‘Hello bubba!’ she said, her face lighting up and holding her arms open as I walked in. ‘How’s your day been?’
I took a deep breath. ‘Mum, Dad. I’ve got something to tell you. That doctor who was here last night? I’ve been seeing her. I wanted to, at first, I was even the one who came on to her, not the other way round, but now she’s gone weird and obsessed. I think she’s started stalking me, and I need your help.’
* * *
Ruby came in later when I was in bed watching YouTube and waited while I took my headphones out.
‘Hey,’ she said. ‘So, Mum and Dad have told me everything, like you asked them to.’
I didn’t say anything, just looked down at my duvet.
‘I just want to say I think you’ve been really brave. That woman should never, ever have abused her position of trust like this. You’re doing the right thing in speaking out. She shouldn’t be a doctor, it’s as simple as that.’
I frowned. ‘She didn’t abuse me, I knew what I was doing – it’s just she’s gone really weird now and I don’t feel safe.’
She took a deep breath. ‘The thing is J, and I don’t mean this to sound patronising, you can’t even see that abusing you is exactly what she’s done.’
I coloured. ‘She didn’t force me to do anything.’ But as the words were out of my mouth, I started to think about her putting my hand under her skirt and felt uncomfortable. ‘I just want her to stop stalking me. It freaked me out that she came here last night.’
‘I bet it did, and I’m really sorry that I didn’t notice something was going on, and that you didn’t feel you could tell me. I’m here now though, J. Whenever you need me. All right?’
‘Thanks.’ I shifted position awkwardly. ‘Are Mum and Dad OK? Mum couldn’t stop crying earlier. I felt really bad.’
‘She’ll be fine,’ Ruby said quickly. ‘They both will. You don’t need to worry about anyone else. We just want to help you.’
‘I didn’t want to hurt anyone.’
‘You haven’t,’ Ruby said firmly. ‘You’ve done nothing wrong at all. Mum said they’re going to take you to the surgery on Monday morning to make a proper complaint. If you want me to come too, of course I will. I know what they can both get like when they’re angry.’
‘Dad’s going to go off on one.’ I bit my lip nervously. ‘He keeps ranting about how she’s abused me, but it really wasn’t like that – I just want some help in making her stay away from me.’
‘Of course you do, and we will help you.’
‘It all got out of control so quickly.’ I felt exhausted and, despite everything, I yawned. ‘She’s mental.’
‘Are your sugars OK? Do you need something to eat?’
‘They’re fine, but thanks. I’m just tired.’
‘Try and get some rest then,’ Ruby suggested. ‘Come and find us if you need anything and maybe turn your phone off, hey?’
I nodded obediently and did as I was told. She turned the light off too, like I was ten again. It was actually really nice to just lie there quietly listening to her and Mum walking around in their bedrooms while the sound of the TV drifted up from downstairs, where Dad was watching X-Men. I fell asleep quickly and for the first time in ages, didn’t dream at all.
* * *
On Monday morning when Mum came into my room to wake me I was already staring up at the ceiling.
‘Morning, bubs.’ She smiled at me as she sat down on the edge of my bed, but I could see – despite her cleverly applied make-up – her eyes were still puffy from all the crying she’d been careful not to let me catch her doing since Friday night. ‘Did you get much sleep?’
I nodded, and she looked relieved. ‘Want to get up and come and have something to eat before we get going?’
I sighed, and she looked worried. ‘You don’t have to do this, sweetheart. Dad and I can go and get things started. You don’t need to come if you can’t face seeing her?’
I twisted my head on the pillow to look at her. ‘I know what she’s like, how she’ll try and twist things,’ I tried to explain. ‘She’s clever, Mum. Really devious. I don’t trust her not to try and pull something I can’t defend if I’m not there – she’s the kind of person who comes out fighting when she’s cornered. This is all my fault.’ I closed my eyes. ‘I should never, ever have left that note on her windscreen.’
‘Hey!’ Mum said sharply. ‘She should have thrown that note away and ignored it completely, which is what any normal, sane adult would have done in those circumstances. You are not to blame for her actions.’
‘I just want to get on with my life. Is Dad still really angry?’ I looked away.
‘Not with you, Jonny. Not with you at all.’ Mum reached out and picked up my hand. ‘But, yes, he’s very upset that she took advantage of you the way she did, and he blames himself for you having to go and see her in the first place because of your football injury.’
I exhaled again.
‘We’ll get through this, all of us together.’ Mum reached out and took my hand. ‘We’re not going to let anything else happen to you, Jonny, I promise.’
* * *
I felt numb as the three of us climbed out of the car outside the surgery, ready to go in and make my complaint. I walked behind Mum and Dad across the car park to the main door and, for the first time, I thought about Alex’s husband and her children, and I hesitated.
‘You all right, love?’ Mum turned back to look at me.
‘I just want her to leave me alone,’ I said. ‘That’s all. I don’t want to make trouble.’
Mum stopped and came back to me. ‘Jonathan, she’s had chance after chance to walk away and she keeps coming back. You don’t have to let her carry on hurting you just because she can’t or won’t see that this is wrong. You’ve asked her to stop, and she hasn’t. That’s not OK, and whatever happens now as a result of that decision on her part, is her own fault.’
Dad held out a hand. ‘Come on – we’ve got you, Jonny. I’m going to sort this all out, I promise you.’
I followed him, and felt my stomach tighten into a knot as he pushed the glass door open with the other hand, marched into the surgery and straight up to the desk. ‘I want to see the manager out here, straight away.’
The receptionist looked slightly taken aback at his tone. ‘She’s in meetings this morning, I’m afraid. Can I take—’
‘No, you can’t,’ Dad cut across her. ‘I don’t care if she’s in a conference with the Queen. You get her out here now.’
‘Will she know what this is regarding?’
‘I want to make a complaint about one of your doctors.’
‘OK, well it might be our Operations Manager that you need to see, rather than Cleo. If you could just tell me what the—’
‘I’m not telling you anything!’ Dad started to raise his voice, and I shrank back away from him, aware that everyone in the waiting room was now staring at us. ‘Just get the person in charge, down here, now, all right, love?’
The receptionist narrowed her eyes. ‘We don’t tolerate abusive behaviour in this surgery. I’ll have to ask you to leave if you continue to speak to me in this aggressive manner.’
‘Oh, you don’t tolerate abuse? Is that right?’ Dad leant forward on the desk with both hands. ‘You told your doctors that? Because one of them has been abusing my son here.’ He gestured back to me, and I felt my face start to burn with hot shame. I hadn’t even told Cherry yet, and he’d just announced it to a whole room of strangers. ‘For the last three months. So, don’t you stand there and tell me what you will and won’t condescend to deal with, just get me your manager!’ He shouted the last bit and for a moment I thought the receptionist was going to cry. Mum was grasping my hand, as I stood there rigidly, while the room full of strangers stared and wondered what I’d been forced to let happen to me.
Before the receptionist could answer, the side doors that led up to the consulting rooms swung open, and Alex herself appeared alongside the man who had watched me kiss her in the car park on Friday night.