My Romance Life System
Chapter 83: Too Much

Chapter 83: Too Much

The doctor’s words hung in the air, a proposal so absurd, so fundamentally impossible, that Kofi’s brain refused to process it. It was like a line of code that simply would not compile.

’Release her... into my care?’

He stared at the doctor, a man he had met only twice, a man who was now offering him another human being’s life as if it were a stray cat he’d found in the parking lot.

"What?"

The single word was all he could manage. It was weak, incredulous.

The doctor did not flinch. He did not smile. His expression remained one of tired seriousness. He had clearly anticipated this reaction.

"I am not suggesting you adopt her, son. I am suggesting a temporary, unofficial guardianship. A port in a storm. From what you’ve told me, you live alone in a stable environment. You are sixteen, legally a minor, but you function as an adult. Thea is fourteen. She has been effectively abandoned by her only living relative. The system that is supposed to help her will take months to even begin processing her case. In the interim, she has two options: a state-run youth shelter, which is a miserable and often dangerous place, or that house."

He let that last part land. The house, the smell, the filth, the empty pill packet.

"I can’t, in good conscience, send her back there. And I cannot, professionally, keep her here. That leaves us in a legal and ethical gray area. An emergency measure."

Kofi finally found his voice, the initial shock giving way to a flood of frantic, practical questions. This was no longer a question of emotion; it was a matter of logistics and law.

"Is that even legal? Can you just hand a kid over to another kid? What happens when her aunt finds out? Can’t she just call the police and say I kidnapped her?"

"Legally, it is highly unorthodox," the doctor admitted, his tone even. "I would be drafting a document, a temporary care agreement, that Thea would have to sign. It would state that, given the verified neglect and verbal abandonment by her legal guardian, she is willingly choosing to reside in a safe environment under your supervision pending intervention from Child Protective Services. It’s a flimsy piece of paper, but it’s a paper trail. It shows intent. It protects you from the most immediate and serious accusations."

"And the aunt?"

"The aunt has already abandoned her responsibilities. I have her statement recorded in my notes. If she were to call the police now, the first question they would ask is why her niece was found in a state of near-fatal neglect. She has no legal or moral high ground here. She won’t make a fuss because a fuss would draw attention to her own culpability."

Kofi leaned forward, his mind racing.

"What about CPS? You said you have to report it. What do you tell them? That you gave her to some random sixteen-year-old?"

"I will report the situation exactly as it is," the doctor stated, his gaze unwavering. "I will report that Thea was a victim of severe neglect, that her guardian has refused to cooperate, and that pending the bureau’s investigation, she has been placed in a temporary, stable home environment with her consent. I will frame you not as her guardian, but as a concerned peer providing emergency shelter. It is the truth. It will buy us time for CPS to begin their own placement process."

The logistics were starting to form a coherent, if terrifying, picture. But the biggest question remained.

"Money," Kofi said, the word feeling cold and adult in his mouth. "Hospital bills. Food. Clothes. Her school supplies. My parents send enough for me, not for two people. I can’t pay for her."

"I have already spoken to our hospital’s administration and our social work department," the doctor said, anticipating the question. "Given the extreme circumstances and the clear-cut case of neglect, we can write off her current medical bill under our community charity fund. Furthermore, I can authorize a temporary stipend to be released to you for her care. It won’t be much, but it will be enough for groceries and basic necessities. It will come from a discretionary fund we have for cases just like this. We will list it as ’outpatient support services.’"

Kofi sank back into his chair. The doctor had an answer for everything. He had thought this through, every angle, every legal loophole, every financial barrier. He had constructed a desperate, fragile bridge over an impossible chasm.

All Kofi had to do was walk across it.

"Why?" Kofi asked. "Why are you doing this? You said it yourself, you could get fired."

The doctor looked away from Kofi for the first time, his gaze drifting toward the window.

"Because I have been a doctor for thirty years," he said, his voice heavy. "And in that time, I have sent too many children back into broken homes because my hands were tied by policy and procedure. I have watched the system fail them, time and time again. I have seen the ’unlucky’ ones, the ’problem children’, fall through the cracks until they disappear completely."

He looked back at Kofi, and the weariness in his eyes was profound.

"Just this once, I would like to see the system fail in the other direction. I am willing to risk my job on the possibility that one person choosing to care is better than a committee of people choosing to file a report."

The room was silent again. The offer was no longer just a proposal; it was a challenge. A gauntlet thrown down in the middle of the office.

’This is insane.’

’I’m a kid. How can I be responsible for another person’s life?’

’But what’s the alternative? Let her go back to that house? To starve? To... try again?’

The image of her on the floor, small and still, flashed in his mind. The thought of her ending up back there, alone in that filth... it was physically painful.

’I can’t. I just can’t let that happen.’

"Can you give me some time? I need to run this by my parents and I also need to ask Thea herself."

The doctor could tell Kofi was not sure about this, it was a big and heavy duty. "I understand I am asking for too much, I am truly sorry I have to ask this of you. Please, take as much time as you want."

Kofi stood up, bowed and walked out of the office.

"This..." He trailed off, grabbing his chest, he was finding it hard to breathe.