he’s here, too, then they must have believed whatever he told them. They’ve believed him again. I don’t want to think about this. It’s better to stay tired. I’m going back to sleep. My eyes don’t want to open yet, anyway.
***
The room is dark and still when I am finally able to pry my eyes open. The infernal beep, beep, beep reassures me that my heart is still steadily beating. It feels like I have swallowed a bag of cotton balls. I try to look around but my head throbs when I lift it off the pillow. I’m just laying my head back down when I hear the door open.
“So, Sleeping Fucking Beauty finally decided to wake up. No sign of that Prince you were all over, so it’s a good thing he didn’t knock you up after all. I’ve been stuck here for the last four goddamn days waiting for you to wake up. Four days, Brielle. Sheila is pissed that I’ve been spending so much time away from her. She came with me the first day, but after that she just couldn’t understand why I’d want to stay here and watch you sleep. She’s a lot more fun than you, but I couldn’t take the chance that you’d wake up while I wasn’t here. Lord knows you’d just fuck things up.” Hank leans in toward the side of my bed and I instinctively cringe away from the fat finger he points up in my face. “Listen to me carefully, you little bitch ,” he spits. “If anyone so much as thinks I could have done this, I’ll put you right back in here. Or worse. It’s your own damned fault this happened so you had better make sure you get your story straight.”
I try to focus, but it’s so hard. I’m having trouble keeping my eyes open and I try to rest them, just for a minute. Hank grabs my face and the pain in my head intensifies. “You had better make sure you hear every word I say,” he hisses angrily, releasing the grip on my chin. “This is all you need to know. I was upstairs sleeping when the house was robbed. A man came in and dumped your purse, probably looking for cash. You remember coming into the room and him charging at you. He beat the hell out of you and you remember nothing else after that. But I’ll tell you what happened. I saved your ass. I came running when I heard you scream from downstairs. I had to do something to save my little princess . The man ran out the side door, but I was just too worried about you to go after him. I called 911, then I called my good friend Chief Davis, and he came right over. An ambulance showed up, some uniforms, the works. It was a real show. You’d have loved the attention. And now, you’re here, and you only remember walking in on a man going through your purse. Not another fucking thing or so help me, Brielle, so help me. ”
It’s a lot to take in. I know better than to even think about telling anyone this was my father’s work. Chief Davis has been his buddy since the academy. I’m sure he knows something isn’t right in the Douglas house, but he would never believe that my father is capable of doing this to me. I just close my eyes again and lie there. The cotton in my throat probably wouldn’t let me speak, if I even had the urge to try.
“I’m going to get a nurse. You stay there and think about what not to say,” Hank growls as he leaves the room. In my head, I start counting the beeps. One, this is my life, two, things have to change, three, I can’t go home with him, four, my plan isn’t working, five, God, help me.
Hank comes back in with a young nurse who smiles at me like she means it. She says, “Hello, Brielle. I’m Claire, your nurse. I am so happy you’re awake! We were worried about you, you know.” Her voice sounds familiar and I remember something about basketball, but the memory is gone before it’s fully formed. “Did your father tell you anything about your condition?”
I shake my head as little as possible and try to talk to her. A slight
***
The room is dark and still when I am finally able to pry my eyes open. The infernal beep, beep, beep reassures me that my heart is still steadily beating. It feels like I have swallowed a bag of cotton balls. I try to look around but my head throbs when I lift it off the pillow. I’m just laying my head back down when I hear the door open.
“So, Sleeping Fucking Beauty finally decided to wake up. No sign of that Prince you were all over, so it’s a good thing he didn’t knock you up after all. I’ve been stuck here for the last four goddamn days waiting for you to wake up. Four days, Brielle. Sheila is pissed that I’ve been spending so much time away from her. She came with me the first day, but after that she just couldn’t understand why I’d want to stay here and watch you sleep. She’s a lot more fun than you, but I couldn’t take the chance that you’d wake up while I wasn’t here. Lord knows you’d just fuck things up.” Hank leans in toward the side of my bed and I instinctively cringe away from the fat finger he points up in my face. “Listen to me carefully, you little bitch ,” he spits. “If anyone so much as thinks I could have done this, I’ll put you right back in here. Or worse. It’s your own damned fault this happened so you had better make sure you get your story straight.”
I try to focus, but it’s so hard. I’m having trouble keeping my eyes open and I try to rest them, just for a minute. Hank grabs my face and the pain in my head intensifies. “You had better make sure you hear every word I say,” he hisses angrily, releasing the grip on my chin. “This is all you need to know. I was upstairs sleeping when the house was robbed. A man came in and dumped your purse, probably looking for cash. You remember coming into the room and him charging at you. He beat the hell out of you and you remember nothing else after that. But I’ll tell you what happened. I saved your ass. I came running when I heard you scream from downstairs. I had to do something to save my little princess . The man ran out the side door, but I was just too worried about you to go after him. I called 911, then I called my good friend Chief Davis, and he came right over. An ambulance showed up, some uniforms, the works. It was a real show. You’d have loved the attention. And now, you’re here, and you only remember walking in on a man going through your purse. Not another fucking thing or so help me, Brielle, so help me. ”
It’s a lot to take in. I know better than to even think about telling anyone this was my father’s work. Chief Davis has been his buddy since the academy. I’m sure he knows something isn’t right in the Douglas house, but he would never believe that my father is capable of doing this to me. I just close my eyes again and lie there. The cotton in my throat probably wouldn’t let me speak, if I even had the urge to try.
“I’m going to get a nurse. You stay there and think about what not to say,” Hank growls as he leaves the room. In my head, I start counting the beeps. One, this is my life, two, things have to change, three, I can’t go home with him, four, my plan isn’t working, five, God, help me.
Hank comes back in with a young nurse who smiles at me like she means it. She says, “Hello, Brielle. I’m Claire, your nurse. I am so happy you’re awake! We were worried about you, you know.” Her voice sounds familiar and I remember something about basketball, but the memory is gone before it’s fully formed. “Did your father tell you anything about your condition?”
I shake my head as little as possible and try to talk to her. A slight
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