped Amanda out of her hoodie. Melinda tried not to show the concern on her face but that was more blood than she wanted to see on the hoodie and bandage wrapped around her arm. She unwrapped the bandage that Liv put on earlier and saw the bleeding did stop. She decided all the blood must have been there before Liv helped her. She examined the cut and saw it was a little deep but she also didn't think it needed stitches. She thought some glue solution and butterfly closures would hold. "Okay sweetie, I'm going to clean it up and I think we can fix it without stitches. How does that sound?" The smile on Amanda's face was all Melinda needed to see to move forward. "Okay your arm looks good!" Melinda gave Liv a look, she wasn't sure about what would happen after her next question. " Amanda, Olivia told me you have some bruises from a previous episode unknown and now you have told me you have new injuries. I really need to check you over sweetheart. I need to see if anything looks like you need an X-ray or other medical attention." Liv stood nervously, bit her lip, and held her breath. She didn't know Amanda that well, but she knew this was a big step. "Amanda, can you take off your clothes for me? You can leave your bra and panties on, but I need to see your injuries."
Amanda lost the little bit of color left in her face. Tears began to fall without any noise. She was so embarrassed. She had a huge crush Olivia and she didn't know Melinda at all. How could she strip in front of them. She had just thrown up in front of both of them and now they expected her to lose her clothes so they could examine her bruised body. What would they think? The bruises on her thighs were the worst. She didn't want to answer the questions that were sure to follow. Luckily Olivia had training for this moment. "Amanda, we are both here to help you. Tell us how you feel so we can walk you through it. Melinda can't help you if she can't see it. What do you need baby? I will make this as easy as I can for you" Olivia's heart was breaking for her friend. She knew she was embarrassed, because her body language showed it. Amanda continued to shed silent tears, "I'm so ashamed Liv. I shouldn't have let this happen to me. I've messed up everything. Nothing goes right for me." Liv sat beside her on the bed and gave her a hug, "Hey you didn't do anything wrong. None of this is your fault. I love you and care about you okay. I'm right here and Melinda is a doctor but she's also my friend. That means she's automatically your friend. We don't blame you at all." Melinda sat on the other side of Amanda, she knew what she needed was comfort. She carefully put her arm around her, "If anything makes you feel uncomfortable or you want to stop, we will. You don't have to answer any questions you don't want to. I just need to see and then I can give you some pain medicine. Do we have a deal?" Amanda shook her head in agreement, stood up, and started taking off her clothes. It was time to trust someone other than herself.
