Is this the final stop? (Toni Shalifoe)

Chapter 57

AN: Besties!! This week's update is REALLY special!! Why?

Because today's Thursday installment of Is this the final stop? marks ONE YEAR OF PUBLISHING. That means for 52 weeks, every single one of your thursdays has been filled by this story!

I promised myself that I'd try and get to this marker, and I did it! Never missing a single week! (even doing double duty and posting TWO chapters on special occasion). So you have a consistent author bestie with meeee!!

So I wanted to say thank you for coming here every week. And I wish you a particularly happy thursday! Onto the chapter!

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Shelby walks into the antiseptic examination room, it's empty and cold. There's too many fluorescent lights, making Shelby squint away from them. She sits on the edge of the exam table, the paper crinkles under her weight. The doctor closes the door behind him, it makes that loud latching sound. The metal slotting against metal.

Sudden noises still startle Shelby.

The doctor observes this right away, "Are you okay?"

Shelby doesn't even begin to know how to answer this. She doesn't even try to start.

"I know physically that there hasn't been trauma..." he trails off, motioning at her elbow, "Except for a scrape. But seeing a family member in trouble, well, that can do a number on us."

Shelby nods. The weight of the pressure this day has caused her shoulders to hunch. She no longer has to put up a front for her parents or for Martha. Being alone with an adult separated from everything is both liberating and crushing. She finally can be free enough to feel her emotions, but then she has the burden of feeling those emotions. The ones she most certainly does not want to face and does not want to think about.

"I brought you here because I had a concern and wanted to make a safe space for us to talk."

"Okay," Shelby responds nervously. Her hands fidget with the rip in the paper, trying to find something to do with them.

"I understand that the individual who caused all this pain was a foster father?" The doctor carefully asks.

"Yes, sir. But her old one," Shelby corrects.

"I just go by Steven, we can drop all the fancy titles like sir or Doctor," he tries to ease the girl's nerves. "I make the parents call me that because it's what is on my diploma. Figured the folks helping pay my medical school bills should use the title Doctor," he jokes.

The joke doesn't land. Shelby's not sure which problem to address first, how uncomfortable it is for her to call a person of authority by their first name or the issue around the health care system. Shelby just nods, not wanting to address anything at all.

After a moment of silence, absolutely filled with awkward regret from the doctor, Shelby breaks it with a muttered sentence. The doctor leans in, making a greater effort to hear what she's saying.

Shelby repeats under her breath, "I don't even know if they caught him." She looks up, hoping for an answer. "I left with her before I found out."

"We can get that information for you, Shelby. But I wanted to bring something up..." He pauses, he rolls on the stool closer to her, but still giving Shelby space. "Not all of Toni's injuries were from today."

He waits, watching for any indication of prior knowledge, gauging her reaction.

Shelby's eyes widen, "What?"

"There were some bruises and marks on her body. But they were already healing. So, it couldn't have been caused by the events today."

Shelby's throat becomes dry.