Deviant Heart

Chapter 22: The Recovery

Dec. 16th, 2039 12:00 am

"For Clara Manfred."

Connor snapped his head up as a nurse finally came to fetch them. Hank and Leo had fallen asleep, Markus stepped out to make a phone call, and David had gone back to Carl's house to get some things for the Manfred family.

"Yes, right here," Carl called back. "Connor, would you please?"

The android nodded, then stood up and pushed Carl over to the nurse.

"I'm her father."

"Well, sir, Miss Manfred is out of surgery and is resting. She pulled through just fine. She has three broken ribs on her left and some mild bruising. Other than that, she's as healthy as can be. After some time to rest and recover, she'll be good to go. She's definitely a fighter."

Carl sighed in relief and chuckled. "That she is. May we see her?"

"Of course."

The nurse led the two men down the hall to a patient room, the sign next to the door read, "Manfred, Clara." The nurse opened the door for them and gestured for them to enter. Clara was lying in the bed closest to the door, machines and an IV drip hooked up to her. Her blanket was pulled up to her chest, her hands resting on top of it. Her eyes were closed, almost as if she was simply taking a nap.

Connor rolled Carl to the far side of the bed, then took a seat in a chair adjacent to him.

"Call me if you need anything," the nurse nodded at the men then quietly shut the door.

Connor studied his beloved's face, and carefully wrapped her hand in both of his.

"It's strange."

Connor looked up at Carl, who was staring down at his daughter as he spoke. "Seeing her like this. Seeing her look so... Weak. And helpless. It's not like her. I remember the first time I saw her in a hospital bed. It was right after... After..." Carl paused, tears forming at the edge of his eyes.

"... After she was born?" Connor tried to finish.

Carl shook his head. "No. After her mother nearly beat her to death."

Connor's eyebrows shot up in surprise. Clara had never spoken of her mother, so he knew nothing about the woman.

The man noticed his reaction and let out a low chuckle. "Clara doesn't talk about her, huh?" Connor shook his head. "Yeah, that doesn't surprise me, actually. You see, when I was younger and was at the peak of my fame, I had many fans that would throw themselves at me. Many of them I slept with. That's how Leo was born. After I found out Leo's mother was pregnant, I gave her child support but didn't really care that I had a kid. I didn't even meet Leo until he was sixteen. It's a big reason why Leo and I had such a strained relationship. Clara's mother was... very similar," Carl squeezed his daughter's hand. "Her mother was another fan that I slept with. Nine months later, I got a call from a hospital, saying that I was a father to a baby girl. When they told me who the mother was, I wanted nothing to do with either of them."

"Why?" Connor asked, his head cocked to the side.

Carl let out a harsh laugh. "The woman was crazy! She stalked me for weeks after our one-night stand, and I ended up getting a restraining order against her. This lady was so nuts, that she never even told me about the baby until she had already given birth, and to top it off, she named the baby after me. She just moved the L and added an A."

Connor looked down to think about the names, and then nodded back at Carl. "I kept my distance from her, even after the baby, Clara, was born. Then, about ten years later, I got a call from the police. Clara's mother was a drunk, and would beat Clara. Thankfully she never did anything to her when she was a baby, but as soon as Clara could talk and walk, she was 'too much' for her, as I was told. She would beat Clara whenever she made too much noise, didn't clean the house, would be gone for unknown amounts of time, really anything set this woman off." Connor squeezed Clara's hand, getting angry on her behalf for the way her mother had treated her. "Her mother blamed Clara for her shitty lifestyle, that if she hadn't given birth to her then she could have stayed with me and been a rich wife. All nonsense, of course, but the crazy woman was delusional."