“One hundred three point four,” she said with alarm while setting the thermometer aside. She then asked me to remove my sweater so she could check my breathing.
When the fabric brushed against my scalp I cried out in pain without meaning to. Her expression changed immediately.
“Let me see your head for a moment,” she said gently.
She carefully moved my hair aside and examined the skin near my scalp before inhaling sharply. “These injuries look like someone pulled your hair very hard,” she said quietly.
Tears began running down my face while panic filled my chest. “Please do not call my parents,” I whispered desperately.
“Who caused these injuries?” she asked calmly while kneeling beside me.
“Tiffany,” I answered with a trembling voice.
Nurse Fielding remained silent for several seconds while thinking carefully about the situation. “If we report this without evidence your father might dismiss the accusation,” she explained quietly.
Suddenly I remembered the security camera installed at the Briggs house across the street. “Their camera faces our front porch and it records everything,” I said while trying to stay focused.
The system automatically erased footage after forty eight hours.