Page 13 of Wed
"How old are you again?"
"Ten."
"And are you allergic to anything? Any foods or even animals?"
She shook her head. "My brother is allergic to cats, but I'm not."
"And you can drink milk and eat whatever you want?"
She nodded.
"Good." Beau smiled. "Now how about your past medical history? Have you broken any bones or been to the hospital for anything?"
"I went to the hospital last year for a really bad sore throat. It hurt to swallow."
"Sore throats are the worst," Faith groaned. "I had one last year too. Even swallowing the medicine I had to take hurt."
"Yeah, me too." Lenora nodded.
"Nothing else? You've never broken a bone or anything?" Beau asked.
"Nope, never." She shook her head. "I had to get stitches when I was four because I hit my head." She pointed to a very small and faint scar near her right eye.
"Oh, I bet that hurt." Beau frowned.
"I don't remember it." Lenora shrugged. "Mom told me about it and showed me pictures."
Becca wondered what had happened to all the photos when Lenora and her brother were taken. Did they at least let the kids take those with them or put them someplace safe for them to get later? Probably not. That wasn't how the system worked. She brushed a strand of hair back from Lenora's cheek. "I'm glad you don't remember."
"Me too." She glanced up at Becca.
"How do you feel today? Any stomach aches or pains anywhere?"
"Just my neck. It itches really bad, but they told me not to scratch it or I'd make it bleed all over." Lenora lifted her hand as if she was going to touch the spot, then stopped, dropping her hand back onto her lap.
"I think we can find you some stuff to help that itch. It's normal for tattoos to itch right after you get them. You met Xander, right?" Beau asked.
Lenora nodded.
"He's got a ton of tattoos. I bet he'll know exactly what will help with that itch. Can I look at the area on your neck first, then we'll see about getting something to take the itch away?"
"I guess." Lenora glanced at Faith.
"It's okay. He's just going to look. You can stay right here with me and Becca." Faith covered Lenora's hand in hers.
Becca offered her hand as well. She smiled as Lenora took it. "Okay, lean your head forward a bit so he can look."
Beau stood and went to stand behind the couch. "Lenora, I'm going to move your hair out of the way. Then you will feel my fingers touching the skin around the tattoo. I'm just feeling to make sure the skin isn't too hot. Ready?"
"Yeah."
Becca loved Beau for telling Lenora what he was going to do before he did it. He knew exactly how to handle traumatized children. She watched as Beau gently moved Lenora's hair to the side, lifting it just enough to see the dark-inked tattoo against her delicate skin. The sight of it made Becca fuming mad. She hated the people who would do this to children. No one had a right to own anyone else, and that was exactly what that tattoo meant. The girl was owned by the trafficker who had put it there. Becca would die protecting Lenora before she'd let her go back to them.
"Okay, it looks good. Not infected at all. I'm going to check it every day for a week. I'll get you something to help stop the itching as soon as I can. Becca or Faith can help you put the cream on once you get it. I think we should put a small bandage on it though. That way the cream won't get in your hair, and it will also keep you from scratching it you forget you aren't supposed to. You aren't going to bleed if you scratch it, but it will make it take longer to heal."
"Can you make it go away? I don't want it." Lenora arched her head back to look up at Beau.
"I'm sorry. I wish I could. But maybe, once this is all over and you're safe, we'll see if there is a way to remove it or maybe cover it up with something you do like. Maybe a flower or a bird or something that you'd be happy to have on your skin," Beau said as he stepped back from the couch and went around to sit again.
