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“So, you weren’t there, right?”
“No, I wasn’t, but at the way it looks, I wish I was so I’d be with her right now.”
“I called into the hospital and told them you were coming for her. Just leave your name at the front desk and they’ll take you to her.”
“Thanks, Davis.”
“You’re welcome, kid. And good luck. By the look of things, you’re going to need all of the luck you can get.”
Two hours later, Melanie and I enter the hospital and alert the receptionist that we are here to see Raya. She breathes a sigh of relief, telling us she’s happy someone has claimed her. She calls a nurse to come meet us at the reception and lead us to the fourth floor. A few minutes later, a bubbly nurse arrives and guides us to Raya’s room. As we follow her, Melanie reaches over and squeezes my hand. I wink at her and smile wide. For both of us, this is a time to be grateful and cherish life because we finally found her and we aren’t letting her go. No matter what she says or what she wants.
We ride the elevator to the fourth floor and turn left at the first corner. A few doors down, there’s a cop outside of someone’s room. It must be hers. A doctor notices us approaching and stops us.
“Hold on, who are you?”
The nurse responds, “Doctor, they are here for Jane Doe.”
He exhales, “What a relief. I’m Doctor Richard Hunter. I’m the attending physician for this floor. Poor Jane has been here for the past few days.”
Melanie speaks up, “Her name is Raya. What happened to her?”
He lets out a deep sigh, “Well, it’s not a light subject, but you’ll need to know eventually. Raya was brought to us with a gunshot wound and some internal bleeding. The surgery to stop the bleeding and remove the bullet was successful; however, there is some extensive damage to her that will take several months to heal properly.”
As he says all of this, anger, hatred, fear, and sadness sink into my heart and soul. Listening to the doctor describe her wounds and bodily injuries makes me absolutely sick. I want to throw up and punch someone all at the same time.
Melanie asks, “How bad are the injuries, doctor? I need an extensive report. I’m a nurse in New York so I understand what will need to be done.”
“Well, it seems as though she’s been the victim of sexual and physical abuse for the past five years now. After her surgery, we did an examination and we discovered she has some scarring on her cervix and in her anal canal. Her ribs are broken and she has a collapsed lung. If it doesn’t heal properly, we may need to have it removed and she will need a transplant. There’s also a history of broken bones all throughout her body. For instance, her wrists have been broken several times, all of which never fully healed. Her shoulder has been dislocated and her left ankle was fractured as well. She has a scar on her chest which looks like a stab wound. She’s also missing a few teeth and her face is bruised, but with time, that should clear up.
Melanie begins to cry and I wrap my arm around her. She looks at Dr. Hunter and asks quietly, “Were there any signs of pregnancy?”
My breath catches at her question. Pregnant? Could she have had a kid?
Dr. Hunter shakes his head, “No, we didn’t see any history of pregnancy; however, she did test positive for syphilis, so she’s receiving antibiotics for that as we speak. I’m not sure how long she’s been infected, but hopefully not too long before it could spread any further.”
I step up and shake his hand, “Thank you, Sir, for taking good care of her. Can we go see her now?”
“Yes, due to the pain, we’ve kept her asleep these past few days, so please be mindful of that. She will need both of you in order to get through this. What she went through is something that no one should have to experience. But sometimes, it’s the time after the terrors and traumas that take a toll on th
e victim. She will need therapy and counseling for several months. And I strongly recommend she be under close watch by someone at all times.”
“Yes, Sir. I don’t plan on leaving her side.”
The doctor leaves us and we walk to her door. The cop looks us up and down and scoots over so we can enter the room. I push the door open, letting Melanie enter the room first. As she sets her eyes on Raya, she immediately bursts into tears and I cradle her into me.
I glance at Raya and the first thing I notice is her bloodied and swollen face. Thoughts of pure hatred leak into my mind and my blood begins to boil. Her entire body is wrapped in bandages and casts while tubes are stuck in her nostrils. The beeping of the heart monitor is the only noise in the room. Even Melanie cries in complete silence.
I let go of Melanie and sit her on the bed, next to Raya. I walk up to Raya’s sleeping body and grab her hand. The moment our hands touch, a jolt of electricity flows through my body. I smile at the normalcy of it and rejoice. She’s here. She’s finally with me. I rub my hands along her forehead and bend down to kiss the top of her head.
I whisper in her ear, “I’m taking you back home with me. I promised to keep you safe and I won’t ever stop. I’ll do everything to protect you. Even if it’s from yourself.”
Duke
For the remainder of the night, we stay in her room, watching her rest. I ask the nurse to bring in a cot for Melanie and I decide to sleep in the chair. As Melanie instantly falls asleep, I drag to chair closer to the bed. I reach my hand out to grab Raya’s wrist and notice something drawn on it. Turning her hand over, I see a barcode tattooed onto her wrist. A pang of guilt hits me as I imagine the pain she must have felt while receiving this. I rub my finger along the tattoo and try to decipher the pattern of the numbers, but I’m too tired to think clearly.
I glance at her sweet face and reach my hand out to touch her head. Her hair is just as I remembered, soft and silky. My fingers comb through her long hair and I remember the first time I laid eyes on her. I’ll never forget the day that changed my life forever. Raya Winters utterly captivated my heart and she has me until it no longer beats.
A few hours later, the nurse enters the room and I wake from my short nap. My eyes are groggy and heavy and my body tenses with stress and nerves as I look at Raya, only to still find her asleep. I look over at Melanie’s chair, but it’s empty. I stand up and walk toward the bathroom. She’s not in there. Shit, where the hell did she go?
