"Right then, I knew there was something different about you and I just...I needed to know you."
──・・𖥸・・──
Myrtle Beach is just one of those cities where you never know what you're going to get. One day it can be all smiles and rainbows, and the nex...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
──・・𖥸・・──
A chorus of beeping machines rouses me from a dreamless slumber.
It's been days since I slept. The room I'm in smells like a hospital. The last thing I remember is Mick raising the knife, ready to stab me. Anything after that is a dark hole. Safe to assume he ended up stabbing me, assuming that I'm in a hospital. Now that I'm a bit more lucid, I can hear the hushed whispers of two people. One is frantic, while the other is trying their best to be comforting, with a matter-of-fact undertone to it. I force my eyes open to be met with stark white walls. I glance over at the two figures, neither of which are facing me. Hudson's face is blotchy, like he's been crying, while the doctor he's talking to does her best to reassure him. He looks like he hasn't slept in hours. Maybe they should have sedated him instead of me. That's a funny thought, watching Hudson come off of anesthesia.
"She's going to be just fine, sir. I can't tell you why she hasn't woken up yet, but I can assure you that she's not in a coma. She's just sleeping." The doctor places her hand on his shoulder, but he brushes her off.
"You've been saying that for three days. You have to know some reason for why she hasn't gotten up. You told us that there's no major brain injury, So why won't she wake up?"
The doctor sighs. "I don't think a brain injury is what's kept her asleep for so long. She could be recovering her energy or it might be the strain of healing from multiple injuries. Maybe both."
"How many injuries does she have?" he asks warily.
"Quite a few," she flips to a page on her clipboard. "They were all easy for us to tend to, but I imagine that they were incredibly traumatic to receive and endure."
Hudson's trembling at this point. It takes everything I have not to get out of this bed and wrap my arms around him. But I don't, at least not yet. "What happened to her?"
"Well...she has the obvious stab wound to the stomach, then she has bruises all over her body from beatings, significant bruising to the pelvic regio—"
"Pelvic region?" I'm not sure what happened to Mick, but Hudson looks like he could kill him. I honestly think that he would if he could.
The doctor nods solemnly. "I'm sorry to inform you that she was sexually assaulted. We've collected as much evidence as possible and turned it over to the police, but when she wakes up, she'll have to give them a statement."
Hudson sinks into a nearby chair and puts his head in his hands. "This is all my fault, I should have protected her."
The doctor says nothing in respond. She simply walks out of the room, quietly shutting the door behind her. For the first time in days, the reality of the situation sets in and I weep. Not from sadness, or from pain, not even from anger. But relief that I've survived Mick once again. I really thought that I was going to die on the sidewalk, yet here I am. Hudson must have heard me crying, because he's at my side in an instant. I hate to be rude but he looks awful. His hair's a mess and he's got these dark bruises under his eyes. The way he's carrying himself tells me that he's probably exhausted. I wonder if he's been eating properly.
