Lottie paced up and down the room, phone clutched tightly in her hand. "She's not here..I checked everywhere! she's gone." She hastily spoke, "Lottie calm down, explain to me what happened." Daisy spoke gently.
"I don't even know..I woke up a-and she was gone and..I checked everywhere but the window was open..and oh god what if she's fallen off the roof and hurt herself!"
She was getting more distressed by the minute, she sat down on the bed, feeling her knee bounce up and down. "If she was that badly injured, she wouldn't have gotten far." Daisy reminded her, "but the thought of her being injured out there is.." Lottie paused. "What if we don't find her Daisy? it's pitch black out there." The blonde said after a moment.
On the other side of the phone, Daisy could be heard packing. "We'll find her Lottie, she can't get far, and if she does then everything leads back to us." She was dealing with it more rationally, compared to Lottie who was on the brink of tears.
"I just can't stand the thought of her being out there in the cold." Lottie voiced, "listen, call Elise and then go out to look for her, you'll cover more ground." Daisy told her. "Take flashlights and a jacket for her, if I get any calls i'll let you know immediately."
Lottie had nodded, until she realised that she couldn't be seen, "I know you're worried but she's going to be fine, maybe a little scuffed up, but she'll be fine." Daisy added.
The blonde let out a shaky breath, she rubbed the tears from her eyes, "how can you stay so calm?" She questioned.
"I'm not, I know that I can't be there right now though, and so the only way I can help is by helping you." Daisy admitted, she struggled for a moment, trying to zip up her suitcase with one hand. "Lottie I know that you're worrying, but she's a smart girl, she won't get herself into danger." The brunette attempted to alleviate her wife's worries.
~~
Alexa spat out the dirt in her mouth, pulling herself up from the ground with shaky arms. She couldn't see where she was going, it was all so dark, and the rocks didn't seem to be positioning themselves in her favour.
She blew a strand of hair away from her face, only for it to immediately fall back into place. She had Chase in a death grip, clutching him so tightly, as if he could disappear any second.
She didn't know how long she had been running for, or even how far she had gotten. Physically leaving the house, should've been the least of her worries it seemed. With a sigh, she stood back up, she felt so dirty and she longed for a warm shower. Alexa stumbled forward, placing her free hand against a tree, holding herself upright.
"Fuck." She grumbled, feeling a headache forming. Giving herself a gentle push off, she was off on her journey again, bare feet against the grass. As Alexa trudged along, she wondered if Lottie was awake yet, how much of a heart start she would have.
A shiver ran over her, feeling cold. She crossed her arms as she walked, looking up at the moon, it offered little light. She dreaded the sight of herself, how feral she must have looked, if she had seen herself stumbling through the woods, she would've given a blood curdling scream- or so she surmised.
The girl paused for a moment, catching her breathe. She bit her wobbling lip, now was not a time to cry, and she had to remind herself of that. Maybe if she had known which way she had come from, she would've returned back to the house, maybe she'd be granted pity points.
Those thoughts were promptly forced out of her head, she couldn't be so pathetic- not at a time like this. As soon as she was safe, she could curl up into a ball and mope to her heart's content, but not right now.
There was a flash of lights, and she thought her eyes were playing tricks on her. She squinted to see a car in the distance, a car!
Alexa rushed forward, waving her arm in the air, but she feared they wouldn't be able to see it with the distance. She stumbled towards the road, her feet being met with the rough gravel. "Help!" She shouted, but the car was making no signs of slowing down, she was determined none the less.
Not thinking rationally, the girl dared to walk further into the road, however the headlights meant she could hardly open her eyes. Without realising it, she had walked into the middle, and there she was.
A deer in the headlights.
She forced her eyes open, her eyes watery from the burst of light. Her eyes widened, the car was pledging towards her, and her limbs ceased to work. Alexa scrunched her eyes, hoping her death would be quick and painless if anything.
The sound of the tires coming to a screech pierced the air, she listened as the sound came closer and closer.
The car come to a stop, miraculously stopping a few inches in front of the girl. Alexa attempted to open her eyes, but spots clouded her vision. Moments before, she had been shivering, but now her body felt as if it had been flamed.
Alexa collapsed onto the floor.
A woman inside of the car shrieked, "you hit her!" She yelled, "she came out of nowhere!" A man's voice exclaimed. Two car doors slammed closed, the couple rushing to the girl, the woman quickly falling to the girl's side. She pressed two fingers against her neck, "she's breathing! she needs an ambulance!".
"It'll be quicker to load her in the car, and to drive her to the hospital." He stated, "well don't just stand there, pick her up!" His wife screamed to him. She looked over the girl on the floor, eyeing the white dress that was more so brown at this point.
The man let out a deep breathe, bending down to pick up the girl bridal style.
Regaining a level of consciousness, the girl felt an uncomfortable scratchy material underneath her. She let out a small whimper, a car door slamming directly near her head, was she being kidnapped again?
Her head felt like it was spinning, but her body remained still. She opened her eyes, a car roof staring back at her. "She's awake." The wife breathed out a sigh of relief, "we're taking you to the hospital now, don't worry, you're going to be okay." She spoke hastily.
The words could barely process in Alexa's brain.
"Hospital? no hospital." Alexa protested, attempting to sit up, however realising she could barely lift her head.
That was the last thing she was able to say before passing out again.
"We drop her off at the doors, tell them we found her like that at the side of the road, then we drive away." The man told his wife, "but we hit her?" The woman argued, "exactly, and i'm sure that Lizzy McDizzy isn't gonna remember anything, so they can't charge us."
"But she'll be all alone."
"Have you seen the state she's in? I doubt she has a family who cares, they'll probably admit her to the psych ward anyways."
~~
When Alexa woke up, she was warm again and for just a moment, she thought she'd made her way safely back home. The sterile smell then hit her nose, she wasn't at her house, nor was she at the women's.
Opening her eyes, she saw all different machines around, she was in a hospital bed. Immediately, she panicked and knew she had to get out of there as soon as possible. Looking down, she found that she was still wearing the stained white dress, but that the rest of her body had been cleaned.
The girl sat up, she was in an emergency room of sorts. She was debating slipping out the door, but a doctor was at the bottom of her bed before she realised. A woman with a clipboard, "you're awake." She stated, Alexa eyed her wearily nodding.
"The couple that brought you here said that you were hit by a car." The doctor spoke, "no I wasn't." Alexa mumbled, "what was that?" The woman queried.
Alexa shook her head, "I wasn't hit by a car." She reaffirmed, "well maybe the details are still a little hazy, you were passed out when they brought you in here." The doctor told her- not believing her. "We still need to give you a check up and a clean set of clothes." The woman continued, the girl shook her head once more, "I need to go." She said.
"This should only take a few hours if you don't have any substantial injuries." The doctor reassured, "I need to go now, i'm an adult, I can leave." Alexa justified.
She looked at the doctor's coat, 'Mia Barlow' inscribed above the pocket. "Doctor Barlow, i'm grateful and all but I really can't stay here." She pleaded. "Ma'am, it really goes against our medical advice for you to leave now, you may not think you're hurt, but you could've easily hit your head."
The words worried Alexa, she didn't want to...die
"It won't take long?" She asked, looking around at the hospital, "a couple of hours if there's nothing wrong." The woman spoke, "fine." Alexa whispered.
"I'll start with checking your vitals, but before we start, we couldn't find any identification on you and the couple didn't know any information, what's your name?"
In her half delirious state, she didn't know what to say, she couldn't say her own name, that would be stupid. As the seconds passed, she saw the woman waiting for a response, and she was panicking.
Then it slipped out.
"Charlotte Maxine Ashford."
~~
The tests seemed to be endless, and every so often, she would nervously glance at the clock. The woman hadn't questioned her name, or given a second glance to it. "Charlotte?" The doctor asked, the girl was confused for a moment before she realised that she was 'Charlotte'. She was worried, if they even checked for a Charlotte Maxine Ashford in their data base, they would see that she clearly wasn't her.
She flicked her head up, "yes?" She replied, "physically, you seem to be fine, but there is some concerns about your mental state."
"What? i'm fine." Alexa argued, "Miss Ashford, you have to understand that this is merely protocol, a couple find you alone in the woods, passed out on the side of the road, where you're covered in dirt, it's sure to raise a few red flags."
Alexa felt angry, she thought she could leave as soon as the physical tests were over, they hadn't even admitted her, she was still in the emergency room.
Looking to her left, she saw two people hovering from behind the curtain. Noticing the girl's staring, Doctor Barlow turned to face the curtain. "These are two people from our mental health and wellbeing team, and they just want to ask you a few questions." She spoke gently, Alexa adamantly shook her head, "i'm fine, I don't need to speak to anyone, make them leave!"
"Charlotte, I'd suggest that you calm down." Doctor Barlowe suggested, the girl blinked furiously, "i'm not staying here!" She screamed. Alexa stood up from the bed, breathing heavily, tears forming in her eyes. She attempted to walk past the woman, only for the woman to gently touch her shoulder, Alexa jerked back.
"Don't touch me! stay away from me! I'm leaving!"
The pair hovering from behind the curtain, moved themselves into the makeshift room. "Miss Ashford, can you take a deep breath for me?" One of them questioned. Alexa glared at them, "I don't have to do anything you say, i'm an adult and you can't make me stay here!".
"Actually Miss Ashford, it is within my professional opinion that you pose a risk to yourself or others, i'm placing you on a seventy-two hour psych hold."
Alexa stood in disbelief, she attempted to leave anyways. She had just rounded the curtain, when two male nurses came into view, Doctor Barlow having pushed a button in advance, sensing the girls distress.
It wasn't hard for them to restrain the girl, who still attempted to get out of their hold. By the end of it, her wrists were bound to the bed.
"There should be a room available, take her there and get her situated." One of the well being team spoke, and before Alexa knew it, the bed was being wheeled out of the emergency room. Tears were steadily rushing down her cheeks, if she had just stayed out of the way of the car, if she had made her own way back to civilisation.
As the girl was taken down the hallway, an ER doctor walked over to Doctor Barlow.
"Did you get a name on our Jane Doe?" He questioned, the woman nodded, still a little stunned from the recent events. "She said her name was Charlotte Maxine Ashford."
The man laughed, "that's not Charlotte Ashford." He told her, "and how do you know?" Doctor Barlow asked.
"Because Charlotte used to work here, and she definitely is not a barely five foot brunette."