“Call the ambulance. He’s hurt. Badly.”
Who was hurt?
“What happened in here?” That male voice again.
Two pairs of shoes stood in front of my face and then the restraints were blissfully removed with a tug. Vomit heaved from my stomach, and this time there was no stopping it.
What had been my breakfast was now all over the floor. Yellow runny eggs in a film of bile sat in a heap, making my stomach feel like it was going to pitch again at the sight of it. Shoes that were frayed at the toes nearly stepped right into the vomit.
My inner monologue said something about how unfortunate that would have been, but I couldn’t hold onto the thought. My brain felt like mush.
When I was able to look up, I saw that they belonged to the principal, who looked none too happy to see me. He was the same bastard that had dropped me off in my room that first night here. All business and annoyance, like me being assaulted by one of his employees was an inconvenience.
“Cover yourself up,” he said with a sneer, but my arms and legs weren’t working. I felt like dead weight. Numb, but at the same time so full of overwhelming amounts of pain.
The school nurse, Jane, came in, pushing past the crowd of people who’d gathered at the scene of my most humiliating and gut-wrenching moment of my life.
“Can you stand?” she asked, pulling my skirt down for me. That small gesture broke something in me and the tears came out even harder now. I heard my throat crack and then a wail that was lodged deep inside my chest came barreling out of my mouth. She’d been the only soul at this school who seemed to give a shit about what happened to us. Though she was just as scared of the authorities here as I was.
“He— he,” I couldn’t form the words. I couldn’t stop feeling him all over me. I wanted to run. To flay my own skin off my body from where he’d touched me. I wanted to watch him burn for what he did to me.
“Shh, we’ll get you all fixed up,” she soothed.
Her kindness felt so out of place in this fucked up school, where cruelty was its currency and words were commonly used as weapons. “Come on, now. Let’s get you up. Do you mind if I touch you?”
I nodded my head and let her grip my arm.
Jolts of pain sliced into my nerves as feeling began to come back into my extremities as I stood with the nurse’s help. It hurt, and I couldn’t seem to stop shaking. Nurse Jane’s touch felt like too much. While she meant well, I didn’t want anyone’s hands on me. But I didn’t have much of a choice, since my body wasn’t cooperating without her assistance.
“That’s it,” she said in a calm voice. Both her eyebrows were furrowed. They looked like the kind of eyebrows that were popular in the 90’s. Thin and arched high. It was difficult to tell if she was a young thirties or mid-fifties, it could go either way and I wouldn’t have been surprised. Focusing on her kind face helped to distract me from the horrific situation I now found myself in. It hadn’t sunk in yet, what had just happened. But Pastor John had been caught. The terror would finally end because someone saw. Shock ebbed around my body and came in sharp, unexpected jolts.
My legs felt like Jell-O, and I wobbled as she let me lean my weight onto her small frame. Wetness from my tears clung to my cheeks and made part of my hair damp. So many pairs of eyes gawked at me as I stumbled out into the hall. My feet slowly managing to drag as pins and needles stabbed my skin. I felt like I was going to pass out, but I was ushered into the small nurse’s room where I curled up into a tiny ball on the cot and cried. Sobs wracked through me as I let myself fall apart. I’d promised myself that I wouldn’t let this place break me. But here I was, utterly and irreparably broken.
“Don’t worry. They’re arresting him now,” Nurse Jane said, getting a blanket to cover me. My eyes took in the small room, focusing in on the peeling posters that were covered in cartoon characters and health tips.
They were arresting him. I took a deep and much needed breath knowing that he would be punished for what he’d done.
“He’ll be expelled of course. That Cain has always been trouble, but I can’t believe he’d do something like this.” The nurse shook her head and tsked loudly.
It felt like everything in my brain came to an immediate halt as I processed her words. Did she say Cain was being arrested? “Wait, what?” I asked, sitting up too fast. The blanket fell from the bed to thefloor and my head spun. Cain hadn’t been the one to hurt me. Pastor John was. Was Cain the one that had burst through the doors? He must have been.
“Shh. Lie down. Your parents will be here soon. You don’t have to worry.”
“But—”
“Nurse Jane, can you come here please? The police want to take your statement,” the principal stuck his head into the room, not even bothering to glance over at me. Fucking prick.
“Wait, I need to speak with them,” I urged, trying to stand. “Cain didn’t do anything wrong,” I rushed out. “He was trying to save me.”
Both the nurse and the principal looked at me then, their disdain evident. Twin pillars of confusion and disappointment.
“Oh dear, maybe she hit her head,” the nurse mused. “We’ll have the paramedics come take a look at you too.”
No. This couldn’t be happening.
My stomach churned again and I dry heaved. Nothing came out but a wet, heartbroken sob.
“But they’ve got the wrong person!” I managed to cry.
