Page 16 of Mending Fate

“Shit,” Eoin said.

“My thought exactly. And I just spoke with Da. He said Theresa and Paris want to do a press release to appeal to the public. I wasn’t sure how good of an idea that would be.”

“I agree,” Eoin said. “I think the benefits might outweigh the negatives. Let’s compare everything we found yesterday and then decide whether or not Mom should say something.”

“If you do, she’s the best one for it,” Brody said. “She can hold it together, but not look too unemotional.”

Eoin nodded. “It may be time to go more on the offensive. What did you guys come up with yesterday?”

Nine

Lumen

I wasin a seriously shitty mood, and the way that things were going, it didn’t look like it would be getting better any time soon.

Sleeping in the hospital chair had been nearly impossible, despite how thoroughly exhausted I’d been. And still was. Besides the fact that the chair was one of the most uncomfortable things I’d ever sat on, our surroundings weren’t exactly quiet. I probably could’ve dealt with both of those things, however, if it hadn’t been for the nurses coming in and out every hour or so to check on Soleil.

Then, around dawn, Soleil had woken up, agitated and thrashing around. I’d helped calm her down, assuring her that she was safe, and she wasn’t alone. She’d managed to say something about how “she’d never be safe,” but before I could get any additional information from her, she’d passed out.

While waiting for Soleil to wake up again, I’d finally gotten ahold of Brie. She’d had to take Lorelai – a special needs foster child with both mental and physical issues – to an emergency room on the other side of the city. Even though Lorelai was older than Soleil, her mentality was much younger, and she panicked when left alone in unfamiliar places. With Brie in an impossible position, I’d offered to stay with Soleil until Brie could either come or Soleil was discharged.

That had led to me having to call off from work. Alice had been polite about it, but I didn’t have any illusions about how the faculty would take it, especially Cornelius Harvey. I’d have to deal with the fallout eventually, but at least that had been something I could put off until a future date. I had plenty on my plate to deal with right now anyway.

I’d just come back from getting a cup of the worst coffee I’d ever tasted when two people walked into Soleil’s room. A pair of detectives had arrived to take her statement. Neither of them had been happy when I’d informed them that they’d need to wait until Josalyn arrived, but then Soleil had announced that it didn’t matter if Josalyn was there or not. She wasn’t going to say a word about what had happened.

I’d tried to convince her otherwise, promising that I’d make sure she was safe, but she’d simply turned her head and closed her eyes. The cops had been pissed, but I’d at least gotten the impression that their anger hadn’t been directed at Soleil. They hadn’t looked at her and seen a problem child who was wasting their time. They’d seen a victim too scared to make an accusation.

I’d followed them out and given them as much information as I’d been able, including Brie’s and Josalyn’s names, but I’d known that the chances of them finding out what’d happened with only that little bit of info was slim. I’d tried to tell Soleil that when I’d gone back into the room, but she’d still refused to say anything.

I’d hoped Josalyn would be able to convince her otherwise, but Soleil had refused to even look at either of us. A part of me wished she’d get angry or show some type of emotion when we pushed her, but she hadn’t responded at all. Josalyn had tried for half an hour before needing to go back to work. She hadn’t wanted to go, but I’d assured her that I’d stay.

And that was how I found myself currently sitting in Soleil’s room, listening to a doctor patiently explaining for the third time why they were waiting for additional test results before releasing her.

“I don’t give a shit about test results. I want to go.”

Soleil had her arms crossed and what was probably supposed to be a stubborn set to her jaw, but the swollen, discolored flesh of her face made her look more like the frightened child she was than the hardass she was trying to be.

“You’re a minor, Miss Artz. You won’t be discharged without a guardian present, and your caseworker left instructions for us to process all of the necessary bloodwork before contacting your foster mom.”

“Fuck that.”

I stood and crossed over to the bed. “Soleil, the tests are already out. What will it hurt to wait? It’s not like they need to draw more blood or anything.”

“Why can’t you people just leave me alone?”

The pain-filled undercurrent to that question made my heart hurt. “We’re all trying to help you, and to do that, questions need to be answered.”

Her pulse was throbbing in her neck. “If you gave a damn, you’d just leave me alone.”

“No.” I kept my voice low but firm. “Not about this. Your doctors need information to treat you. Just stay until those are done, and I’ll call Brie myself.”

“How long?”

“An hour, maybe two,” the doctor answered.

“Look at it this way,” I said. “Here, you get a room all to yourself and can watch whatever you want on TV without crazy kids running around.”

Very slowly, I watched her soften. “All right. But nothing new.”