Posted on 7:19 AM | By Biki Honko | In
chapter 5
"What do you think we should do? It's been 4 days already." Kevin looked over at Morgan who was watching, hoping for Soah. "Do we go to her house if she doesn't show today?"
"Nope. Here she comes, and she looks bad, really bad." Morgan watched as Soah slowly came walking down the sidewalk towards them. "Call your dad, we need his help. Shit, what am I saying, she needs his help."
Quickly walking away from Morgan, "Dad? She finally showed up, and she looks like shit. How fast can you get here?"
"I think about 15 minutes if everything goes my way. Try to play it cool, don't react to how she looks. Keep it as upbeat as possible, you don't want to scare her off." Running down the office hallway, sliding to a stop in front of the reception desk, "Mae I will be out for the rest of the day, family emergency. I need you to cancel all of my appointments for today."
"Dad said about 15 minutes. We have to pretend nothing is wrong to keep her here. Can we do that?" Watching Soah make her way to them, he realized just how bad she looked. "Shit! How are we going to pull this off until dad gets here?"
"I have no idea Kev, no idea at all. Fuck it all, she is still wearing the same clothes!"
"Book? Am I doing the right thing? Should I trust them?" A choking sound slipped out, "How in the hell could things be worse than they are now?"
Arriving to where the guys stood, Soah stood looking down, swaying a bit. "Umm....hi...do you remember me?"
"Soah, of course we remember you." Morgan didn't know what to say, or how to act. He was feeling very uncomfortable with the situation. Searching for a topic that was safe. "Shit, think Morgan, think! Food, yeah that would work." Clearing his throat he asked, "Dude, I am hungry! Anyone else hungry?"
Kevin shot him a quick look, realized what Morgan was attempting to do, and answered, "I could eat. Sure. What about you Soah? Let's sit down and think about where we would like to go eat." The boys both started walking towards a bench, and looked back at Soah, just standing there. "Ya coming Soah?"
Quietly Soah said, "I can't sit down....it hurts to much." A single tear ran down her face, embarrassment flowing thru her. Admitting her pain to them was mortifying. "Oh God, what are they thinking about me now? Will they just walk away?"
Morgan gently smiled at her. "It's going to be ok now Soah. You are safe now. Isn't that right, Kev?"
"Yes, you are safe with us now. Do you mind if I call Dave? He has been so worried about you." At Soah's tiny nod, Kevin whipped his phone out and called Dave. "Hey there Babe, she is here with us at the park. Can you break free, and get over here? Yeah, should be here soon. Cool, see ya, love ya."
Before Kevin could put his phone away, it rang again. "Dad! Yeah, we are on the north side, by the big stand of trees." Kevin put his phone away, stood still for a minute, and said, "Soah? My dad is going to help you. We called him when we saw how bad you looked. Don't be mad that we called him, ok?"
"Did you know before about......" The words ground to a halt, as Soah dropped her eyes, and tears ran down her face. "How did you guess?"
Nervously, Morgan looked at Soah before saying, "Dave looked in your bag, and read parts of your book. He knew something was wrong, and he was worried. I am so very sorry that we did such a thing. Don't be mad at us, please."
"Oh, God, oh, God! They read Book? How much do they know? No secrets? Laid bare. Is this what I want, need, have hoped for? Will they throw me away after seeing what is inside of me? What is not inside of me. Mostly empty, rooms of nothing but dust, and memories of not better days. Contracting into less and less space, as pieces are sheared away. Thoughts are zooming, fast, fast, supersonic speed through what is joking referred to as a life, my fucking life. As if there is anything at all of worth in this broken body, broken mind, shattered soul. Dregs of a person, used up, worn out, swept into a corner. Prey, nothing but prey, what would predators do with prey such as me? Is that it? They want to use me also? NO! I can't do this! Flee, take flight, escape! Tormented body, tormented mind, play thing for others, who have no real desire for their toy. Move! Go! Now!" Soah stuttered into movement, body out of sync, mind trapped in syrup, moving forward, taking another step away. Fear riding herd to her emotions.
"Soah? Where are you going?" Morgan jumped in front of Soah, heading her off, keeping in front of her to thwart her escape.
Kevin reached out a hand and touched her back to comfort her into staying. "AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH! ! ! ! ! ! " Soah collapsed into a heap onto the sidewalk. "Don't hurt me, please, oh please. I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'll be good, I promise!"
George who was close at this point heard her loud scream of pain, and started running. As he rounded the corner, he saw a small girl laying bent on the ground, with Kevin and Morgan standing over her. The boys were both crying. "What happened? What did you do?"
"Dad, I just barely touched her, honest! I wouldn't hurt anyone, you know that!"
Kevin was grabbed into a hug by George. "I know that son, I know."
George let go of Kevin and knelt down by Soah. "Hi Soah. You don't know me, but I am Kevin's dad, George Gardner. Would you let me help you? Please?" Getting no response from Soah, he carefully and slowly stretched his hand out to Soah's face. Gently touching her cheek, causing Soah to flinch slightly away.
Moaning in agony, tears still bathing her cheeks, Soah attempted to move away from George. Pain flooded into her and quickly overwhelmed her. Soah's world contracted down into a pinprick and everything went black.
George saw her pass out, and quickly dialed 911. "Yes, this is George Gardner, I am with an injured female at Balster Park, north side. No, she is not conscious at this time. No, I only know that her first name is Soah, umm high school aged I would guess. Yes, we will stay with her. We are close to the large stand of trees. How long? Yes, I will stay on the line."
Dave came running up and skidded to a stop when he saw Soah lying crumpled on the ground. He quickly looked at George, who shook his head, no. Reaching out to Kevin, "What happened?"
Kevin and Morgan quickly filled in what little they knew as they stood waiting for the ambulance. Dave sat down next to Soah, and started to stroke her head, jerking his hand back, "Oh, shit! She has a huge lump on the side of her head. Did she hit her head when she fell down?"
"No, she fell in slow motion, just sort of turned to jelly. That must have been from before." Morgan quietly answered Dave.
"Kevin? Come here son. I need your phone a minute." Taking Kevin's phone he dialed in a number with his left hand, still giving answers to the 911 operator. "This is Tom Briggs number, call it and tell him what is happening."
"Mr, Briggs? This is Kevin Gardner, George's son. Soah finally showed up at the park today, and she is in a bad way. Dad got here just a few minutes ago. He called 911 when she passed out. No, I can't see any marks, her injuries seem to be under her clothes for the most part. Her face is bruised, and one of her eyes is swollen shut, oh and she has a big bump on her head. Yes, when we find out what hospital she was sent to someone will call you. Ok, thanks, bye."
"What do you think we should do? It's been 4 days already." Kevin looked over at Morgan who was watching, hoping for Soah. "Do we go to her house if she doesn't show today?"
"Nope. Here she comes, and she looks bad, really bad." Morgan watched as Soah slowly came walking down the sidewalk towards them. "Call your dad, we need his help. Shit, what am I saying, she needs his help."
Quickly walking away from Morgan, "Dad? She finally showed up, and she looks like shit. How fast can you get here?"
"I think about 15 minutes if everything goes my way. Try to play it cool, don't react to how she looks. Keep it as upbeat as possible, you don't want to scare her off." Running down the office hallway, sliding to a stop in front of the reception desk, "Mae I will be out for the rest of the day, family emergency. I need you to cancel all of my appointments for today."
"Dad said about 15 minutes. We have to pretend nothing is wrong to keep her here. Can we do that?" Watching Soah make her way to them, he realized just how bad she looked. "Shit! How are we going to pull this off until dad gets here?"
"I have no idea Kev, no idea at all. Fuck it all, she is still wearing the same clothes!"
"Book? Am I doing the right thing? Should I trust them?" A choking sound slipped out, "How in the hell could things be worse than they are now?"
Arriving to where the guys stood, Soah stood looking down, swaying a bit. "Umm....hi...do you remember me?"
"Soah, of course we remember you." Morgan didn't know what to say, or how to act. He was feeling very uncomfortable with the situation. Searching for a topic that was safe. "Shit, think Morgan, think! Food, yeah that would work." Clearing his throat he asked, "Dude, I am hungry! Anyone else hungry?"
Kevin shot him a quick look, realized what Morgan was attempting to do, and answered, "I could eat. Sure. What about you Soah? Let's sit down and think about where we would like to go eat." The boys both started walking towards a bench, and looked back at Soah, just standing there. "Ya coming Soah?"
Quietly Soah said, "I can't sit down....it hurts to much." A single tear ran down her face, embarrassment flowing thru her. Admitting her pain to them was mortifying. "Oh God, what are they thinking about me now? Will they just walk away?"
Morgan gently smiled at her. "It's going to be ok now Soah. You are safe now. Isn't that right, Kev?"
"Yes, you are safe with us now. Do you mind if I call Dave? He has been so worried about you." At Soah's tiny nod, Kevin whipped his phone out and called Dave. "Hey there Babe, she is here with us at the park. Can you break free, and get over here? Yeah, should be here soon. Cool, see ya, love ya."
Before Kevin could put his phone away, it rang again. "Dad! Yeah, we are on the north side, by the big stand of trees." Kevin put his phone away, stood still for a minute, and said, "Soah? My dad is going to help you. We called him when we saw how bad you looked. Don't be mad that we called him, ok?"
"Did you know before about......" The words ground to a halt, as Soah dropped her eyes, and tears ran down her face. "How did you guess?"
Nervously, Morgan looked at Soah before saying, "Dave looked in your bag, and read parts of your book. He knew something was wrong, and he was worried. I am so very sorry that we did such a thing. Don't be mad at us, please."
"Oh, God, oh, God! They read Book? How much do they know? No secrets? Laid bare. Is this what I want, need, have hoped for? Will they throw me away after seeing what is inside of me? What is not inside of me. Mostly empty, rooms of nothing but dust, and memories of not better days. Contracting into less and less space, as pieces are sheared away. Thoughts are zooming, fast, fast, supersonic speed through what is joking referred to as a life, my fucking life. As if there is anything at all of worth in this broken body, broken mind, shattered soul. Dregs of a person, used up, worn out, swept into a corner. Prey, nothing but prey, what would predators do with prey such as me? Is that it? They want to use me also? NO! I can't do this! Flee, take flight, escape! Tormented body, tormented mind, play thing for others, who have no real desire for their toy. Move! Go! Now!" Soah stuttered into movement, body out of sync, mind trapped in syrup, moving forward, taking another step away. Fear riding herd to her emotions.
"Soah? Where are you going?" Morgan jumped in front of Soah, heading her off, keeping in front of her to thwart her escape.
Kevin reached out a hand and touched her back to comfort her into staying. "AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH! ! ! ! ! ! " Soah collapsed into a heap onto the sidewalk. "Don't hurt me, please, oh please. I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'll be good, I promise!"
George who was close at this point heard her loud scream of pain, and started running. As he rounded the corner, he saw a small girl laying bent on the ground, with Kevin and Morgan standing over her. The boys were both crying. "What happened? What did you do?"
"Dad, I just barely touched her, honest! I wouldn't hurt anyone, you know that!"
Kevin was grabbed into a hug by George. "I know that son, I know."
George let go of Kevin and knelt down by Soah. "Hi Soah. You don't know me, but I am Kevin's dad, George Gardner. Would you let me help you? Please?" Getting no response from Soah, he carefully and slowly stretched his hand out to Soah's face. Gently touching her cheek, causing Soah to flinch slightly away.
Moaning in agony, tears still bathing her cheeks, Soah attempted to move away from George. Pain flooded into her and quickly overwhelmed her. Soah's world contracted down into a pinprick and everything went black.
George saw her pass out, and quickly dialed 911. "Yes, this is George Gardner, I am with an injured female at Balster Park, north side. No, she is not conscious at this time. No, I only know that her first name is Soah, umm high school aged I would guess. Yes, we will stay with her. We are close to the large stand of trees. How long? Yes, I will stay on the line."
Dave came running up and skidded to a stop when he saw Soah lying crumpled on the ground. He quickly looked at George, who shook his head, no. Reaching out to Kevin, "What happened?"
Kevin and Morgan quickly filled in what little they knew as they stood waiting for the ambulance. Dave sat down next to Soah, and started to stroke her head, jerking his hand back, "Oh, shit! She has a huge lump on the side of her head. Did she hit her head when she fell down?"
"No, she fell in slow motion, just sort of turned to jelly. That must have been from before." Morgan quietly answered Dave.
"Kevin? Come here son. I need your phone a minute." Taking Kevin's phone he dialed in a number with his left hand, still giving answers to the 911 operator. "This is Tom Briggs number, call it and tell him what is happening."
"Mr, Briggs? This is Kevin Gardner, George's son. Soah finally showed up at the park today, and she is in a bad way. Dad got here just a few minutes ago. He called 911 when she passed out. No, I can't see any marks, her injuries seem to be under her clothes for the most part. Her face is bruised, and one of her eyes is swollen shut, oh and she has a big bump on her head. Yes, when we find out what hospital she was sent to someone will call you. Ok, thanks, bye."
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