Beyond the Screams ✔

Chapter Twenty Two

Bryce hummed, the smile evident on his face, "Yeah. Best friends." His voice was different, an emotion I couldn't put my finger on. I didn't call it out, letting the conversation simmer into an easy silence.

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It looked like a regular doctors office. What would have been clean, pristine white walls were smeared with brown and black from the dirt. A large door, accompanied by a large red cross. It was what looked like to be a two-storey building, its back extending giving it more space.

"Are you sure that this is it? I would have thought that a professional would carry out the autopsy, not a regular doctor..." Bryce said, slamming his car door shut and standing next to me on the walkway.

I nodded, "It's a safety thing. The police department uses a regular doctor who has been trained specifically for the type of situations that the police may need a medical opinion. It's to make sure that it isn't as public."

Bryce raised an eyebrow, "If they use a regular doctor for security reasons, how did you find out that they used this doctor in particular?"

I grimaced, "Two years ago Alice got really sick, and I mean really sick. No one really thought she would recover. I took her here and spied the police medical reports and the doctor's desk. When I asked about it he became super defensive. I did some extra searching around on it last night and found out about his job."

Bryce looked bewildered, "I honestly don't know how you find all this information, but gosh it's helpful."

I flashed a grin in his direction, "I know. Do you want to head in?"

"After you mil lady,"

The inside of the office was the complete opposite to the outside. The brick walls were painted in a cream white. Chairs lined the edges of the room as well as a strip through the middle. At the front desk, there was one woman sitting in front of a box-shaped computer. Her desk was decorated in small flowers sitting in crystalline vases. It was a quaint atmosphere. At least, it would be if it wasn't for the sick people occupying the seats. All I could hear was a chain of coughs and sneezes. Parents rubbing the back of their children as they held a bowl to their mouth. The sickly faces, the worried counterparts. It was enough to make me shiver. Bryce snaked his hand around my waist,

"Breathe, let's head up to the desk?"

I didn't send any sort of reply other than the forward movement of my feet, dragging us forward. I plastered a fake smile on my face.

"Hi! I have an appointment for a Bryce Redfield?" I asked cheerfully, catching the attention of the receptionist.

She looked up, "Of course!" She looked down at her computer and typed in a few words, "With Doctor Morris?" I nodded again.

She looked at the computer, "And Mr Redfield, your sister booked the appointment?" Bryce looked down at me nervously and then back at the lady, "Ugh, yes. That would be correct?" It came out sounding more like a question, but the receptionist mustn't have heard anything different.

She nodded, "I do apologise, we, unfortunately, don't let siblings accompany the person into the office unless the person who is sick is a minor." She quickly explained. My smile was becoming more and more stretched.

"Yes, she was a little upset, but she understood," I replied, making sure to keep my voice cheery and bright.

"Alright then, Mr and Mrs Redfield. Doctor Morris will be waiting in room 12, just head right down that hallway and turn left when you reach the end. You should be able to find it from there." She raised herself slightly from her chair, pointing down the aisle that was too my left.