how lovely yellow is

three.

                                            Two weeks had passed since the incident. Reese has no choice but to return home the day after she had spent the night at Taylor and Karlie's home. The couple had so badly wanted to report the abuse, but Reese refused, reasoning that it would only get worse. So, Taylor kept a close eye on the girl during school, and continued to drive her home everyday.

Reese laid on her bed, staring up at the poster of sunflowers on her wall. It had been another normal, boring Friday. She heard echoes of her parents yelling at each other through her closed door. She decided she would go for a run. It was unusually warm for a February afternoon in New York City, almost 50 degrees. She changed and grabbed her pastel-yellow Nike tennis shoes, a recent purchase that took her almost a year of saving up for. She slipped out the door, not wanting to deal with her parents while they were in their current state.

One hour later, the sweaty teenager reentered the house. As soon as she opened the front door, the strong stench of alcohol hit her in the face. Her mother then stumbled around the corner, getting in the girl's face, completely ignoring the concept of personal space.

"Where the hell were you?" Karen snapped.
"I just went for a run." Reese said, confused why her drunk mother even cared.
"Did I say you could leave the house?
"Why does it even matter?" Reese was growing impatient with the arrogant woman.
"Okay, so you wanna be a brat, huh?" Karen said with a concerning grin on her face.
"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to s-say that I-" Reese immediately regretting talking back. Before she knew it, she was being dragged to the kitchen by her hair. The old woman took advantage of the size difference, picking up the 100 pound girl, before dropping her to the ground, knocking the breath out of her. Reese curled into a ball, hoping she was finished, but unfortunately, she was just getting started. The ruthless woman grabbed the boiling tea from the stove and threw it at her young daughter, completely scalding the lower half of her body. Reese endured at least 20 more minutes of excruciating abuse, when her father walked through the door.

"Karen, what the hell did you do?" he bellowed. "How are we gonna cover this up? I told you not to take it this far!"
"The bitch deserved it!" Karen yelled back at him. The two continued a loud argument for many more minutes. Reese fought to stay awake, but eventually passed out from the pain.

Moments later, sirens pulled into the driveway and some officers knocked on the door.
"Shit! Mark! Go get rid of them!" Karen ordered.
He answered the door while Karen hid in the kitchen, still drunk.
"Hello, we received a complaint from a neighbor about a possible domestic disturbance." the officer stated.
"Oh, no nothing to worry about. We were just being loud. Thanks for stopping by, officers." Mark said as an attempt to get rid of them, but the officers saw right through him.
"Where is your wife, sir?" Just as the officer asked, Karen appeared in the doorway.
"Everything is fine here. Sorry for the confusion." the woman slurred. Officers were becoming more and more aware of the real situation.
"Do you have any children?"
"Oh-uh, well yeah. She's upstairs taking a nap." Karen stuttered. This is when an officer spotted the young girl through the window, unconscious on the floor. They cuffed the parents and went to aid the child.

Reese woke up in the hospital. A nurse was wrapping her arm in a bandage and a police officer sat in the chair next to her bed. When the officer noticed the child was awake, he stood next to her, and asked if he could call anyone for her. Reese nodded and gave him the phone number.

Taylor picked up her buzzing phone, unfamiliar with the number.
"Hello?"
"Hi, this is officer Jones with the New York City Police Department. I'm at the hospital with a girl, Reese Moore, who was involved in a domestic incident. She requested I call you."
Taylor's heart dropped to her stomach.
"Oh- oh my god, okay, I'm on my way." she gasped. Karlie's gaze moved to Taylor at the sound of her wife's panicked voice.
"Tay, what's going on?"
"Reese again, she's in the hospital." Taylor responded, rushing to get her shoes and coat.
"I'll drive." Karlie immediately got up.

20 minutes later, the couple ran through the hallways in search of room 26. When located, the women hastily entered. Both of their hearts shattered upon seeing the seemingly tiny girl in the large hospital bed. As soon as she saw their familiar faces, Reese bursted into tears, holding her arms out for them. They rushed to the girl's side, and Taylor carefully scooped the child into her lap, making herself comfortable on the bed.
"Oh, baby. What happened, my sweet girl?" Taylor cooed. Reese was crying too hard to give her an answer, so the policeman recounted the situation. Taylor's sobs grew louder with each word the officer spoke, so he and Karlie stepped outside.

"Hey, I need you to breathe, love. You're panicking, baby." Taylor gently held the girl's hand to her chest.
"Do you feel my heartbeat?"
The young girl nodded.
"Just focus on that, baby. Shh...deep breaths." Taylor consoled the child, and eventually, was able to get her to sleep. Reese curled her body into the older woman's, while Taylor left soft kisses on her forehead.

Some minutes later, Karlie reentered the hospital room.
"So.. what did he say?" Tay questioned.
"Well, basically, she is gonna spend the next couple days here, and then she's coming home with us. She has nowhere else, Tay."
"Okay, yeah we can take her. I'd rather her be with us as opposed to someone she doesn't know or isn't safe with, you know?"
"Mhm," Karlie hummed. "I swear I will make her parents are going to jail if it's the last thing I do."
"I know, Kar, me too."