The Victim (Book #1)

Chapter 2

Waking up in the hospital wasn't the worst thing that could've happened to me. Sure, there was a big fat needle in my arm, but it was running pain medication all night and I was still feeling pretty good! I had a nice room all to myself, with comfy clean white sheets that smelled like lemon. The room had a window where I could see and hear the parking lot, with people coming and going. An attractive male nurse came in every morning as the sun started to rise too, with plates of food that got bigger and bigger. By the end of the week, I got an entire omelet with hash browns on the side just for me.

The people in suits came in as well of course, and tried to ruin the good moments, but I didn't really let them. If they asked me what happened, I told them I didn't really remember, which was true for the most part. "True for the most part" was kind of my specialty. I didn't tell them that I had started to have visions of being hurt, and what happened that day. I knew somehow that even if they found out the truth, I would lie. I would lie endlessly through my teeth for him, always. He knew too much to let me get away with telling the truth.

I almost thought that I would make it out of this mess alright, until she came in. I heard a knock at my door and said, "Come in!" surprised that anyone had bothered to knock at all. She leaned her head in first, as if to check that I was the right person, and then walked into the room with a tentative smile. I would recognize those eyes anywhere; she was the woman from my house. She grabbed a chair from its place by the wall and pulled it over to my bedside, smiling at me in the way she did. It seemed so genuine that it actually scared me. That kind of thing wasn't real, and I didn't like pretending. I sat up in my bed, crossing my arms over my chest and raising an eyebrow.

I remembered something I had learned in a book once: people often crossed their arms over their chest when they were hiding something or trying to protect themselves. Since that was exactly what I was trying to do, I let my arms drop and spread my legs a little. I didn't want anyone to be able to read me, and I despised predictability.

"Hi Maya." She said in a voice that sounded like she was singing. Where was she from? A Disney movie?

I nodded a greeting, trying not to give her more of me than absolutely necessary. My left leg twitched, and I clenched it down on the bed, hoping she hadn't noticed.

She smiled at my reply, and asked "Do you have any questions for me?"

My eyes widened marginally, with shock. That was the first time anyone had asked me that.

I paused, and then truthfully said, "I don't really know."

"That's okay." She said. "I ask because I'm going to steal a couple minutes of your day to talk to you now, but if you have any questions for me I encourage you to interrupt me in the rudest way possible so I can make sure to answer them for you ASAP."

She said it with a straight face, but her lip twitched with a grin. I smiled at her absurd statement, then bit my lip to shut it down.

"Who are you?" I asked, trying out this speaking thing. My voice was still a little raspy from underuse. Even the hot male nurse knew to drop the food on the table and run with no chit chat.

"Good question!" She said with a bold wink. "I'm Charlotte Anders of Child Protective Services, and I've been placed in charge of you for the time being... Helping you get everything sorted out, finding what to do next, etcetera." She clarified, after seeing my lost expression.

I cocked my head to the side. I noticed she had addressed me, and not my case. Was it possible she noticed I was an actual human being?

"Interesting." I said cockily. "Go on."

"Well, first I just wanted to check how you're feeling." She said, smiling. If I had said something so mushy, I would have said it sheepishly, but she looked straight in my eyes with seemingly no regrets. The blue was almost painfully bright with that much honesty behind it. I wondered if she was trying to read my eyes too.

"How are you feeling?" I asked back instinctively.

She quirked an eyebrow up in surprise and said, "Why do you ask that?"

I shrugged, but eventually decided to tell her the truth. "I have a theory that nobody truly cares how you're doing. We're all essentially selfish creatures and listen to others in conversation only to get back to our own stories."

She looked perplexed but intrigued.

"You may be right about that, but can you trust for the time being that I am not doing that?" I thought about it and nodded. I would try, at least. She remained quiet, still waiting for my answer.

"Well then, umm... I'm good. I guess? My rib hurts- the doctor said it broke... my ankle sprain isn't exactly pleasant. But I can take it." I reassured her.

"I'm sure you can!" She said conversationally, without a trace of sarcasm in her voice. "You're very resilient, you know."

A part of me wanted to thank her, but the side that knew she was just saying that to get me to like her said "I hate compliments."

"Really?" She asked cheerfully, brushing off my rudeness. "I run on pure compliments. If my husband hadn't left me a thousand love notes saying that I look attractive and have a stunning personality, I couldn't survive the day." She rolled her eyes dramatically and I laughed.

"Left you notes?" I asked, selecting the words that struck me in her speech.

She nodded and in a melancholic tone said, "He passed away a couple of years ago, and left me all alone in a big beautiful tower, waiting for him." She sighed pseudo-dramatically, dancing over the sadness that would have caused other to cry, and I almost laughed again.

"Like Rapunzel." I said, more to myself than to her. I had watched the movie Tangled in theaters a couple years ago, but it stayed with me. I think it was my favorite.

She nodded and said, "Exactly! But enough about me! Your turn."

I tended up, waiting for her to ask the question. What happened? Who is he? Why did he do it? Why did you do it?

She said nothing of the sort.

"Do you have any sort of plan looking forward? Anything that you would like to do?" I didn't see pity blatantly in her eyes, but I knew it had to be there. I wondered if going to Disneyland someday was something I should mention now.

"No. But I'll be fine alone." I said sharply. She had to know that I meant it.

She nodded and said "I know that, Maya. But nobody should have to be alone. And since you're not yet 18 and old enough for emancipation, you will need a guardian or caretaker for the time being."

I scoffed at the word. Look how well the last one turned out...

"Whatever then." I said stiffly.

"Hmm?" She asked, smile finally dropping. The inner me smirked at that. See? That's who you really are.

"I don't care." I clarified. "Leave me anywhere, I'll be fine."

Something seemed to happen when I said that... maybe it was the light, or how she turned her head. But a storm seemed to be brewing under those calm blue eyes of hers and I wondered what she was up to.

She nodded, and then stood.

"I'll be on my way then, and handle that for you." She started walking out but then turned and pressed the red button at my side, signaling to let a nurse through.

"More medication," she explained.

The man from earlier came in and injected something into a tube, which sluggishly dragged its way into me. I started getting drowsy once more.

She had shown me kindness, and I felt like I owed her. I didn't even do anything for her.

"Thank you." I mumbled to her retreating figure. It hurt my chest physically to say it, but I had to let her know. I didn't know that I would ever see this woman again.

"What for?" She asked in complete surprise. She didn't think she had done anything.

"Just thank you." I whimpered before falling once more.