Page 41 of Mending Fate

It wasn’t until the final bell had rung, and my last student had gone that I got a text from Josalyn. Soleil was being released today, and Josalyn wanted me to be there. Brie wouldn’t be off work until later this evening, and Josalyn thought it would be better if she and I picked Soleil up and took her home as soon as she was allowed to leave rather than making her wait.

So, instead of heading home to relax with some dinner and TV, I was on my way to the hospital. Again. While I had no regrets about my promise to be there for Soleil, I hoped it would be the last time I needed to go to the hospital for a while.

Josalyn was already in Soleil’s room by the time I arrived, the caseworker going over some papers with a doctor while the patient stared off into space. I would have thought she was simply being a sullen, uncommunicative teenager if I hadn’t seen the way her hands were gripping the hospital blanket.

She was petrified.

After what she told me, I didn’t blame her.

I wanted to tell her that everything would be okay. That I had a plan to make her safe and to make Clyde pay. But I knew I couldn’t really promise her anything. There were too many things that could possibly go wrong. Giving her hope only to take it away would be worse than not doing anything at all.

Still, she needed to know that she was safe.

“Hey, ready to get out of here?” I smiled at her as I crossed to her bed. “Looks like Josalyn is doing the heavy lifting with the paperwork. Do you need me to get you anything?”

Soleil shook her head but didn’t look at me. Since she’d told me what had happened, she hadn’t made eye contact with me. I wanted to tell her that she had no reason to be embarrassed or ashamed. Nothing that had happened to her was her fault. Even running away had come about due to Clyde’s manipulation.

“You have clothes to change into?”

She pointed to a bag at the foot of the bed.

“All right, then let’s get you dressed.” I picked up the bag and held it out to her. “I’m guessing you can handle that by yourself?”

I got an eyeroll, which was at least something.

“All right,” Josalyn said as the doctor left. “He’ll send someone back with a wheelchair, so let’s get you dressed and ready to go.”

Soleil picked up her bag and limped into the bathroom without a word. As the door closed behind her, Josalyn turned to me, concern on her face.

“She still isn’t talking about it?” I asked.

Josalyn shook her head. “She refuses to talk to the psychologist other than to say that she’d made a mistake in trying to kill herself. She agreed to go to counseling. That’s as far as I’ve gotten with her. You’re still the only one she’s told.”

I’d told Josalyn that Soleil had talked to me, but not the content of the conversation. I’d expected Josalyn to be upset when I’d refused to tell her everything, but she’d said to tell her only what was necessary. I’d told her to keep everyone from Soleil’s past away from her. That had been enough.

For now.

“I’ll keep talking to her,” I promised.

“You do that,” Josalyn said. “Because I don’t think she’ll get through this alone.”

The bathroom door opened before I could respond. Soleil came out looking more comfortable in jeans and a hoodie, but she moved as if she was afraid she’d break at the slightest touch. I couldn’t even imagine how emotionally and physically fragile she felt right now. To my surprise, she didn’t argue as she sat down in the wheelchair the nurse had provided.

Josalyn had driven, which meant we didn’t have to take a cab. It also meant we could let Soleil sit in the back by herself and not feel like we were crowding her. She hadn’t said anything to me about going back to the group home after what had happened, but I was sure it was on her mind. I didn’t see how it couldn’t be.

“You don’t have to come in with me,” Soleil said as Josalyn pulled into the driveway. “I know where my room is.”

“Too bad,” I said cheerfully. “I want to see everyone.”

“I need to give Brie some paperwork,” Josalyn added.

“Whatever,” Soleil muttered. She got out of the car.

“Do you think she’ll ever be willing to talk to the police about what happened?” Josalyn asked.

I weighed the question carefully before answering as honestly as I could. “Probably not, but she could surprise me.”

Josalyn nodded grimly, and we made our way to the house together.