Madden’s expression turned suspicious. Mona stayed quiet where many kids would’ve been jumping at the idea of what I’d offered.
“What’s the catch?” he asked, reaching a hand to Mona, who immediately went to him behind the table, opposite from me.
“Well, for one, please don’t try to jump off this table while I have the tweezers so close to your wound,” I started, picking yet another thing off. “But two, I feel like you guys need a break. You saw the safe room when you came in, right?”
He nodded, his posture stiff and hostile.
“Just up the stairs in the front, you probably haven’t seen those, there’s a bathroom you two could use. It locks from the inside. I could give you guys something to wear and then put your stuff through the washer while Dr. Cobb makes you something to eat.” I put the tweezers away and raised a bottle of saline at Madden. “I’ll rinse it now.”
“I live upstairs,” Dr. Cobb spoke up where he was standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame. “You guys are our first nighttime clients. We do all the regular stuff during the day, but you must’ve heard about us from someone to know to come here, right?”
“A lady at the shelter told us,” Mona said quietly.
I threw a surprised look at Dr. Cobb who shrugged. Apparently, there were good people in the world, still.
“Shelters are problematic,” Madden said, reading our expressions perfectly.
“I know,” I assured him. He didn’t need to explain. I made sure his knee was clean, then bandaged it up and made sure the top layer would be covered in a plastic similar to what they used to cover tattoos. Moisture wouldn’t get through it, so he could shower at least.
“We have some clothes, too. For cases where patients might lose theirs.” Dr. Cobb’s voice was even and kind. “Now, your jeans might look more fashionable after a wash with that new hole in them, but the blood doesn’t look nice. I can find you a pair of sweats until they’re washed. There’s also plenty of clothing for Mona.”
I knew he’d let them have whatever they wanted. It was obvious her pants were too short, her shoes had most of her big toe out of them, and her shirt was a bit too tight. Their clothing might not survive the wash, either.
She looked at her brother and tugged at his good hand until he turned his torso to her. “Can we?”
“Look,” I said, sighing. “You two will be our best advertisement out there when you go back. You’ll know to spread the word that there’s help if someone needs it. Not just anyone though, we want to take care of kids and especially LGBTQ plus kids who are on the streets or in a bind otherwise.”
Madden looked me in the eye. “What’s the worst thing that happened to you?”
I held the eye contact, as I said, “A client took one of my friends to a cabin for a getaway. It didn’t go well. The cleaners found my friend a couple of days later. He’s alive, but it was a close call for a bit.”
He thought on my answer. I wasn’t sure if my “worst thing” qualified since it hadn’t happened directly to me, but I was pretty damn certain that nothing I’d gone through personally was bad enough in Madden’s books. I knew the shit these kids went through while hustling.
“Okay.” He gave an assessing look at Dr. Cobb and then looked at me again. “And you vouch for him?”
“Yes, one hundred percent. He’s one of the good ones.”
“Okay. Then we’ll take the offer.”
“I’ll clean your hand and bandage it, then you can go with Dr. Cobb to figure out the clothes, while I clean Mona’s face a bit. The bath will take care of a lot, but I’d like to know there’s no dirt in there.”
Madden nodded, and that’s what we did.
While he and Dr. Cobb were gone, Mona sat on the table and swung her feet a little, trying her best not to hit me but not completely managing.
“I haven’t had a bath in a looooong time,” she said ever so quietly.
“Yeah, I know.”
* * * *
Dr. Cobb and I made sure the kids were fed and clean and in clean clothes, then made sure they knew they could come get Dr. Cobb if they needed him overnight.
He promised them that they could sleep as long as they wanted, but that he’d come in with their washed clothes before the clinic opened in the morning.
Mona was asleep before her head hit the pillow, and Madden curled up around her protectively. We slid the door closed.
Then we double-checked everything else was locked up, and I let the tiredness hit me a little.
