H.E.R.

"I Know"

Lorelai

I didn't want to call the center just in case I was wrong about the young girl being Angeline, maybe the nurse hadn't described her well to me.

As I entered the hospital I headed to the emergency room, where the lady has told me to head over.

"Hello, I was called about thirty mins ago, about a young girl..."

"Oh, yes this way please." she led us to a small room, "if you do recognize her please let us know, and we can contact her family."

"Yeah. No problem,"

We entered the room, there was a machine beeping in a rhythmic tune, and the young lady sitting with her hands to her sides, an IV fluid in one of her hands. I went around to see her face, to my very bad luck it was Angeline, she looked worse than the day I met her, and that was less than a week.

"She's Angeline, she's from the Youth center and adoption agency. I had talked to her about fostering her, but she had her mindset in being independent..."

"We get a lot of these cases, I really was hoping she was different when I found your card..."

"hmm..." I took one good look at Angeline, "why did she come in here?

"She was run over a car, the gentleman brought her, they said she was running after someone but there was no one there, she looked very out of it..."

"Drugs?"

"We did a tox screen, she must have been hallucinating. That is their comfort, we are not sure what kind, but most likely crack, or heroin. Still waiting on test results."

"What are the damages after the collision?"

"She has broken ribs, a broken leg, and we won't know until she wakes up if she has a concussion." I shook my head in disbelief, "for now it's just waiting, I will be contact the center to come get her."

The kind nurse left me alone with the unconscious Angeline, "why couldn't you accept the stupid offer? why want to live in these conditions?"

I took her IV hand and placed it between mines, her cold shriveled hands, so tinny in mine. I felt her hand move and her whole body stirred, I turned to look at her, her eyes looked groggy, swollen, red, tired, defeated even.

"You used a bad word,"

"I could use many more if I was your mother..." I let go of her hand and she turned to look at the empty hand of hers.

"Don't waste your time, no one does."

"So you decide to get high and forget that there are people who actually care?"

"No one cares,"

"How do you know?" I was starting to get irritated with this young lady, and it takes a lot for me to get mad.

"Because I know."

"Great since you know everything then I can leave." I grabbed my purse.

"Like I said no one cares,"

With a very hard frown I turned to her, "I'm here because I care, you have this attitude of yours who believes the world is all dark and twisty. I get it, life handed you a shitty deck of card, but right now life is handing you a whole set of cards to play with but with that attitude and mindset of yours you'll never win if you don't start flipping them over to see what set you were given."

"That's what you think, you've never had to flip a card over to see your miserable life." her facial expression show no emotion, "I didn't call you did I? means I don't care. Why should I believe another rich person who comes in here saying they care? I believe what I know."

I took a deep breath, "you only know what you see, my looks, my face, my purse even, my beat up car but you don't see it, you think I might be rich and had the perfect life. But you don't know what I had to do to get here, the abuse, the rape, the mistreatments from a so called loved one, the low blows of life, losing a friend, my only friend. I wished every day for me to have been the one gone, I wished I was dead, but here I am. For some fucked up reason, my deck of cards didn't include death." I took in a deep breath, "I might be well off with the money I have, but it does not mean I'm a rich woman who has it all. You're right, believe what you want. I have to go, I have another small person I need to take care off." I opened the door to leave, I turned back to her she wasn't even looking at me. "Bye Angeline."

I was walking out of the hospital when I saw Gladdys walking towards the hospital, "Oh Lorelai," she stopped mid stride and compose herself, "I didn't know you were going to be here,"

"I was called by one of the nurses, looks like Angeline had my bussiness card and it was on her when they found her, she's inside, being Angeline. Some broken bones, but she's still Angeline."

"Oh," she took a big sight. "I'm not sure what to do with this child."

"If she does not want to be helped, there's not much we can do. I tried to tell her to come live with me, I don't mind."

"What if that's the only choice we give her? to go live with you?"

"She will revel against everything," that I was for certain.

"Let's give that a try shall we? maybe seeing there are no options she needs some ground rules, some discipline."

"She never had that, why would she listen now?"

"I thought you wanted to help these kinds of kids,"

Touché, I wanted to roll my eyes at her, "I do, but the way she sees me, she won't let me help her. I do have another soon to be teenager and Angeline is not the best role model."

"Jacky can adjust."

"Alright, but don't push her, she might see it as another person trying to control her. But see what you can do."

"Thank you!" She took my hands and bid goodbye as she walked into the hospital to see Angeline.

I hope Jacky does not mind a new room mate. If Angeline even considers the option.