The shiny badge blinded me as I opened my eyes as best as I could. My head throbbed in unison with the faint beeping of machines in the background. Where was I, and why did my entire body ache? I tried to sit up and the shiny badge moved closer.
“Hey, take it easy,” a woman’s voice gently warned. Who was she and why was she wearing a badge on her belt loop?
“Where am I?” My hoarse voice was barely recognizable.
“You’re in the hospital. I’m Detective Lyons.”
“Detective?”
“Yes. Do you remember anything from last night?”
The bile burning the back of my throat began to rise as the memories rushed to the forefront of my mind. “It’s fine. I just need to go home.”
“Not right now. You’re not in any shape. You didn’t have any ID on you. Can I get your name?”
“Bree,” I whispered.
“Okay, Bree, do you have a last name?”
I shook my head, focusing my attention on the doctor entering my room.
“Glad to see you’re up, young lady.” He shined the flashlight into my eyes. “How are you feeling?” he asked.
“Sore.”
“You got roughed up pretty bad. The nurse will be in shortly to help you use the ladies’ room.”
“I don’t need to use the ladies’ room. I just want to go home. Can you please unhook all of this stuff from me so I can leave?” I raised my arm, looking up at the IV pole to which I was attached.
“We’d like to observe you for a few more hours to make sure there’s no head injury.”
“No, really I’m fine,” I protested.
“Well, we’re going to need to do a rape exam.”
“I wasn’t raped!” I shouted.
“Bree, how do you know for certain?” Detective Lyons chimed in. Her voice was calm and gentle.
“Because I wasn’t. I think I would know that. I wouldn’t allow that to happen. Why do you think I look the way I do right now?”
“Bree, who did this to you?” Detective Lyons asked.
I shook my head, refusing to divulge any more information. As much as I despised Senator Stevens and wanted him to pay for what he did, I knew the media would have a field day, putting my face and profession all over the news, which would only disgust my family more.
“Bree, why are you protecting this person? He could have killed you.”
“I’m not protecting anyone. I just want to forget it happened. Please. I want to go home.”
“If I allow you to leave now, someone needs to pick you up and be responsible for you. I’m not releasing you on your own. You’re on some pretty heavy-duty pain meds,” the doctor lectured.
I squeezed my eyes shut. Every inch of my body ached, but it didn’t hurt nearly as badly as the pain inside my heart. I was truly all alone.
“Is there anyone we can call for you?” the doctor asked, reminding me of that truth once again.
No, there’s not. I’m all alone because I chose a job that alienated me from everyone important in my life and landed me where I am now. I nodded, staring straight ahead, trying to focus through the tiny slits of my swollen eyes. “My phone is in my purse. Can you please find Hannah in my contacts? Call her and ask her to come and get me.” I hated putting that burden on her, but I was all out of options and I needed to get out of the hospital.
“Very well, I’ll have the nurse take care of that, but I need to go over some medication instructions with you before you leave. You have a dislocated shoulder—that’s going to take a while to heal. You’re going to need to baby it. I’m going to send you home with a sling to prevent further injury. Make sure you wear it, and no lifting of any kind.”
“Got it.” I was hoping that if I appeared to be cooperative, my release would go a lot smoother.
“Okay, I’ll get your discharge papers together, provided you have someone who can be responsible for you.”
I nodded, hoping Hannah would come through.
“I’m going to leave this with you, Bree. If you change your mind, please do not hesitate to call me,” Detective Lyons said, placing her business card on the table next to me.
“Sure.” My voice faltered, fighting off the sleepiness that was overcoming me.
“I’ll let you get some rest. Please make sure you take care of yourself.”
I nodded, closing my eyes and giving in to my exhaustion.
***
“Bree, oh my goodness, what happened to you?” Hannah’s voice cracked with emotion as I awoke to her sitting by my bedside.
“I’m so sorry I had to bother you with this, Hannah, but they wouldn’t discharge me unless I had someone to bring me home.”
“Oh, it’s no bother at all, Bree. Who did this to you?” she inquired once again, that time on the verge of tears.
I shook my head. “I-I don’t want to talk about it. I just want to go home.”
Her warm soft hand overlapped mine, squeezing it gently, silently offering her support and not pressuring me for an answer any further.
“So, I see the cavalry has arrived to take you home,” the nurse announced as she walked into the room and to the side of my bed. “Hold your breath and count to three.”
I followed her directive, gasping when she ripped off the tape that was covering the IV on my arm. She carefully removed all of my wires and helped to get me dressed. Just that little bit of movement caused me excruciating pain.
“Do you have a coat?” she asked, as I sat there in my sleeveless dress that I had worn the night before.
“No—I…” I shook my head, pretty certain I had left it in the hotel room.
“She can wear mine,” Hannah offered.
“Okay, here are her discharge papers and the directions for her medications,” the nurse explained to her.
“You’re gonna be out of it for the next twenty-four hours. We had some pretty strong stuff pumping through that IV. Just take it easy, sleep as much as you can, and no driving,” she instructed me.
“What about my bill? I don’t have insurance.” Panic erupted, just imagining how much the hospital visit was going to be.
“It’s okay. Someone from the hospital will be contacting you to make arrangements. That’s not for you to worry about right now. You just need to concentrate on getting better.”
“Okay. Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me, it’s my job. Just promise me you’ll never let anyone do this to you again.”
I nodded, fighting back the tears. My knees buckled and the room spun as Hannah got me out of bed and into a standing position. I grabbed her arm, taking deep breaths, trying to find my balance and shake it off.
“Okay, my dear, hop aboard. Hospital rules say I have to take you out in this,” the nurse instructed, placing a wheelchair alongside of me.
I wasn’t fighting it. With the way I was feeling, there wasn’t any way I’d be able to walk out anyway. Hannah wrapped her coat around my shoulders and we were off. Everything was a blur—and not because my eyes were basically swollen shut, but because I was in a fog mentally. I kept my head down the entire time, fairly certain my face was pretty banged up. I was embarrassed enough; the last thing I wanted was to draw the attention to it by a random passerby on the way out.
A wicked and welcoming blustery wind whipped through the air as we exited the hospital. I pulled Hannah’s coat around me tighter, instantly feeling my brain fog lifting as I inhaled every last bit of the bitter cold air that my nasal passages would allow. The nurse waited by my side until Hannah was able to flag down a cab, and then both of them helped me up, easing me into the back seat. I hated feeling so helpless. I never wanted to depend on anyone, and up until then, I’d never had to.
Hannah got in the other side and took a seat next to me. “What’s your address?” she asked.
I recognized just how out of it I was when it took me a moment to come up with the most basic of information. I rattled off our destination to the driver and we were on our way. Every bump and turn would send a jolt of pain through my body. I closed my eyes, trying to muddle through it and not appear as the weak little victim that I had suddenly become.
I gave Hannah my key when we reached my apartment. The seconds it took her to open the door passed like hours. I just wanted to get into my own bed and sleep until the whole nightmare was over. Relief washed over me when the door flung open and I was finally inside. I was home. I wasn’t sure how much longer that place would be my home—there was no way I’d be able to continue to afford it without my current job—but for the time being, I wasn’t going to worry about that. The only thing on my mind at the moment was a long hot shower and my nice soft bed. Hannah walked over to the window, opening the blinds, allowing the morning sun to stream in. Oddly enough the welcoming light of a new day helped to lift my spirits ever so slightly. “I’m so sorry to have bothered you with this.” I turned to her, so grateful for her friendship or whatever it was the two of us had formed.
“Bree, there’s no need to thank me. I’m glad I was able to help you out. That’s what friends do for one another. They’re there at the best times and they’re there at the worst times. Relishing in the happy moments and pitching in to help during the bad ones.”
Her words resonated deep inside my heart. I hadn’t had a real friend since Nathan. Once I lost him, I closed myself out to the rest of the world, never expecting to have that bond with anyone else again, but now I did. Hannah and I were such an unlikely duo, but we were friends. It was a word I didn’t throw around lightly, and one I valued more than any amount of money in the world. Hannah was here for me now when no one else was, and not out of a sense of duty, but because she truly cared. The tears I had been holding back in the hospital and during the cab ride home spilled from my eyes and down my face. But they weren’t ones of self-pity. They were ones of gratitude. Thankful for escaping the mess I was in last night with just some bumps and bruises. Even though they were going to take a while to heal, I knew eventually they would. But most of all, I was thankful to the woman who was a stranger not so long ago, and now the most compassionate and genuine friend I could ever ask for—just when I needed one most.