Page 11

CHAPTER 10

AURORA

“You’re lucky to be alive,” the doctor says.

Willow sits beside me and squeezes my hand in solidarity. I hate that she was the one to find me. When I swallowed those pills, I wasn’t thinking about anything except never falling into Dmitri’s grasp again. All I wanted to do was save myself from any more torture and abuse. Instead, I put a haunted look in the eyes of my best friend and father.

“Are you sure you want your friend to stay while we talk?” the doctor asks.

“Willow’s my best friend. She can stay.” My eyelids threaten to fall. “I’m sorry, Dr…?”

“Dr. Lee,” she huffs. “As I was saying, you’re very lucky to be alive. That was quite the cocktail you took. Unfortunately, we were unable to save your baby.”

What the fuck did she say?

Willow and I whip our heads toward each other. My mouth drops open, but no sound escapes.

Willow recovers first. “Excuse me, did you say baby?”

“Mhm,” Dr. Lee confirms.

“She wasn’t pregnant.”

Dr. Lee clicks around on the computer. “Yes, she was about twelve weeks. However, she lost the baby.”

I killed my baby. I didn’t know… I didn’t fucking know. Another fucking ounce of control those assholes stole from me. I could’ve run, hid, disappeared. I don’t know what I would’ve done. Anything else but take those pills! Please let me wake up from this godforsaken nightmare.

“No. No. No!” I scream. “They told me I wasn’t pregnant. Dr. Sheppard did a test. She did a test!”

“Ms. Parks, you need to calm down, or I’m going to have to sedate you,” Dr. Lee warns.

My chest tightens, and my breaths are shallow. The air is thick in the room, and dots spin around in my vision. I jerk my hand free from Willow and claw at the IV. Blood squirts across the blanket as I toss the needle aside and swing my legs over the edge of the bed. Nausea threatens to drop me to my knees, but I run toward the door. Before I can escape, it swings open, and three nurses surround me. The first one reaches for my wrist, but I dodge her.

“Ms. Parks,” Dr. Lee says authoritatively. “Get back into bed.”

Willow runs to my side. “Aurora, please. We’ll figure this out, I promise. Get back in bed.”

My shoulders slump in defeat, and I crash to the floor. I curl up in the fetal position, sobs wracking my body.

“Don’t you fucking touch her,” Willow warns before multiple hands land on my body all at once.

Screaming like a banshee, I kick and claw while someone throws their weight on me.

“Aurora!” Willow bellows, but her voice isn’t close to me. “Her father will have your fucking license for this.”

A sharp prick in my thigh jolts my movements. Within seconds, my eyelids grow heavy, and I’m unable to stop the hands from groping me and placing me on the bed.

Nightmares plague me, and Dmitri’s smug face plays on repeat. No matter how fast or far I run, he always catches me.

Voices penetrate the air around me. “What the fuck did you do to my daughter?” My dad’s normally calm voice is raised.

“Sir, lower your voice, or you’ll be asked to leave,” Dr. Lee orders. “I can’t give you any information due to HIPAA laws.”

“Willow, what happened?”

I’m trapped in my body, unable to move or speak. My eyelids are heavy like lead still, I plead silently to Willow. Please don’t tell him I was pregnant.

“Aurora was a little distraught when she woke up,” Willow begins.

“Distraught?” Dr. Lee interrupts. “She ripped out her IV and pushed a nurse.”

“You’re a damn liar!” Willow shouts. “Aurora ripped out her IV, but she didn’t push anyone. She moved away from the nurse who tried to grab her, and then when I had her calmed down, she collapsed to the ground. The three of them seized her like she was a common criminal, and one jumped on top of her!”

“I’ll be transferring her care immediately,” Dad sneers. “Get me the CEO of the hospital right now.”

“Sir, you can’—”

“Dr. Lee,” Dad interrupts. “My name is General Parks. You will get Mr. Bradshaw on the phone immediately, or I will have this place crawling with reporters regarding the poor care my daughter received.”

The door slams shut, and I slip back into unconsciousness to once again face my demons.

Sometime later, my eyes flutter open, and my brows scrunch in confusion when I see my dad slumped in a chair next to me. “Dad?” I croke.

Dad startles. “Aurora, you’re awake.” He jumps up from his chair and sits on the bed, taking my hand. “You took twenty years off my life, baby girl.”

I blink back tears. “I’m so sorry, Daddy.”

“Why?”

My eyes shift down at the ugly polyester blanket so I don’t have to look my father in the eye. “I don’t know,” I lie.

“Promise you won’t ever do that again”

“Promise,” I squeak. “Can I get some water?”

My mouth is parched. As Dad hands me a cup of water, there’s a knock at the door. He moves to the foot of the bed and crosses his arms as the door slowly opens.

“General Parks,” the man greets, holding out his hand. “I was informed you wanted to speak to me.”

Dad doesn’t move a muscle. “Mr. Bradshaw, I want my daughter prepped for flight within the hour.”

“I-I-I’m sorry, what?” Mr. Bradshaw stammers.

“You heard me.”

“Your daughter needs a medical procedure immediately before she can be moved,” he says condescendingly. “If you remove her, it will be against medical advice.”

“Can it be done in a few hours?”

“Well… I’d have to confer with Dr. Lee,” Mr. Bradshaw states.

“Screw Dr. Lee,” Dad bellows. “We’re leaving. Your staff has already shown their incompetence. And you better believe I’ll be filing a complaint with the medical board on how you treat rape victims.”

Embarrassment floods my cheeks, but at the same time, my heart soars. I don’t want people to know what I went through, but they shouldn’t treat people the way I was treated.

“I’m sure she didn’t know,” Mr. Bradshaw protests.

“Doesn’t matter,” Dad hisses. “It shouldn’t have happened to her or anyone else. Send all her medical records to the Naval Health Clinic in Quantico, Attention Dr. Sheppard. The chopper will be here in thirty minutes. I want her ready by then.”

“I’ll send the nurse in.” The administrator spins on his heel to leave.

“Mr. Bradshaw,” Dad calls. The man glances over his shoulder as he reaches for the handle. “You better not send in any of the ones who attacked my daughter.”

He nods and rushes out the door.

Dad returns to my side and brushes the hair out of my face. “You gonna tell me what’s going on?”

“Not yet,” I whisper.

He kisses my forehead. “We have time, baby girl, we have time.”

“Where’s Willow?” I ask.

“I sent her home to get some rest. She’s been up all night.”

“Did you tell her I’m going back to Virginia?”

Dad nods. “I also invited her to come stay as long as she wants.”

I’m going to need her to get through this. Without her, I’ll sink into the abyss and never be able to crawl back to the surface.

How do I go on knowing what I did? I just made a promise to Dad. They fucking won! Screw promises.

Two and a half hours later, I’m back in front of Dr. Sheppard. “I have the O.R. prepped. Let’s move,” she demands as the gurney is pushed through the hospital.

“Dr. Sheppard,” my dad calls. “Will she be okay?”

Dr. Sheppard’s eyes soften. “Aurora will be sore, but she’ll make a full recovery.”

“That’s all I need to know.”

Once we’re in the O.R. and Dr. Sheppard is scrubbed in, she approaches the table I’m lying on. “Aurora, I’m so sorry for your loss.”

Tears spill down my cheeks. “You said I wasn’t pregnant!” I accuse.

Dr. Sheppard’s eyes soften. “When we tested you, the test was negative. You said you were on the shot and had just had one administered two weeks before you were taken.” I nod because everything she says is accurate. “I’m sorry, the shot must’ve failed, and it was too early for any hCG levels to show up on the test.”

My lip trembles. “What happens now?”

“You have to have a D&C. A dilation and curettage, which is where we go in and scrape the lining of the uterus. You’ll be sore for a while, and there will be heavy bleeding and discomfort.”

“Do I have to stay here?”

“You’ll be with us for a while so we can monitor you and do some evaluations.”

My brows shoot up. “Evaluations?”

“You’ve had a huge shock,” she explains. “A suicide attempt and a miscarriage, not to mention you’re a survivor of human trafficking. We’re going to have to do some psychological evaluations as well as keep an eye on you medically to make sure you heal properly.”

I close my eyes as the medicine takes hold.

How much more can I take before I truly lose myself to madness?