I sat by the fancy fireplace inside the comfy apartment trying to enjoy my wine as I sauntered all the glares and stares from three pairs of eyes.
I took another sip and almost smirked at the sweet taste. Maybe I really do enjoy too much of alcohol. Fine alcohol to be exact.
"So uhmmmm---." The raven haired girl shifts nervously in front of me as I looked at her. "I- we- we wanna make sure that we can leave Dani in your care. And you will fulfill your responsibili---."
"Should you be really pointing that clause to me?". I raise my left eyebrow at her and she shut her mouth.
"We just want to make sure." The brown haired girl said while fiddling with the hem of her blouse.
"I assure all of you that I don't wanna be placed in such circumstances whereas I could stress myself. As sad at it is, here I am now. Even though I could care less for all of you, here I am. I don't have a choice now, do I?". I said as I sipped the wine again.
"You could choose to not accept aunt Agatha's offer!". The ballsy redhead sneered at me.
"I don't have to explain myself to anybody else, especially not you, little girl." I cocked my head to the side to prove my point.
"Yeah right. That's quite right. You will eat your words once you start eating Da---." Her eyes blazed with anger but was cut short by the brown haired girl.
"Maddie!, just stop it! We don't have a choice now, do we? I asked Kief about this and he can't find anything about her."
I already know that these girls ran a background check on me. I confidently know that they won't find anything. All they can see were my achievements.
"That's right Toni, Kief didn't find anything which means, she doesn't want to let us know about it." The red hair gave me another glare.
"I could throw you to prison for meddling with my personal life." I simply say as I stare at the fire again.
"You are my best friends Doctor, we have the right to know your background. If you were able to keep it from the most reliable private investigator that we have, then you must come from old gold. You must come from a wealthy family." She says.
"Do you really dear? The right to know I mean, only an employer should know about the background of his employee. You are not paying for my time, are you?". I said still not looking at her.
"Then how much is your time? If this is about money, tell me how much. It's better to leave Dani alone that to repeat what she has been through."
"Maddie... just stop. Dani needs this. Look, she has been drinking too much lately. And don't even start me with the drugs Maddie. You were away, you wouldn't see how much she takes from that LSD. The weed is almost unbearable sometimes but theres no single day that James comes by here and bring her more." The brown haired girl says.
"What?! You know Toni? Why didn't you tell me?."
"I was supposed to. Until you come by and visit. But this happened. I tried to warn James but when he denies her, you know how Dani gets."
I made mental note to not forget that information.
"She doesn't use crack, does she?". The black haired girl asks.
"Nooooo. Thats just what James told me. And I won't believe that Dani would stoop that low."
"Soooo, I don't know what to say anymore. She clearly needs this. Just give this a chance Maddie." The black haired girl who if I'm not mistaken is Barbara.
The red haired girl glared at me again.
"I still don't trust her. And she looks like an evil bitch." She growled lowly but I hear every word she said.
I smirked and looked at her.
"Believe me darling, you wouldn't want to know." I said in a cool voice.
For a moment I saw a hint of fear in her eyes then she looked away.
"Whatever. I'm going out to grab some food." She says that walks away and closed the door with a loud bang.
"I-uh... We are sorry about Madeleine. She's kinda our big sister so she can be overprotective most of the times." The black haired girl says to me and smiled.
As much as I wanted to smile back, I can't. I have mastered the art of mantaining a stoic face.
"I'm Barbara." She added and flashed a toothy smile.
"I'm Antoinette. You can call me Toni. The red hair is Madeleine." The brown haired girl smiled sweetly also.
"We really wanna help Dani. Ever since--- well, I don't wanna tell you this because you are her Doctor now, you have read her file already or maybe you will. But if you have any questions, we can help." Toni said.
"Yeah, our University is just 2 hour drive away. And we visit Dani most of the time. Especially every weekend." Barbara said.
"Not that I care but, you both go to Hampton?". I asked, Hampton University is a school for Science and Engineering meanwhile Eldridge University is for Business and Science.
"Yeah, I'm on my third on chemical engineering." Toni said with a huge smile. "Barbie here is tryin' to be a brain surgeon."
"And you all are what? 18?". I said in slight interest.
"Nooo, we're all 20. Well... aside from Dani. She will turn 20 next year. But glad to know I look 18!." She gleamed at me and I almost roll my eyes.
"If you're thinkin' why we're almost finished and Dani just started, we all graduated high school last year of course. We kinda... uh- you know messed things up. Then we decided that we've had enough high school life. Me, Toni and Maddie planned ahead. We were really planning on going to college. But Dani, she wanted to travel. So her parents let her slack for awhile. She wasn't supposed to go to school but she has to because you know... the situation with her dad. Me, Toni and Maddie passed all the advanced classes so we can graduate ahead of time." Barbara said.
"Not that Dani can't pass the advanced classes but she refused to take them. Actually she's the smartest amongst of us. That's why she was our batch. But right now, she's taking her sweet time about college. We really don't know the reason but she's just maybe being her normal self." Toni added.
"Don't you have classes tomorrow?." I asked trying to stay away from Diana as topic for awhile. I need to be sober enough to take in all the information that they gave me.
"Yeah actually, we do."
I stood up and placed the wine glass at the coffee table.
"I'd better be going now. I will be back tomorrow." I said as I grabbed my bag.
"Okay Doctor." Toni said as she walked me out the door.
"I left a chart on the kitchen counter and I do believe you know how to read and understand the instructions. So I suggest, give Miss Hawthorne something to eat before she takes her medicine." I said as I headed towards the elevator.
When I stepped out, and walked to the lobby, the red head was approaching my way. She squinted her eyes at me.
"Can't stay the night Doctor?." She says at me.
"I have things to attend to." I shortly replied.
"Of course you do. I think, you're getting too old for this Doctor. Why not retire somewhere warm where you can enjoy the sweet breeze for the rest of your remaining days?." She says while raising an eyebrow at me.
This girl is really testing the waters, too bad she's walking on fire.
"Well, who wants to miss the fun? I surely will not." I said salaciously.
Her cool face immediately turned pure rage.
"If you so ever, step out of your line Doctor, I wouldn't care less if I have to chainsaw your leg to get you back right where your side should be." She sneered at me.
"Oh believe me girl, I make sure to make it mine before I step on it." I stoicly replied.
"Aren't you old enough for these games?." She frowned at me. "You should go home now Doctor, it's getting late. You shouldn't stress yourself too much. The lines would be visible any day now." She says.
I don't look that fucking old!
"Well, you should rest now also little girl, it's way past your bedtime." I quipped then walked out of the building. Leaving the red haired girl speechless.
I really don't have any idea why I gave in to that girl's assumptions. I just don't like her making me feel old.
I am not that fucking old!
I walked to my car started it. When I got to my house, I made sure to do my routine first before getting into my bed.
That red haired girl is overprotective towards Diana. Much more than her other friends. Tomorrow, I will read everything about Diana Hawthorne and as much as I dreaded it, I will do my part as her Doctor.
Understand. Study. Help and most of all, care for her.