The hospital was chilly, but nothing like what outside was. I was laying in the bed, looking up at the ceiling. I ended up in more hospitals than I could've possibly imagined before moving in with Lila.
"Ariel, honey, are you feeling any better?" Nurse Mia asked, her voice quiet. Almost like she knew I'd been through something awful. I had been through something awful.
My family had betrayed me. And they didn't even know they were doing it.
I turned my head away from her. I didn't want to see her soft, warm, comforting brown eyes looking my way. Concern and worry were radiating off of her. I could feel it from my bed.
When Nurse Mia found out I was here, she burst into my room, talking about how I was supposed to go a good while longer before coming back here. How I wasn't supposed to come back to the hospitals till I accidentally cut my finger while chopping some veggies and my brothers freaked and drove me to the hospital. She had stopped talking the moment she noticed how empty my eyes were.
Back to the present. Her shoulders slumped and she stuffed her hands in her pockets. I could hear shuffling around. I watched her in the window, her reflection showing her defeated posture. She had been trying to get me to eat, to speak, for hours now.
She walked out of the door, shaking her head sadly. Something had broken my heart, the final pieces of it, and she knew that. She knew that I was completely and totally destroyed now. And she pitied me.
Someone popped their head into my room, checking to make sure the coast was clear. She smiled and bounded over to my bed, her brownish blond hair swinging around her shoulders in perfect ringlets.
"Thank God. Those stupid guards have been tailing me the whole day, waiting for me to screw up." She laughed, plopping herself in a chair by my bedside. I arched an eyebrow. Who was this girl and why was she in my hospital room?
And why was she in one of those itchy hospital gowns?
"I'm sorry, I think you have the wrong room." I breathed, the sound barely passing my chapped lips. I then wished I had some water, but I didn't care enough to move to get some. The girl cocked her head at me, her watery hazel eyes sparkling with mischief.
"I'm Kamrie." The girl, now named Kamrie, held her hand out to shake. I hesitantly shook her hand. She beamed down at me.
"Ariel." I breathed out once more. She looked like she wanted to pinch my cheeks but she held onto her self-control. I was extremely grateful for that.
"What are you in for?" She asked, gesturing around my hospital room with a lazy wave of her pale hand. I shrugged, pressing some buttons on the side of my bed so I could sit up. She bit her lip.
"I told someone the truth, they didn't believe it and so they left me out in the rain. You?" I summed everything up quite nicely, without giving away any major details. Kamrie's smile fell at my words.
She looked a little bit younger than me. Maybe fifteen?
"Mom got me hooked on heroin when I was eight. She ran off a couple of weeks ago so I admitted myself and I'm now in the process of getting clean." Kamrie said, her smile faker this time. The shock must have shown through my calm mask.
What kind of mother hooks their kid on heroin when they're eight? What kind of mother hooks their kid on heroin at all?
And I thought my father was awful.
"I'm so sorry you're going through this." I whispered. Kamrie shrugged, gulping down what I imagined to be a sizable lump in her throat. She blinked the tears away. It must have been so hard, admitting herself and trying to get clean.
"It's whatever." Kamrie muttered, turning towards the door. At first I thought I made her angry, but then I looked out the door. There were some security guards holding a twenty-something year old guy back from punching a balding fat man.
"You ever touch that kid again and I'll kill you, you son of a bitch!" The younger guy screamed. It was only then when I noticed the six or seven year old girl hiding behind a woman who was cursing at the older guy with all her might. It was interesting.
Was that how my family would react if they found out?
Why did I keep calling them family? They had betrayed me.
"Don't you think it's funny that the one thing everyone on earth will rally behind is kids, and yet, there are so many children being hurt. People will fight and kill for children-children and puppies-and yet, people turn away from so many kids who are in constant pain." Kamrie suddenly spoke up as we watched the commotion in a comfortable silence.
I didn't know why I was so comfortable with her. Maybe it was because she and I had both been through something horrible.
Maybe it was because I was lonely.
"I think it's funny that mothers and fathers all over the world turn away from other children, because it isn't their kid. And that means that the child isn't their problem." I mumbled, dropping my eyes to stare at the blindingly white blankets.
Kamrie and I sat in silence, not knowing what to say or do.
"And there are also the angels on earth that are willing to pick you up every time you fall." Nurse Mia said, making both Kamrie and I gasp in shock. We hadn't even heard her come in. She watched me with pursed lips, a stern expression in her eyes.
The police were here and they wanted to question me.
Nurse Mia wanted to make sure I didn't get myself into any trouble.
"It's easier to remember the monsters." Kamrie shrugged, looking unaffected by Nurse Mia's words. Nurse Mia gave Kamrie a soft smile, the hints of a frown playing at the corners of her lips. Two of the hospital security guards pushed into the room, panting and swearing. Nurse Mia cleared her throat, making the two men stop in their tracks.
They were stalking over to grab Kamrie and escort her to wherever she was supposed to go, but one small noise from Nurse Mia had them backtracking quickly.
"I think you two gents need to ask the nice young lady to go with you." Nurse Mia plastered a fake smile on her face. Kamrie looked impressed by Nurse Mia's small sentence that got the men to back off.
"Ms. Davis, how about you come back to your room with us?" The older looking guard asked politely, his voice a little strained. It was obvious they were terrified of Nurse Mia, which made me want to chuckle.
She was tiny and they were scared of her.
Like elephants and mice.
"Sounds like a plan, Stan." Kamrie shot them a sarcastic salute, turned and bowed to Nurse Mia, and then hugged me.
"You'll come and visit me, right?" I asked, desperately not wanting to be alone. Kamrie smirked and leaned closer to me, her mouth right next to my ear.
"Already planned on it. Just gotta lose the two idiots behind me." She whispered, her lips hardly moving. I smiled at her and hugged her tightly. I didn't want to lose my new friend. Kamrie was escorted away by the two guards, and Nurse Mia followed to 'Make sure they treat that little angel right'.
Nurse Mia was an inspiration.
Tiny and frightening, but warm and motherly. How that all tied together, I had no idea. I was just grateful Nurse Mia liked me. The glare she shot those men was horrifying.
As soon as everyone was gone, I pressed some buttons until I was laying down. I let out a breath of relief, not wanting to have to entertain anyone else. The blank and emotionless look I had on before Kamrie, took over once more.
The door creaked open.
I assumed it was Nurse Mia, or even Kamrie. I was wrong.
"Hey Ari."