Jerks Care?

Building Trust

Written: August 2013

Edited: January 2021

I woke up slowly... Had everything been a dream? I shut my eyes in one swift movement. I wasn't ready to know yet. What if I had dreamed of my rescue? What if I was still at home knocked out on the floor? I couldn't face that yet. I gathered my self slowly. I had to open my eyes eventually right? I peaked with my left eye and then opened both. Whew! I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. And that's when I heard someone approaching my bed. The figure was masculine and I shut my eyes again. Was it my father? I felt a shadow over me and my eyes shot open. I looked up to see a man in his early thirties looking at me with concern in his eyes. 

"Ma'am? Are you alright?" I heard his voice say softly. His question caught me off guard... Was I alright? I couldn't decide. 

"Yes," I lied. I wasn't alright. I felt awful and scared, recalling what Mary had said to me. The man looked at me and opened his mouth. He looked like he was having an internal argument on whether to say something or not. Finally, he gave me a soft nod and turned to sit in the chair in the corner again. I tried to shake his gaze, but it was super-glued to me. "Sir," I said softly catching his attention even more so "can I ask why you're here. Nobody's ever here while I'm in the hospital... I see your work here from your scrubs, but you see, people usually try to stay away from me. So why are you here?" Emotions danced across his face--confusion, sadness, pity. 

"I'm here to protect you, miss." He said simply with a slight smile to brighten the mood. I nodded not fully understanding what he was talking about but wanting to get off the subject. 

"Is it possible that Mary could come in for a while?" I said with a little guilt for feeling like I was trading him in. Instead of his face showing hurt like I thought it would, he totally took me by surprise.

"Miss you have no idea how good it is to hear you say that." He said grinning widely. I gave him a confused look, but he just stood up nodding. He walked to the door still smiling a bit. Opening it he gestured for someone to come over. Stepping in the door was a flawless Mary. Her hair fell gently on her shoulders. I smiled at the familiar face. It made me feel like I could trust her. She nodded at the man that was now sitting in the corner chair again. Before walking up to me, I assumed she was going to sit in the chair next to my bed, but instead she walked right past it to sit on my bed. 

"Lucy I'm so glad you're awake!" She said, patting me on the arm. "Steven said you are going to be just fine. I would like to explain everything to you if that's okay." I nodded quickly.  Finally someone willing to explain. "Well, Steven is one of the best doctors in America. Your injuries were so severe that you were unable to be transported so we came here. As you know, I'm kind of a therapist for people that are injured. I help them work through it. Steven and I work as a team almost all of the time. Both of your parents are in jail right now. We wanted to know if you have any family you would want to live with." I watched her as she carefully said every word with grace and love. I looked down to avoid her eye contact, shaking my head at my lap. I didn't have any family. They were all in jail, dead, or doing drugs.  

She waited for a moment more to see if I would speak before continuing. "Hey Lucy, it's going to be alright, I promise. Now, since you are sixteen the judge is willing to let you live on you're own. If you want to do that, you have money that was set for you to receive at a time like this. When your Grandmother died, she gave all her money to you. Your parents don't have access to it. It's a lot more money than even I thought it would be. Your Grandmother was a very wealthy woman. She gave you everything, so you now have what would be an unlimited supply." I gasped causing her to pause before slowly continuing. "Or," she said slowly trying to catch my attention. Or...or what?  I get put in foster care!? Haha, yeah. I'll take the unlimited money supply? She carefully examined my face until she continued. "Or you can come live with me and Steven."  She said quickly as if she was scared of how I would react. I started to think about what she had just said. Did I want to try to live with them? It would be a way to meet new people, right?  Either way, I would get to completely start over. 

"Where do you live?"

"California, I know it'd be a big change from New York, but we'd be there to help you."

" Do you live with anyone?" 

"Yes, we have kids and people that help us out around the house."

"How many?" 

"Four."

"Can you tell me about them?" I said with a smile on my face.

"Well, The oldest is Ashton, he's 17. Next, there's Sammy, she's 16. Finally, there are the twins Johnathan and Melissa, they are 10." She said happily.

"Yes," I said quietly. She looked at me for a while before finally coming to a conclusion of what I was talking about.  She clapped while bouncing up and down on the bed. 

"Oh Kevin, could you run, and get Steven?  I've got great news!" she said in a sing-song voice. I was even excited.  She made me feel cared for.  She smiled at me widely and wrapped me in a hug.  This was my new life, I guess. I realized these people were building trust with me. I could feel a little tinge of happiness in me. This was good.