“I’m sorry I called,” Brooke berkata from her bed. She looked small and fragile and very much like the scared young girl she was.
“Brooke,” Karen said. It was almost a whisper, like she couldn’e find her voice. Seeing Brooke like that, a girl who was usually so full of life, was devastating. And that probably didn’t even compare to what Brooke was going through.
“There was no one else,” Brooke started to explain. “I just didn’t know who-”
“Shh,” Karen berkata as she rushed to Brooke’s side. She tentatively brushed a stray lock of hair out of the girl’s face. “It’s ok. Everything will be okay.”
“I don’t think so,” Brooke managed to get out before the tears started to flow. Everything she had kept inside while on the hospital, everything she had refused to let out as she was talking to doctors and cops spilled out as soon as she felt Karen’s presence near. She thre herself into her arms, letting the older woman hold her and bungkus, balut her arms around her thin frame.
“Oh, honey,” Karen said, resting her chin on bahagian, atas of Brooke’s head. She ran her finger through the mess that was the girl’s hair and started to tell her how everything was going to be fine, even if she didn’t think it was true. False hope was better than no hope at all. So she held her tightly, whispering soft reassurances until she closed her eyes and her breathing turned even. Karen didn’t left her until she was sure she was asleep.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Brooke, listen to me, I have to call your parents.”
“No.”
“Brooke…”
“No! It’s not like they are going to fly all the way here, it’s not like they care.” Brooke was no longer crying and had it not been for the bruises on her face and arms and the iv’s on her hands, she would have seemed like her usual self.
“You’re their child and you’re in the hospital, they have a right to know,” Karen tried to plead with her. She was stuborn as hell, though at the moment Karen couldn’t blame her for trying to cling to whatever sense of control she had left.
“I don’t want them to know,” Brooke berkata quietly, and all of her Brave face crumbled and she was once again the same girl Karen had rocked to sleep not an jam previously. “Please?”
“Don’t do this, Brooke, I have to tell them. It’s not something I can just hide from them.”
“Can’t anda call and just tell them I had an accident? They won’t even care about it. Karen, please, they won’t- they can’t-”
Truth was, Brooke was terrified. What if she told her parents and they just didn’t care, what if she berkata what had happened and they thought it was her fault? She liked to believe she was above being affected sejak what her parents thought of her but in the end, she just wanted them to care and she would rather believe that they didn’t come because she didn’t call them than knowing she called and they chose to stay away.
“Please,” she repeated and something in her voice made Karen give in.
“Alright,” Karen sighed. Brooke didn’t even smile, she just buried herself deeper under the scratchy blankets ofher katil and mumbled a ‘thank you’. She heard Karen left the room and tensed up, realizing she was alone again.
She stared at the dinding because as much as she didn’t regret calling Karen, as much as she knew that Luke’s mom wouldn’t let her down, Brooke hated to know that she looked so week, so hurt. Never in her life had she let anyone see her at her worst. Everyone thought Brooke had a perfect life, how could they not? She was the girl every boy wants to have and every girl wants to be and if her life was not as great as they all thought well, why burst their bubble?
She always liked it, people thinking it was all so damn easy for her, it was like she could pretend that no matter how fucked up her life was, no matter what was going on, she could always pretend everything was fine. Pretending was her biggest talent. Except now, in this hospital room, she couldn’t pretend nothing happened, she couldn’t hide the truth behind a pretty smile because everybody knew and the feeling that she was never going to be the same again was slowly taking over, until she couldn’t tell who she was anymore.
She didn’t want to sleep, every time she closed her eyes she remembered his face and she could feel his hands on her all over again, but the meds they had her on were too strong and she felt herself drifting away.
She just wanted to forget. She wanted a couple of drinks and maybe a cute guy who’d make her forget about her stupid boyfriend and her cheating best friend, she wanted not to think about what they had, just for five freaking minutes, and maybe that way it wouldn’t hurt anymore.
So she sat in the bar and smiled at the bartender, she showed him her fake ID and got her first shot, and it was alright for a while, she managed to tell herself that she could take any guy in the room utama and that the fact that he wasn’t her tall blonde blue eyed boy friend would not matter.
A guy asked her to dance and she was all for it, swaying her hips and letting him hold her close. It would have been fun if she hadn’t felt so sick at herself. Here she was, heartbroken because her boyfriend had cheated on her and the first thing she does? Go to a bar and hook up with a Rawak stranger.
“You don’t remember me, do you?” the guy whispered into her ear and grabbing her arm, roughly. Brooke tensed, trying to pull back.
“Let me go,” she yelled, but he only tightened his grip.
“You and me are going to have some fun,” he said, directly into her ear, and for the first time Brooke noticed his breath was charged with alcohol. “You’ll see,” he continued, “we’re going to have a blast. Go Ravens!”
He pulled her and she yelled for help but the Muzik was too loud and no one paid attention to her. Outside the club, he covered her mouth with one of his big hands and dragged her all the way to her car. She was scared, lebih scared than she had probably been in her entire life and he snatched her car keys from her pocket, all she could think about was how this was entirely her fault.
“Wake up, Brooke, honey, wake up, it’s just a nightmare, just wake up,” Karen softly shook her, trying to get her to snap out of her nightmare. Finally Brooke opened her eyes and started to breathe heavily.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I am so sorry.” Sobs tooke over her body and she started to shake harder than she’d been in her sleep, and soon Karen was forced to let her go.
“I didn’t want this, I didn’t want this, I didn’t want this…” were the only words that came out of her mouth, in between the sobs and the tears. “I swear I didn’t- I didn’t-”
A nurse pushed Karen away and injected something into Brooke’s IV, which started to calm her down but even then her eyes were so full of fear and regret that Karen had to turn away.
TBC...
“Brooke,” Karen said. It was almost a whisper, like she couldn’e find her voice. Seeing Brooke like that, a girl who was usually so full of life, was devastating. And that probably didn’t even compare to what Brooke was going through.
“There was no one else,” Brooke started to explain. “I just didn’t know who-”
“Shh,” Karen berkata as she rushed to Brooke’s side. She tentatively brushed a stray lock of hair out of the girl’s face. “It’s ok. Everything will be okay.”
“I don’t think so,” Brooke managed to get out before the tears started to flow. Everything she had kept inside while on the hospital, everything she had refused to let out as she was talking to doctors and cops spilled out as soon as she felt Karen’s presence near. She thre herself into her arms, letting the older woman hold her and bungkus, balut her arms around her thin frame.
“Oh, honey,” Karen said, resting her chin on bahagian, atas of Brooke’s head. She ran her finger through the mess that was the girl’s hair and started to tell her how everything was going to be fine, even if she didn’t think it was true. False hope was better than no hope at all. So she held her tightly, whispering soft reassurances until she closed her eyes and her breathing turned even. Karen didn’t left her until she was sure she was asleep.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Brooke, listen to me, I have to call your parents.”
“No.”
“Brooke…”
“No! It’s not like they are going to fly all the way here, it’s not like they care.” Brooke was no longer crying and had it not been for the bruises on her face and arms and the iv’s on her hands, she would have seemed like her usual self.
“You’re their child and you’re in the hospital, they have a right to know,” Karen tried to plead with her. She was stuborn as hell, though at the moment Karen couldn’t blame her for trying to cling to whatever sense of control she had left.
“I don’t want them to know,” Brooke berkata quietly, and all of her Brave face crumbled and she was once again the same girl Karen had rocked to sleep not an jam previously. “Please?”
“Don’t do this, Brooke, I have to tell them. It’s not something I can just hide from them.”
“Can’t anda call and just tell them I had an accident? They won’t even care about it. Karen, please, they won’t- they can’t-”
Truth was, Brooke was terrified. What if she told her parents and they just didn’t care, what if she berkata what had happened and they thought it was her fault? She liked to believe she was above being affected sejak what her parents thought of her but in the end, she just wanted them to care and she would rather believe that they didn’t come because she didn’t call them than knowing she called and they chose to stay away.
“Please,” she repeated and something in her voice made Karen give in.
“Alright,” Karen sighed. Brooke didn’t even smile, she just buried herself deeper under the scratchy blankets ofher katil and mumbled a ‘thank you’. She heard Karen left the room and tensed up, realizing she was alone again.
She stared at the dinding because as much as she didn’t regret calling Karen, as much as she knew that Luke’s mom wouldn’t let her down, Brooke hated to know that she looked so week, so hurt. Never in her life had she let anyone see her at her worst. Everyone thought Brooke had a perfect life, how could they not? She was the girl every boy wants to have and every girl wants to be and if her life was not as great as they all thought well, why burst their bubble?
She always liked it, people thinking it was all so damn easy for her, it was like she could pretend that no matter how fucked up her life was, no matter what was going on, she could always pretend everything was fine. Pretending was her biggest talent. Except now, in this hospital room, she couldn’t pretend nothing happened, she couldn’t hide the truth behind a pretty smile because everybody knew and the feeling that she was never going to be the same again was slowly taking over, until she couldn’t tell who she was anymore.
She didn’t want to sleep, every time she closed her eyes she remembered his face and she could feel his hands on her all over again, but the meds they had her on were too strong and she felt herself drifting away.
She just wanted to forget. She wanted a couple of drinks and maybe a cute guy who’d make her forget about her stupid boyfriend and her cheating best friend, she wanted not to think about what they had, just for five freaking minutes, and maybe that way it wouldn’t hurt anymore.
So she sat in the bar and smiled at the bartender, she showed him her fake ID and got her first shot, and it was alright for a while, she managed to tell herself that she could take any guy in the room utama and that the fact that he wasn’t her tall blonde blue eyed boy friend would not matter.
A guy asked her to dance and she was all for it, swaying her hips and letting him hold her close. It would have been fun if she hadn’t felt so sick at herself. Here she was, heartbroken because her boyfriend had cheated on her and the first thing she does? Go to a bar and hook up with a Rawak stranger.
“You don’t remember me, do you?” the guy whispered into her ear and grabbing her arm, roughly. Brooke tensed, trying to pull back.
“Let me go,” she yelled, but he only tightened his grip.
“You and me are going to have some fun,” he said, directly into her ear, and for the first time Brooke noticed his breath was charged with alcohol. “You’ll see,” he continued, “we’re going to have a blast. Go Ravens!”
He pulled her and she yelled for help but the Muzik was too loud and no one paid attention to her. Outside the club, he covered her mouth with one of his big hands and dragged her all the way to her car. She was scared, lebih scared than she had probably been in her entire life and he snatched her car keys from her pocket, all she could think about was how this was entirely her fault.
“Wake up, Brooke, honey, wake up, it’s just a nightmare, just wake up,” Karen softly shook her, trying to get her to snap out of her nightmare. Finally Brooke opened her eyes and started to breathe heavily.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I am so sorry.” Sobs tooke over her body and she started to shake harder than she’d been in her sleep, and soon Karen was forced to let her go.
“I didn’t want this, I didn’t want this, I didn’t want this…” were the only words that came out of her mouth, in between the sobs and the tears. “I swear I didn’t- I didn’t-”
A nurse pushed Karen away and injected something into Brooke’s IV, which started to calm her down but even then her eyes were so full of fear and regret that Karen had to turn away.
TBC...
