Butterfly Effect

1: It's your choice

Seattle, present time.

Hailee's Pov

I didn't know where I was or where I was going, but I knew that I couldn't stop running. I was scared and in pain, holding a crumpled piece of paper in my hand. My ribs were bruised, my nose was bleeding and I was sure to have a concussion, but I was still running...
Two days before, I'd found out that station 19 had a free clinic where they help you without all the questions that they usually ask in a hospital, so that was where I was going. That was what I needed: some painkillers and a couple of bandaids. No question asked.
I didn't have the answers anyway...
After two blocks I saw the station, running toward its door and opening it swiftly. The inside was simple, just a desk where a woman with a kind smile was on the phone.
When the door slammed behind me, her eyes locked on me and my face. I was terrified, and, when she opened her mouth to speak, I realized that I had just made a huge mistake. No one could have helped me.
"What happened to you?" she asked me, but I stayed silent. crying and shaking. The woman started to walk toward me, slowly, bringing a med kit with her in the process.
"Don't... please" I whispered and she stopped.
"Honey, I need to look at those cuts. I'm just doing it for you... So you can feel better" she was just being kind, but I had heard those words too many times to believe her. It's better for you... It's for your own good... Bullshit. It was just bullshit.
The firefighter started to walk in my direction again, and I felt a wave of rage boil inside of me.
"I said no!" I yelled with tears running down my cheeks.
She froze on the spot, but I knew that I had messed up again. Now the whole team would run down the stairs to see what was happening. I was really an idiot. Maybe it would be better if I just disappeared...
"Huges, what's wrong?" someone asked from the stairs, and a couple of seconds later a blonde woman with blue eyes and a guy with green eyes were there with us.
"She's hurt but she doesn't want me to treat her" Hughes explained and I looked into the blonde's eyes. They were awfully calm.
"Hi... Can you tell me why you came here?" she asked quietly.
"You... You have a clinic" I said with a trembling voice.
"I'm sorry kid, but today is not a clinic day..." the guy answered and his voice made me shiver with fear. The blonde woman immediately knew that something in that guy's presence was making me nervous, and that was absurd to me. No one's ever cared about me, so no one knew how I was when I was anxious.
"Gibson, can you go?" she asked and he frowned a little before doing what he was told to, without saying anything else. When Gibson wasn't there anymore, I started to feel like I could breathe a little bit better.
"Now... Do you want to talk in my office? It's quieter and it will be just you and me" she said again and I nodded, following her in the next room. She left the door open as a way to let me know that I wasn't trapped. The office was small but full of light, with a desk and a couple of bookshelves.
"Can you tell me your name?" she asked, standing next to the door. I was as far away as possible, next to the window.
"Hailee" I whispered back.
"Hi Hailee, I'm Maya Bishop. Can you tell me what happened?" I couldn't speak, I knew I couldn't, but something in her eyes was inviting me to trust her.
"He... He did it... I didn't do anything, I swear" I finally said, falling on my knees and starting to cry. Something in Maya's mind clicked and she just let go of the air that she was holding in, sitting on the floor in front of me. She was there, but she was giving me the physical space that I needed.
"It's not my fault... I didn't..." I choked out between sobs.
"I know Hailee, I know... It's not your fault, okay? You didn't do anything wrong..." she added with a soft voice, giving me the time and the space to feel the emotions that I had left there to haunt me.
"Can I shower?" I asked when I didn't have any more tears left to cry, looking at Maya directly in her blue eyes.
"I can let you shower and I can lend you some spare clothes, but I have to tell you that you have the right to have a kit...".
"A rape kit? No... I don't want that" I said nervously.
"You don't have to do it if you don't want to, but I had to tell you. They can do it at the hospital or I can call someone that can do it here... But, as I said, you don't have to do it. It's your choice" she finished.
"I need a shower. I feel dirty..." I answered and she moved to a little room connected to the office, coming out a minute later with a change of clothes in her hands.
"The showers are upstairs. I can take you there and I'll personally make sure that no one will bother you" she said, taking me out of her office. When we passed in front of the desk, the woman that I saw at the beginning was looking at me. She seemed worried.
"Vic, I'm taking her upstairs to let her shower. Can you tell Carina that I'm gonna be late?" Maya said and Vic nodded.
"Who's Carina?" I asked after a while. I just wanted to know who I was trusting...
"My wife. She's a doctor..." she answered briefly, opening the door of the bathroom.
"The door doesn't have a lock, but I'll be right outside and I'll make sure that you are safe and comfortable.
"Thanks Maya".
I went to shower, enjoying the feeling of the water on my skin. It was washing away the ghost of his hands on my body and the pain of my bruises. It was the best shower that I've ever had.
While I was under the jet of the water, I started to think about the fire captain. She was married to a doctor who was waiting for her, but instead she was there with me. Why? Why would she do it? I was just a worthless child that no one wanted. Even my biological parents didn't want me... No one ever does.
I came out of the shower, drying myself with a fluffy towel, before putting on the clothes that Maya had given to me. They were just a station 19 t-shirt and a pair of gray sweatpants, but they were way better than my own clothes. They felt like nails pinching my skin.
I braided my brown hair and took a deep breath, opening the door.
"All better now?" she asked and I just nodded. I didn't have the strength to say a single word to her.
"Are you tired?" she said sweetly "Come on, let's lay down in my bunk. you can sleep safely there...".
I was overwhelmed by her kindness, so, without even noticing it, I burst into tears, throwing myself into her arms, suddenly desperate for human contact.
"Hey, it's all gonna be alright... I'm here" she mumbled in my ear, picking me up and carrying me to her office.
She put me down in her bunk, moving toward the door, but I grabbed her wrist, shaking my head.
"Don't leave me... Please?" I said and she just took off her shoes, sitting on the bed. I slowly put my head on her tights, letting her play with a lock of my hair.
"Why are you so kind to me?" I asked half-asleep, enjoying the little bubble of calm and safety that surrounded us.
"I don't know what you are going through Hailee, but I know someone that had to live in the same hell you are in right now... You remind me of her so much, and if I can give you a little bit of comfort, then that's what I'm gonna do" she said softly.
"Please don't let me go back to my foster dad... I don't want to feel that dirty again..." I said in a whisper.
"I'll try my best to keep you safe Hailee. I'll do my best for you. I promise" she answered, and I believed her. I knew right there and then that she would seriously try her best.
"Thank you Maya..." I finally said, falling asleep on her lap.

A.N. First real chapter of my new story. I hope you liked it. Let me know what you think about it...