“I KNEW that they’re cops,” Connor told Maria and glanced at Euclid. “They went to the hospital a few weeks ago, looking for the resident pathologist. That’s where I saw them.”
Euclid smirked. “Then why did you pretend that you don’t know us?”
“Because I don’t want Maria to get upset,” he replied and looked at Maria again. “I will help you to get out of this mess. Just trust me, Maria.”
Euclid watched Maria’s reaction. A tear fell from her cheek and shook her head. “I don’t want you to get involved in this, Connor.”
“I can’t just watch you being taken by them, Maria.” The doctor caressed Maria’s cheeks. “I know that you don’t want to leave Sara.”
“Is he Maria’s boyfriend?” Fred asked behind Euclid’s back. “They looked sweet—”
“Shut up,” Euclid hissed. “What time is it?”
Fred looked at his wristwatch. “An hour and thirty minutes before nine.”
“Sara will be worried about you, Maria. She’ll look for you,” the doctor said. “We don’t want her to worry. That’s the last thing that we want her to feel, right?”
Maria nodded. “But, I have to face this mess. It’s my fault…”
Euclid’s brows furrowed. He doesn’t understand why they’re so worried about the child. He watched Maria wept in tears and be comforted by another man. That man should be him. Euclid should be the man who’s telling comforting words to her, not that asshole doctor who recently came into her life.
He clenched his fist and looked away from them. “Keep an eye at them,” he told Fred and went inside the house.
Using his foot, Euclid pushed open the door with force. He didn’t know that Maria’s daughter was standing on the other side. The little girl looked at her with wide eyes and a half-opened mouth.
“Who are you?” the girl asked. “Where’s my mommy?”
Euclid stepped inside the house quietly. “Hi,” he greeted softly, but the girl stepped back. “I’m not a bad guy, sweetie—”
“Then, who are you?” she asked with a surprisingly stern voice.
A smile formed on his lips. This girl is a lot like her mom, and there’s no way to deny their relationship. From her beautiful eyes, small pointed nose, and thin lips, Euclid could see the little version of Maria. Except that she has straight jet-black hair, instead of a wavy brown just like her mother.
He pushed closed the door behind him with his heel before he crouched in front of the girl. “You must be Sara?”
“Why did you close the door using your foot? It’s not the proper way to close the door,” the girl answered instead. Her eyes are now glaring at him. “I asked you who you are, right?”
Euclid chuckled. “You reminded me of your mom when I first met her.” He reached to touch her head, but she stepped back again.
“Are you my mom’s friend?” she asked and gave him a scrutinizing look. “My mom doesn’t have a lot of friends. I only knew Uncle Robert, Auntie Wendy, and Doc Connor.”
“I’m Uncle Euclid,” he offered his hand to her. “I’m your mom’s…” he trailed, hesitating to tell the girl who was he in her mom’s life. “I’m your mom’s childhood friend.”
The girl’s brows furrowed. “Childhood friend?” she repeated slowly. “I’m not sure what that means…” She scratched the side of her cheek.
“Your mom and I were friends when we were kids,” he explained. “I met your mom when she was just sixteen.”
Sara’s eyes widened. “Sixteen? She’s already a lady at that age, not a kid anymore,” she said and pressed her lips. “You’re lying—”
“I’m not,” he quickly said. “Why would I lie to a beautiful girl like you?”
Little Sara narrowed her eyes at him, making Euclid chuckle. “You really looked like your mom.” He looked around the house. “Where’s your Aunt Wendy?”
“Her stomach ached every morning,” she replied blatantly. “Did you see my mommy?”
Euclid smiled at her. The suspicions that he saw in her eyes a while ago were gone now. “She’s talking to your doctor outside.”
As soon as she heard what he said, she ran around the house, looking for something. Euclid stood and followed her around, worrying that she might get hurt or stumbled on something on the floor. When the girl stopped looking for something, she looked up at her with a knotted forehead.
“If Doctor Connor is here, he has a gift for me,” she said in a sad tone.
Seeing Sara’s sad expression hurt Euclid, and he doesn’t understand why he felt the urge to comfort her and make her feel happy. Euclid crouched in front of her and brushed her hair. “Maybe he forgot to bring it today because he was in a hurry to get here and check if you’re okay. Sometimes, I forgot the things that I need to bring when I’m late at work.”
Sara wiped the tears that are starting to pool in her eyes. “I promised mommy that I will never cry again.”
“Why? Do you cry often?” Euclid asked. “Crying is good for the heart. It will help us lessen the pain that we felt inside our chest.”
Sara shook her head. “Crying will just make my heart worse,” she said and rubbed her chest. “When mom always goes to work at night, I cried while waiting for her to get home. Because of it, Doc Connor found that my heart got weak.”
Euclid’s brow furrowed. “Your heart got weak?”
Sara nodded. “That’s why my mom told me to not cry again because it’s bad for my heart—”
“Sara, you should be sleeping—” Wendy stopped when she saw him talking at Sara. “Hey, chief. I thought you were with Maria?”
Euclid stood and walked towards Wendy. “Tell me, does the little girl has heart disease?”
Wendy’s eyes were wide in surprise. “Who told you that—?”
“Sara told me that her heart is weak,” he replied in a low voice. “Don’t tell me that Maria’s daughter is a liar?”
“No, of course not. She’s just a little girl, chief.”
Euclid glanced at Sara, who was now giving them a puzzled look. “Then, tell me about her condition.”
Wendy knotted her forehead. “Why do you want to know?”
Euclid clenched his jaw. “You will tell me, or you’ll see yourself behind bars one hour from now?”
***