I woke up in a hospital bed, beeping machines surrounding me. I blinked several times, trying to vanquish the feeling of drowsiness. I looked around and saw my brother folded into a wooden chair, sleeping soundly. I wondered how someone could sleep so comfortably in that position. Maybe he wasn't.
I looked around the small room, thinking about many things. I wondered how I'd gotten to the hospital, who'd found me, how long I'd been unconscious, and a million other things. I heard Klaus move and looked over at him. He really needed a haircut. He was wearing jeans, a black shirt, and was wrapped in what appeared to be a grey trench coat. From the way he moved, I could tell he hadn't been comfortable. He stretched his arms over his head and said groggily, "So, you decided to join us here in the land of the living, huh?" I nodded and he went on. "You scared us, Vi. I got a call from the hospital saying you were here but they wouldn't tell me why. I got here and Sunny was crying and Duncan was trying to calm her down. Izzy called a couple of minutes ago to ask where I was, so she's on her way."
"Who found me?" I asked.
"Sunny did," Klaus whispered, "when she came home from school."
Of course, I thought. The child would have to find me looking the way I did.
The door opened to admit the doctor. "Is she awake?" he asked quietly. "Oh, she is— good. You gave all of us quite a scare, my dear. That collarbone of yours as a nasty sight to see. You'll have a small scar where the bone cut through your skin—"
"What do you men, 'cut'?" I asked worriedly. I didn't relish the idea of having permanent scarring on my chest.
"Your bone—it broke through the skin on your chest. It will leave a one or two inch scar. Barely noticeable, as scars go. I've seen far worse." He walked over and looked at the machines. "There are some detectives here who'd like to ask you some question about what happened. You don't have to talk to them just yet, if you don't feel up to it, but they'll need as much information as they can get if they're going to help you."
I nodded my consent. The doctor left the room and Klaus took my hand again. We sat for a moment in dreadful, stinging silence. Klaus away for a moment and said, "Oh, I have to tell you something about—"
"Hello?" asked a woman's voice from the doorway.
The interview was not as bad as I'd thought it would be. The questions they asked were posed very politely. They didn't ask me to go into extreme detail about what happened, and when they found out I knew my rapist, they wrote down everything I said and promised to arrest him as soon as possible. The female detective told me some things that helped me get through the following days. There was something about the male detective—the way he handled himself or the way he spoke so kindly— that made me want to trust him implicitly.
When they left, I was crying a little bit. I blinked away the tears and turned to my brother. "You were saying?"
"Yes, well. Doctors usually give female…er, victims contraceptive pills and a shot of penicillin. When yours told you what he was doing, you refused to take the pills. He gave you the shot, but you fought off the pills. Then you passed out. When I arrived, they came to me and basically wanted me to give them the thumbs up for it. I told them that if you were pregnant, and if you didn't want the baby, there were other ways to deal with it." He sat back slight. "I mean, I didn't know how you would feel about a baby. You might want it. If you don't, there's adoption or…other things."
"I'd never do that, Klaus," I said quietly.
"I know."
We sat for a long time, both of us deep in our own little worlds of thoughts and worries yet, strangely, we were still there for each other somehow. The sun outside my window began to set and I vaguely remember more doctors and Isadora coming into the room. She made Klaus go home and get some rest—to get sleep if he could—and sat there with me until I fell asleep. I woke the next morning with Duncan. His eyes were sad and I knew what he was thinking. I'd thought about it as well. I believe everyone had thought about it at some point or another.
We knew Quigley didn't exactly treat me right, but rape
After what seemed like an eternity, I was released from the hospital. The doctor told me to still be very careful when lifting heavy objects. He gave me warning, after warning, after warning. I smiled to myself when he handed Klaus the prescription for my painkillers.
Sunny was at school when I got home that day, so I didn't have a crying pre-teen on my hands. I was infinitely thankful for that. Anyway, I told myself, Duncan is staying with me and Sunny is with Klaus and Isadora. It wouldn't matter. I went to my bedroom with the intention of going to sleep, but I couldn't. I took one step into the room and memories overpowered me. This was where I tripped and fell flat on my face, that was where he held me like the concerned lover he wasn't, that was where the gun had been….
But I was tired and I wanted to sleep in my own bed for a change. I forced myself to run across the room and crawl under the covers. The sheets were soft, if a little cold, but very comfortable. For the first time in a long while, I was in my own bed in my own apartment. For the first time in a long while, I could sleep in bed without being woken by doctors in the middle of the night. For the first time in a long while, I felt like myself again.
I heard a knock on my door, followed by "Can I come in, Violet?"
"Yes," I called back.
The door opened to admit Duncan He walked over and sat on the edge of the bed. He stroked my cheek for a moment and tucked a lock of hair behind my ear. "I have to go to work in a few minutes. Do you need me to do anything or get anything for you before I leave?"
"Thank you, but no. My goal right now is to go to sleep."
"Okay," he replied, laughing softly. "I'll let you sleep, then." He took my hand and squeezed it quickly. "Call me if you need anything," he added, leaning down to kiss my cheek. He reluctantly got up and left. I rolled onto my side and finally slept.