A beeping sound filled the room and the steady breathing from the girl laying in bed complimented that sound. It was a peaceful scene, except from the bluish purple mark that was just visible on the side of the girl's face. Luckily for her the bruise was mostly covered by her hair and it didn't disturb the features of her face. A young man was sitting just outside of the room, sleeping with his head against the wall whilst nurses were running up and down the corridor to attend to the needs of their patients. The bright morning sun crept slowly through the windows and a golden beam of sunlight touched the face of the sleeping girl. The warmth of the light made her shift and a small smile appeared on her lips.
Keira's head was throbbing, but she didn't know why. She held her eyes closed and tried to make the pain go away, but she failed. The surroundings smelled different and she was curious why. When she opened her eyes she immediately became baffled, this definitely wasn't her bedroom, nor another room in her house. She tried to sit up, but the throbbing in her head worsened and she quickly laid down again. What had happened, why was she here? Her hand felt weird and she brought it up to her face to look at it. She could see a needle had perforated the skin of her hand, allowing a drip to put fluids into her veins. It now became clear where she was, namely in the hospital. However, she still couldn't remember why she ended up here. She racked her brain and a few images of last night came back. The dinner, the kiss and then the punch. With a sigh she closed her eyes again, it was David's fault she was here. Her mouth felt dry and she looked to her side to find something to drink. A cup of water was stood on her bedside table and she swiftly emptied it in one gulp. It felt refreshing and it also made her more awake.
She scanned the room with her eyes, not moving her head because that hurt. It was a small room, but not unpleasant. The sun that filled the room made her feel at ease, it softened the pain a little bit. She could see trees through the window, they were now fully showing their summer foliage and it was beautiful she thought, especially with the sound of chirping birds in the background. She desperately wanted to go outside, she hated the feeling of being locked up, especially on a beautiful day like this. Only she wasn't quite sure what to do, she didn't even know how she even ended up here in the first place. With her fingers she tried to push a stray strand of hair back in its place. Her fingers brushed against the new damage on her face, it felt swollen. She could imagine how it looked and found herself already thinking about how to cover it up. It was good fortune that most of it was underneath her hair and that would make the job a lot easier, nonetheless it still hurt pretty badly.
'Ah, I see that you're awake!' a bright smiling nurse came into the room. 'How are you feeling?'
Keira was slightly taken aback by the cheerful woman who was now checking her IV. When she noticed it was almost empty, she put up a new bag of NaCl. When Keira didn't respond she turned around to face her. She had a sympathetic look in her eyes and it made Keira feel uncomfortable, it was the first time that someone had seen some of her bruises.
'Can I have some water, please?' she asked shyly.
'Of course dear,' the nurse filled a new cup of water and handed it to Keira.
She thanked the nurse and took small sips of water. 'When will I be able to leave?' she asked the nurse hesitantly.
'I don't know exactly dear, the doctor has to see you first.'
'When will that be?'
'He is doing his rounds right now, so I don't think it'll take long. Do you want some breakfast?'
Keira felt her stomach rumble at the mention of breakfast. She hadn't noticed being this hungry and she nodded as an answer.
'What would you like? Breakfast has already been served, but I can get you anything you like,' the nurse sounded motherly.
'Is a croissant and some orange juice possible?
'Of course, dear. I'll be back in a bit, go lay down for a while, it'll make you feel better,' she swiftly put her warm hand on Keira's arm when she said the last sentence.
Keira smiled at her and followed her instructions. It indeed made her feel better instantly, the pillow was very soft. She felt her eyes close again and she didn't fight the feeling of sleep washing over her.
She woke up again from the sounds of stuff being put on her bedside table. When she opened her eyes she saw the same nurse preparing the table for her breakfast. The nurse turned the foldable table towards her and let Keira sit up. It looked delicious, especially for hospital standards and she was very thankful that the nurse had got her some food. To her surprise the orange juice was fresh.
The nurse noticed her surprised face and gave her an encouraging smile. 'I thought you would like that, I got it from the nurses lounge. You look like you could need some TLC,' her face now looked worried.
'It is very nice, thank you,' Keira thanked her, 'but I don't want to cause any inconvenience.'
'Oh no dear, it really wasn't. Someone has to take care of you!'
Keira picked up her croissant and took a bite. She saw the nurse backing out of the room and smiled, she had been very nice. The orange juice was delicious and she couldn't remember the last time she had fresh juice. She made a mental note for herself to make it at home more often. It wasn't that she hadn't wanted to make it, but she was always just too lazy to do it. From now on it was time that she took better care of herself, she had neglected herself long enough.
----------
Keira had been watching some TV and had made herself comfortable as far as that was possible in a hard hospital bed. A nurse had brought her some more pillows and she now had a jug of water next to her bed. Not much time had passed since breakfast, but it felt already like an eternity. She didn't want to stay in bed, but she had to until the doctor had came to examine her. She dreaded that perspective, she hated the feeling of someone touching her body and she didn't want to face the awkward questions that were going to be asked unmistakably. At that moment she heard the door opening and the doctor walked in. As a reflex she pulled the covers up a bit higher, just leaving her head visible.
'Hi, I'm doctor Fields,' he held out his hand and Keira shook it reluctantly. 'How are you feeling? Better than last night?' his eyes were friendly.
'I don't remember much from last night,' she answered.
'Well, you were unconscious and the ambulance brought you in. It seems like someone hit you quite forcefully. You were found laying on the street. Do you remember who did this?'
Keira was mystified, the last thing she remembered was that David and the drunken guy were there next to her. She couldn't really think of why she had been alone, David wouldn't have left her behind. Or would he? An unpleasant feeling made its way to her stomach, maybe he hadn't cared at all. He had been in such a state last night and she didn't even know what he was capable of.
'I can't really remember. Only some drunk shouting stuff at me and harassing me,' she looked down at her hands, not wanting to tell the truth. She could hear him sigh and he looked sad, he clearly had hoped that she could provide some information.
'It doesn't matter, we took good care of you and you'll be as good as new in a few weeks. It's only too bad that we can't give anything to the police. The person who did this to you should be locked up,' he gave Keira a serious look.
She still couldn't face him and kept herself busy with scraping some of the old nail polish off her nails.
'I'll now examine you, to look how you're injuries are healing and how your overall health is,' he pulled the stethoscope from around his neck and made her lean forward, so that he could listen to her lungs. He pulled open the gown she was wearing ant put the cold metal on her back.
'Sounds perfect.'
She could feel his fingers on her skin and it felt awful. Trying hard to resist the urge to yell at him and run out of the room she let him examine her. She noticed him resting his fingers on a few of the old bruises. She closed her eyes, this wasn't going to be good. He then also examined her arms and her legs. She heard him sigh before speaking to her.
'I don't know exactly what happened to you, but it's clear that last night wasn't the first time it happened.'
Keira still couldn't face him.
'Not only are there bruises like the ones from last night, but I also see bruises from being retained. Also on places that makes me think some things happened to you against your will.'
She felt a tear escape from her eyes when the doctor said that.
'You'll need help Miss O'Donnell, this shouldn't be happening to you.'
'I don't know how to make it stop,' she said while tears were still flowing.
'Is it someone you know?' the doctor asked cautiously.
Keira shook her head, not wanting to meet his eyes she looked at her hands again.
'Alright then. I'll get you some information about places you could visit and people you could speak to who are willing to help you.'
At that moment Keira saw David coming into the room. Her whole body became rigid immediately, she had not expected him. He looked like he had been sleeping and his eyes were full of guilt.
'Ah, Mister Sandfort,' the doctor shook David's hand.
They clearly had been introduced already and Keira looked from one to the other, she didn't understand what was going on. How did they know each other?
'Mister Sandfort was your emergency contact and he has been here since this morning,' the doctor explained.
Keira's face was still blank and David tried to make eye contact, but she wasn't ready for it.
'He can take you home if you want, you are free to go. Just make sure to take good care of yourself. Promise me that,' he said with a worrying voice. 'I'll send the nurse in to take care of everything.'
Keira nodded and still felt somewhat numb. The doctor said some things to David and then left the room. They were left in silence, a very uncomfortable silence. Keira was afraid to look at David and didn't want to be left alone together like this. She tried to fix her gown and to make her hair look decent.
'Keira, I'm so sorry,' David began. 'I know I shouldn't have done that, I'm sorry.'
Keira saw him sit down in the corner of her eye and he did look sorry, but she knew she wasn't able to forgive him, yet. He tried to grab her hand, but she quickly withdrew her hand from his grip.
'Please look at me Keira, I'm really sorry,' he pleaded.
When their eyes crossed paths she could see that he had tears in his eyes and she suddenly felt guilty. She knew he hadn't done it on purpose and he looked really sorry right now. She sighed, not knowing what to say. She tried to find the right words, but they all seemed too weak for what she wanted to say. Before she had to decide what to say, a nurse had came into the room.
'You're going home, that's nice!' she said while pulling on all kind of things.
'I'm glad I'm able to go home,' that was true. The nurse pulled out the needle from her hand and she was free to move again.
'Here, I'll help you to the bathroom so you can get dressed.'
Keira swung her legs out of bed and used the nurse's arm for support to stand up. She felt a bit wobbly at first, but after a few steps she found her balance. The nurse had put her clothes in the bathroom, David had brought clean clothes and she was very thankful for that. She didn't really want to walk out in that dress, not only because she would feel horrible overdressed, but also because it would remind her of last night. When she had put on her clothes she looked into the mirror, she looked like shit. She splashed some water on her face, but it didn't really help. There wasn't a brush and David had only packed clothes, so she tried to comb her hair with her fingers. She then realised that she also didn't have any make-up to cover up her face. She felt her heart sink and her hands started trembling. She just wanted to be home, not having to face the world. With difficulty she tried to position her hair so that it would cover the bad side of her face. After a few attempts it was quite decent and she accepted the fact that it wouldn't get any better for now.
----------
Staying at home had been horrible, but Keira was too afraid to go outside. Now people had seen her secret, she felt exposed everywhere she went. The feeling that everybody could see it was suffocating, so she just sat on the couch watching some TV. She couldn't really focus on the television and her mind wandered to memories she didn't want to revisit. Reading a book had also not been very successful and she had given up to find something else to do. She had called Abby and they had talked about everything, well almost everything. Keira didn't tell anything about the trip to the hospital and she didn't intent to do that ever. She didn't want pity from her friends, she had to fix her own problems and she didn't want to burden anyone else with them.
Keira shrieked when she heard her phone ring. She picked up her phone and saw that her mother was calling. Keira smiled and picked up, she hadn't talked to her mother in a while.
'Hey sweetie, how are you?' her mother's voice sounded.
'I'm alright, how's life at home?' she tried to sound cheerful.
'Your father is still insufferable and I'm going crazy,' he mother gasped.
'So nothing has changed then?' Keira remarked while grinning.
'Not really. Only packing a suitcase causes your father more stress at the moment.'
'You're packing, for what?' Keira asked in surprise.
'We're going on holiday you silly, like we do every year.'
'Oh yeah, I forgot,' Keira felt stupid. Since she and her sister were little they had always gone on holiday to Switzerland in winter and later also during the summer. The last couple of years they even had their own house there, because her parents had bought a chalet. It was a beautiful chalet and the surroundings were even better. The town was small, but it was perfect. It was then that Keira came up with an idea.
'Hey mum,' she asked slowly.
'What's up, dear?' her mother answered.
'Can I come with you to Switzerland?'
'Of course, we would love to have you here!' her mother sounded surprised.
'Ok then, when will you be there? Then I can book a flight.'
'Eh, we're leaving tomorrow morning, so I think around midday,' her mother answered happily.
'Ok, you'll see me there then, looking forward to it!'
'This is such a nice surprise Keira, I think your dad would love it too.'
'Until tomorrow then, bye!'
'Bye honey, we'll see you tomorrow.'
With that Keira hung up the phone, not really sure about what she had just done. It felt adventurous and she giggled, this wasn't what she would normally do. She liked everything planned and organised, but she felt like she had to get out of this house, a change of scenery. Also a time away from David would do her good, she needed to think about what she wanted. She quickly sent a message to Abby and Tom to notify them and booked a plane ticket. She would visit Tom tomorrow before she was leaving, because he was moving they day after tomorrow and she didn't want to go without saying goodbye.
With a smile on her face she went upstairs to gopack her suitcase. She would only be gone for a couple of weeks, but she stillwanted to pack almost everything she owned. She chuckled, she just liked theconcept of choice. She knew most of it would never leave the suitcase, but shedidn't care. As long as it would fit into the suitcase, it would be fine. Beingas organized as she was, packing went fairly smoothly. It didn't take long atall before she had packed everything and her suitcase was standing beside thebed. She looked around the room to see if she had forgotten anything, but sheseemed to be ready. The only thing she still had to do was explain to David whyshe was going away, she didn't think he would like it, but so be it. Sheshrugged her shoulders and tried not to care, she had to do this for herselfand with that in mind she went downstairs.