Bella
When I woke up in the morning, and my mouth was still hurting, I was starting to believe it wasn't my braces anymore.
And that made me feel sick.
Everyone was getting dressed and ready for work so I quickly brushed my teeth and changed into comfy clothes, taking the tablets I needed still.
Calum poked his head round my door then came in, sitting on my bed.
"Do you want me there for your appointment?"
"I don't know, I have a toothache," I frowned.
"I'll come then, in case I need to sort anything ay? Don't worry chic," he said, standing back up and kissing my head.
"I'm feeling really anxious today,"
"That's ok, we will take it slow. You were so good when you got your teeth removed, and a filling is nothing compared to that. I know it's overwhelming but neither of us want to hurt you,"
I nodded and hugged him, feeling my stomach settle a little.
Luke had made me breakfast downstairs so I sat with him and ate.
"I know it's still summer, but thinking about school, are you happy there?"
"As happy as you can be at school,"
"Last year was a bit all over, and it's no problem to me at all that your grades aren't high, but I know you have so much potential. Are you gonna work hard for me this year?"
"Yeah, I've always tried but it's not easy,"
"I get that completely. We will all try and help the best we can,"
"You've helped me so much with a lot of things,"
"You're still a kid Bella, and if I have the chance to change and help your future for the better, I'm not going to hesitate,"
I leant into his side, Calum and Michael coming downstairs.
"I brushed my teeth before breakfast," I grumbled, pushing my chair out.
"Do it there,"
"I'll see you later Bella, whatever happens we can perhaps go on a walk or do a bit of shopping,"
I smiled and nodded, enjoying the idea of being away from the house or the hospital.
Michael squeezed my shoulder and opened the car door for me. The ride there was nerve-racking for me, and my chest felt even tighter than usual because I was still recovering.
After taking my inhaler, I felt a little better. I wasn't panicking because I couldn't breathe.
They gave me a toothbrush and I brushed my teeth, not flossing because I wasn't very good at it and Michael would anyway.
"Alright, Calum said you had a toothache?"
"Yeah, here," I mumbled, pointing to the top left hand side of my mouth.
"Ok, I'll do my best my to not irritate the area then have a look. I'll clean there last,"
First, he checked that all my brackets were still on properly then made sure nothing had rubbed too much. I felt a few cold blasts of air on my teeth then his scaler.
"The front teeth have been cleaned wonderfully, however the back teeth all have quite a build up of plaque. It's really important this doesn't happen because you have braces now,"
I reached for Calum's hand as Michael cleaned my teeth, having to spend a lot longer than usual.
It was embarrassing to me, and I knew they didn't want me to be, but it was.
I flinched as he reached the back of my mouth, carefully removing everything I'd managed to miss.
"Have you struggled to floss the back? It can be quite hard,"
"Yeah, I'm sorry," I mumbled, "I'm always embarrassing when I come here,"
"The reason we are here is to help and tell you how to improve, it's nothing to be embarrassed about,"
"Well, so that you can get used to the feeling, I'm going to use one of these to floss today,"
He held up a stick with wire on the end, covered in lots of bristles.
"This is a lot easier because it just goes between your teeth like this,"
I opened my mouth and waited as he started using it, going round my mouth and flossing everywhere. Then, he carefully polished my teeth and swapped with Calum.
"I'll get you some of those, it's all about finding the best ways to do something. That's why Mali wanted this appointment,"
"It's absolutely nothing to be ashamed of," Calum added, slipping his gloves on, "I don't want you going home embarrassed, we want you going home knowing you can ask Michael and I for any advice about anything, and most importantly that we just want you to be happy and healthy,"
He brought the light back over my face and also got me to bite down, checking me braces.
"They've already done something, it's looking good. Can you let me have a look at your tooth?"
He tickled my chin gently as he got his mirror and explorer.
I took deep breaths as he pressed a couple of my teeth, trying my best not to flinch as he pushed into the hurting one.
He hummed, gently turning my head towards him and grabbing another tool which he used to start scraping.
It hurt, and I raised my hand so he stopped immediately.
"You're alright, you're alright," he reminded, sitting the chair up.
"Was I hurting you?"
I nodded and continued to take deep breaths, accepting the water Michael gave me.
"That's a very sensitive tooth, I'm gonna take an x-ray before anything else,"
We took them and waited, the results showing a cavity between my teeth. Reluctantly, I opened my mouth again and let him look. He slipped a cotton bud in my mouth and kept me sat up.
"Ok, I think we caught this just in time. I'm gonna do a filling okay?" Calum smiled, Michael putting new gloves on.
"Please can I have a minute?"
"Of course Bella, are you still feeling really anxious?"
I nodded and started tearing up, Calum immediately abandoning his gloves and mask. He gently rubbed my shoulders, because I seemed to find it made me more grounded, before tucking my hair behind my ear.
"It's ok, you're being so brave. This can be a bit scary so although I'll take it at your pace, I'm gonna stop the least amount possible to get it over with,"
Michael came back through with the x-ray cover, slipping it across me.
"It makes you feel a bit more grounded,"
"Thankyou,"
"Ok sweetie, open wide for me. I'm gonna give you a super quick shot,"
Again, he tilted my head and I closed my eyes, staying still as I felt the pressure build.
"Good job," Michael praised, "you're doing amazing,"
I whined a little as it stung, Calum gently rubbing my cheek once he was done.
We waited for it to be numb before he slipped a mouth prop in and moved my head to a specific place.
"You've gotta keep it there, no moving ok? No shuffling your legs like a tap dancer,"
I laughed a little, Michael waiting with the water and suction as Calum started to drill.
He did his best to keep me calm, but the noise always got to much for me. I couldn't help but start crying. However, this time I wasn't going to stop him, instead I wanted to push through until the end.
"Bella, you need to breathe for me hunny, breathe for me," Michael said.
Calum shushed me, tilting my head again and grabbing the drill. I tried to hit his hand away but Michael caught it, holding it against my stomach while he carried on drilling.
"You can't do that babygirl, is it hurting?"
"No," I choked, "please stop,"
"I just wanna get this done. Count to ten and it will be over,"
He filled the gap and made sure with was ok before sitting the chair up.
"Can I get a high five?" he asked.
"Can I get a sticker?"
"I think we can do that since you've been so brave. What was up at the end though chic, you got all worked up over nothing,"
"I felt like I was about to suffocate,"
"You should've stopped us, but I'm still proud of you. You never fail to amaze me Bella. Never,"