~My Teacher Hits Me~ (Book 1) [Rewritten]

Chapter 17: No More Lying

"I can't... "

"Yes you can."

Rylan sees and feels Mr. Quinn hitting her all over again. She flinches and sobs.

"I can't... I don't know... I can't... " She murmurs.

"Rylan."

"It hurts! Everything hurts!" She cries over him.

"Rylan, whoever it is, they won't hurt you again."

She sees and feels Mr. Quinn choking her and banging her head against the floor once...

"It hurts! Everything hurts!" She screams.

...twice... three times...

Rylan's eyes roll back into her head and the monitors start beeping crazily. Her body spasms uncontrollably.

"Rylan!" Mr. Winchester cries fearfully and reaches for his daughter, but he doesn't know what to do.

Nurses rush in followed swiftly by the doctor. They're yelling to each other, but they seem to know what they're doing.

"I'm sorry, sir, you're going to have to wait outside."

More personnel pile into the room with machinery and medicines. Mr. Winchester can do nothing as the nurse who spoke to him forces him into the hallway and closes the door. He watches in distress through the glass window. Someone twists the blinds closed.

.................................................................................................

Mr. Winchester enters the waiting room and looks around. Cas and Mr. Amsden stand as he approaches. They notice his red eyes and stiff demeanor.

"Is Rylan alright?" Cas questions.

He can't get the image out of his head of Rylan lying on the floor of the school, bloody and half alive. For a moment after they'd found her, Cas had thought she was dead. It was only when his dad checked for a pulse and said she was still alive that Cas could find air to breathe again. He knows he cares for Rylan, but when he thought she had died, he discovered how much. He wishes it were him lying in a hospital bed instead of her.

"What happened in there with my daughter?" Mr. Winchester demands, ignoring the inquiry. "I want to know now."

"We don't really know. We were outside." Mr. Amsden explains. "We didn't see anything."

"But you must have an idea who did this." He presses.

Cas averts his eyes for a moment. Mr. Winchester notices and turns his attention to Cas.

"Who?"

Mr. Amsden now looks appallingly at Cas.

"Casper, what do you know?"

He can think of two possible suspects, but he doesn't know for sure which one did it. Rylan wanted her dad left out of this. Cas can't be certain what she wants now, but betraying her trust could put him in a bad position, especially if he guesses wrong.

"It's just an idea. I don't know for certain." He replies hesitantly.

"Whatever you know, I need for you to tell me."

Cas feels that power adults have to guilt teenagers into revealing the truth.

"Maybe if you ask Rylan... " He suggests.

Mr. Winchester seems to wince at the suggestion.

"I can't ask Rylan." Mr. Winchester chokes. "She's in a coma."