The Night That Changed Everything

But That's None Of Your Fucking Business

TRIGGER WARNING: self harm

When Rick and Bri got home, it was 5:57 am. She had to be at school at 7:00 am. She hopped in the shower and and started crying. She picked up her razor and gently slipped it into her upper thigh. It bled quickly so she ran it under the hot water. It burned, but it distracted her from what was happening with Drew. She did that a few more times until she was satisfied with amount of pain she had endured. She got out and put some clothes on. She didn't bother with doing her hair and makeup as she figured she would probably cry sometime again that day. She grabbed her razor and put it in her bag along with a few pads to soak up the blood. She was wearing a baggy hoodie and some leggings. She got in the truck and Rick drove her to school. She went to her first class and everyone surrounded her asking her questions about Drew. "He's fine! Leave me alone!" She yelled as she sat in her desk. She could hear people whispering things behind her. She had been through enough emotional trauma for an entire lifetime.

As everyone was going to their next class, she slipped into the bathroom. She went into the largest stall and sat down. She lifted her sleeve up and got out a pad and her razor. She put the pad under her arm as she sliced her skin open. She bit down on her hoodie to stop herself from screaming. She cleaned herself up and went to her next class. She told the teacher she was late because she was in the bathroom, which was somewhat true. Everyone kept staring at her. She slammed her hand on the desk as she turned around to face everyone. "Yes, I know my father is in the hospital! Yes, he had brain surgery! But that's none of your fucking business so shut the hell up!" She yelled before she realized what she had done. "Brianna! Go to the principals office right now!" Her teacher fussed. She got up and left the room. She went to the bathroom before she went to the office. She did the same thing. She placed the pad under her arm and cut. Except this time, the bleeding wouldn't stop. She dug through her backpack and found some stray gauze. She stuffed that in the wound and placed multiple bandages over it. She got up and went to the office.

She walked in and the principal told her to sit down. The counselor was in there too. "Do you know why you're here?" The principal asked. "Yes. I cussed in class." She responded. The principal nodded. "Explain." She said as she sat back in her chair. "My dad is in the hospital and he had a moment this morning. It was rough. It doesn't help that I come to school and everyone is staring at me and bombarding me with questions." Bri said frustrated. "I see. Why don't I call your dad and have him come pick you up?" She asked as she reached for the phone. "No thats ok." Bri said quickly as she felt blood start to seep from the edges of the bandage. "I have to use the restroom. Excuse me." Bri said as she quickly left the room. She ran to the bathroom and locked herself in a stall before she lifted up her sleeve. Her arm was gushing blood. She didn't want to, but she knew she had to call Rick. She picked up her phone and it rang a few times before he answered. "Hey. Is everything ok?" He asked. "I need you to come get me." She said faintly. "What's wrong?" He asked concerned. "I um cut my arm on the door in the bathroom and it's gushing blood." She said as she wiped a little bit of blood on the door in case anyone went to check. "Go to the nurse. I'll be there in a minute." He said before he hung up. She put more gauze on her arm and reluctantly went to the nurse.

She walked in and the nurse rushed over to her. "What happened" she asked. "I cut my arm on the bathroom door. I tried to clean it and pack it with gauze but it won't stop bleeding." She said with a pale expression. She was on the verge of passing out. The nurse went to pick up the phone but Bri stopped her. "I already called my dad. He's on his way." She said as she swallowed hard. The nurse grabbed some fresh gauze and packed her arm some more. Her eyes went wide when she saw the bruise. "What's this?" She asked. Bri looked up at her. "I hit my arm on a bench outside the hospital." She said embarrassed. "Are you sure? You can tell me if someone did this to you." The nurse told her worriedly. "No! My parents don't even know I hurt my wrist. I swear it's not like that." Bri pleaded. The nurse nodded as she continued to hold pressure. She examined Bri's arm and noticed the other scars. She didn't say anything as the girl was clearly flustered by the whole situation.

Rick practically ripped the door off the hinges when he walked in. He knelt next to his daughter and looked at he concerned. "Hold this here." The nurse started as Rick stood up. "May I speak with you outside?" She asked Rick. He nodded and left the room. "Has Bri seemed off lately?" She asked carefully. "Well yeah. My husband is in the hospital right now and I was in the hospital a few weeks ago." He said as the nurse looked at him. "I think Bri may be harming herself. Her arm has a large bruise on it and some fresh scars that haven't even scanned over yet." She said concerned. "My daughter? No that's impossible. She's happy!" He exclaimed as he ran a hand over his face. "I know. I'm just telling you from my point of view, I see a girl who is self harming." She said before she led Rick back inside. He knelt in front of her. "Bri," he started. She looked at him with tears in her eyes. "Did you do this to yourself? It's ok if you did." He said as he grabbed her hand. She nodded as she let out a sob. He grabbed her hand and helped her stand up as they walked to the truck.

On the way to the hospital, Brianna cried the whole time. Rick was constantly wiping his tears, trying not to let Bri see that this was hurting him. When they got there, Rick opened her door and helped her climb out of the truck. They walked inside and a nurse asked them what happened. "She cut her arm at school. She tried to pack it, but it won't stop bleeding." He said, avoiding the real reason she was hurt. The nurse brought them to a trauma room and examined her arm before he paged a doctor. It was the day shift so they didn't know who they were. As they were examining her arm further, Rick got a phone call. He excused himself and answered it. "Captain Lincoln." He said with authority. "Captain, we need you at the station. We're going on a drug bust." The man said through the phone. "Sir, all due respect, but my daughter is in the Er. I can't exactly leave her." He said calmly. "Lincoln get someone else to sit with her and get your ass down here. Now!" He commanded through the phone before he hung up. He went to punch the wall behind him, but he remembered his hand was broken. He walked back in and stood next to his daughter. "Sweetie I am so sorry. I got called into work. Do you want me to call aunt Jordan or uncle Kenny?" He asked apologetically. "Aunt Jordan." She said as she squeezed his hand. "Do you have to go? Did you tell them that you have to stay with me?" She asked. "I tried sweetheart but they need me to lead a bust." He said as he squeezed her hand back.

He put the phone to his ear and it rang a few times before Jordan answered. "Rick? Is everything ok?" She asked yawning. "Yeah everything's fine. I'm sorry if I woke you but Bri got hurt at school and I got called into work. Can you come sit with her in the Er until I get back?" He asked. "Yeah of course. I'll be there in a few minutes." She said before she hung up. He waited for her to get there. Her and TC walked in and he thanked them. "I love you." He said as he hugged his daughter. "I love you too." She said as he left. "Hi I'm Dr. Alexander and this is Dr. Callahan. We work the night shift here." She said to the other doctor who was currently injecting her with some lidocaine. She nodded and continued working. "How did this happen?" Jordan asked Bri. "I'm sure dads gonna tell you all about it later." She said embarrassed. "Did something happen at school?" TC asked her. She shook her head. They looked at her arm and saw the bruise and the fresh cuts. They looked at each other before they looked back at Bri. "Bri," Jordan started before she was cutoff. "Don't. I'm already gonna get yelled at by my dads for this." She said as she looked at the floor.

The doctor was starting to stitch Bri's arm up but Jordan stopped her. "I got it." She said as she put a pair of gloves on. The nurse put the needle down and left the room annoyed. "Talk." Jordan said as she pushed the needle into the girls skin. "Dad had a moment last night and it scared me. I had never seen him act like that before. I felt like there was someone else sitting there, like it wasn't my dad. I went outside and hit my wrist on the bench. It distracted me from what was going on so I hit it a few more times. When I got home I pushed my razor into my leg and the pain helped distract me from dad. I cut my arm at school and went a little too deep the most recent time." She said as she wiped her eyes. TC and Jordan didn't know what to say. They just stared at each other before they heard a voice. "Say something." Brianna told them. Jordan placed the last stitch and started to talk but was cutoff by TC. "I think you are a very smart girl who has a great life. Something traumatic happened and you needed a way to distract yourself. I get that. I really do. That first year after my brother died, I cut myself. It felt right at the time, but the only thing I have now are scars." He said as he pulled his shirt up to reveal a few small scars on his upper hip. Brianna was mortified. He had been through something way worse than her and she was hurting herself. "I'm sorry." She said as she started crying again. "It's ok. Just promise me you won't do it again." TC said as he pulled her into a hug. "Promise." She said as she cried into his shoulder.