LOVE IS THICKER THAN BLOOD
Summary: Haley and Brooke are adopted sisters (not blood-related) who have been abused repeatedly by their adoptive father and practically ignored by their adoptive mother. Now their father is dead and Haley is in the hospital. What will happen to the girls?
ChapterThree: I Don't Know What To Do
"What are you talking about?" asked Brooke. "You're not a cop?"
The woman shook her head. "No. I'm not."
"So why didn't you tell me that? Why did you force me to tell you my whole story again when you already knew?! God, do you people enjoy seeing other people in pain or something? I can't believe that you lied to me, too!"
"I never lied to you, Brooke. I never said that I was a police officer. You never asked," spoke the woman matter-of-factly. "And I didn't know your whole story. I wasn't the worker originally assigned to your case. But that person had to go out of town in an emergency and yours and Haley's situation kind of… escalated quickly, so they sent me down here to try to get things straightened out. I'm sorry if you feel that I went about it the wrong way, but it's done now. So you can either sit here and mope some more or I can take you to see Haley. Your choice."
Brooke sat for a moment, thinking. "Fine. Let's go see Haley. But that doesn't mean that I trust you or that I really even like you that much right now." She started to brush past the woman.
"Well, Brooke. I'm sorry about that. Hopefully I will be able to change your mind about me. I really am trying to help you."
Brooke shrugged her shoulders and stood at the door waiting. The woman led her out of the room, then out of the police station and into a silver car. "So what can I do to make you fell better, Brooke?" asked the woman as she began the drive to the hospital.
"Well, why don't you tell me some stuff about you so that we're even?" Brooke spat out nastily, trying to move as far away from the woman as the car would allow.
"OK. Let's see, where to start? Well, my name is Jennifer Jagielski. I'm 37 years old. I have two sons: Joshua, who's 21 and Jacob who's 17…"
"That's great and all," interrupted Brooke. "But I meant something a little more personal. Something you wouldn't tell the average person on the street. Kinda like the stuff you tricked me into telling you."
Jennifer sighed. "I see. OK, how about the reason I became a social worker?" She looked for a response, but Brooke continued to stare out the window. "Good. Well, I decided when I was 13 that social work was my calling. I wanted to help kids that were in bad situations and try to give them better lives."
"Why?" Brooke interrupted again. "What do you care about us 'less fortunate kids'?"
They were both quiet for a second. "Because I was one of you," Jennifer said quietly. This got Brooke's attention. She turned her head to the older woman but didn't say anything. "When I was 12 years old, my mom died. My dad started drowning his sorrows in Jack Daniels and random women. Then he started gambling. Pretty soon we had lost everything. Our house, our car… My dad had no job. But he just knew that one more bet was going to fix all of our problems. 'This time I'm gonna win and we'll be rolling in the dough!' he would say. But he never won. And after he ran out of material things to bet, he began to bet my sister and I. We were used as collateral and forced to do whatever the person who won us wanted to do. Sometimes we just had to clean their house or wash their car. Sometimes it was more. My son was born when I was 15 because of one of my dad's bets. And so I left. My sister and I took off because we didn't know what else to do. He ended up catching my sister. He tried to force her to tell him where I was, but she wouldn't. She's been dead for almost 20 years now. She never recovered from the coma he put her in. And after that, I was even more sure of what I wanted to do. So I put myself through school while working two jobs and raising two little boys. And I've never regretted it for one second."
When her story was finished, Brooke just looked at her for a while. Finally she spoke, softly. "I'm sorry. Really sorry."
Jennifer shrugged. "I've dealt with it. Actually I'm still dealing with it. And for a long time it doesn't seem like it's going to get easier. But it does, Brooke. I promise you that it does. You just have to be willing to let it get better and let it get easier. And if you'll let me, I'll help you in any way that I can."
Brooke nodded. "OK… And I'm sorry also for how I acted. I'm just… tired of being deceived, lied to, hurt… I want to be able to trust people and allow my guard to come down, but I don't know how to. The only person who knows me completely, besides myself, is Haley."
"I understand that. And I will have as much patience as I can. But I will need some cooperation from you, too, OK?"
"OK. I'll try. So can I ask you a question?" Something had been plaguing Brooke's mind for a while.
"Sure, anything," responded Jennifer.
"Am I going to go to jail? For killing my father?"
Jennifer sighed. She knew this question was coming. She stole a glance at Brooke and saw that the young girl was staring at her and waiting for an answer. She shook her head. "I don't know, Brooke. We'll have to wait for the investigations to finish up before we know anything."
"But… it's a possibility," said Brooke. The way it sounded made it seem more like a question than a statement.
"Yes. It is a possibility. But a very unlikely possibility. You did it out of self defense and to protect your sister. IF the case even goes to a trial, any jury would be blind not to see that." Brooke thought about that for a second and nodded before sitting back in her seat and staring out the front window of the car. Jennifer started to reach for her hand, but though twice about it. "Try not to worry about that right now, Brooke. Let's focus on getting Haley better and then we'll come up with a plan of action.
"OK," said Brooke in a quiet voice. She had been avoiding thinking about Haley. The truth was, she was scared. She had seen her sister hurt before, but this was different. Haley was in a coma that she might never wake up from. It was more than Brooke would be able to handle. She shook her head minutely. No. Haley had to be OK. Brooke wouldn't make it on her own. Haley knew that. She was going to be OK, and they were going to finally be free and live the lives that they were meant to lead. Brooke nodded. She liked the sound of that.
The rest of the drive was silent. Almost thirty minutes later, Jennifer pulled the car into the valet lane at the hospital. After collecting the ticket, she and Brooke headed into the hospital and up to the information counter.
"Hi, I'm looking for Haley James. I'm her sister, Brooke James," said Brooke matter-of-factly.
The older woman behind the counter smiled at her. "OK, honey. Just hold on one second and let me look her up." She typed the name into the computer. "Oh… Ummm… I'm sorry, honey, but Haley James is not being allowed visitors right now."
Brooke turned to Jennifer with wide eyes. "I thought you said that I would be able to see her!" She turned back to the woman. "Why? Is she getting worse? I'm her SISTER! I have to see her!"
Jennifer put a hand lightly on Brooke's shoulder. "Brooke, let me talk for a second, OK?" Brooke shrugged her hand off and moved out of the way, fuming. She couldn't believe that she had let this woman trick her again. "Hi," said Jennifer. "My name is Jennifer Jagielski and I'm a social worker with Elk County. I'm Brooke and Haley's social worker. We should have permission to go in and see her. Here's my badge."
The woman looked at what she was given. "Well, I'll have to call my supervisor." Jennifer nodded and stepped back from the counter to give the woman privacy to talk on the phone.
Brooke sighed at the exchange. She was never going to be able to see Haley. They waited without speaking while the woman talked to her supervisor. Finally she hung up and both Brooke and Jennifer stepped closer to the desk. The woman smiled at them. "OK, you have clearance to see Haley. She's in room 2523. You just go through the hall and up the elevator and…"
Once they had gotten the directions, Brooke took off in the direction of Haley's room, Jennifer right behind her. When she got outside the door of room 2523, however, she stopped. Jennifer had stopped as well and was watching Brooke closely. She could see that the young girl was starting to panic slightly. She walked closer cautiously. "Brooke? Are you OK?"
Brooke looked at her, but didn't say anything at first. Finally, she spoke. "I don't know if I can go in there. I mean, Haley's in there and she's hurt and I can't help her and… I don't know what to do…" Tears were starting to well in her eyes but she refused to let them fall. This woman probably already thought that she was weak. She didn't need to give her any more proof.
Jennifer, however, had another idea. "Oh, Brooke," she said and pulled Brooke into a loose hug. Brooke stiffened immediately. She wanted to relax into the hug and cry, but she couldn't. "Sorry," Jennifer muttered, letting her go. She settled instead for looking straight into Brooke's eyes. "Brooke, Haley needs you right now. She needs you to sit next to her bed and hold her hand and assure her that everything is going to be OK. She needs you to be brave for her. And she needs you to be there so that she has a reason to wake up."
Brooke nodded and walked slowly into the room and sat next to the bed, fighting back her tears. She grabbed her sister's hand firmly but carefully. "Hi, Haley," she whispered after a moment of silence. "It's me, Brooke. I need you to wake up, OK? I mean, I know that you're going to be OK and everything, but I really need you to wake up and show me that yourself. Please, Haley. Please wake up. If you can hear me, wake up. Move your fingers or your toes or open your eyes or something. Please…" Brooke laid her head on the bed and began to sob. She looked up, however, when she felt Haley's fingers move slightly.
Oh no! A cliffhanger! I know, I'm horrible for making you all wait so long for this new chapter and then leaving it at a cliffhanger. If any of you read any of my other stories, you will probably have noticed that I have something that I call my "Two Chapter Curse". I get really excited about a new story idea, I write two chapters of it, and then lose it. I forget everything that I wanted to happen in the story and I get stuck. It's awful. But I am going to try REALLY hard to get back on track with them. And this one, too! I hope you guys liked this new chapter. Please review and let me know what you think! Thanks for reading!
