Sara soon drifted off to sleep as Catherine sat close by.
Catherine walked out of the room to take a shower after Sara had been asleep a good ten minutes or so. Sara, although feverish with sweat, looked like a peaceful angel lying there with her tiger. She was clutching the tiger tightly as she lay there.
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In the bedroom,
Sara started to whimper and fidget in her sleep. In her mind, Sara was reliving a moment from her childhood. Her mom had to be called at work to pick Sara up at school. Sara had started running fever while at school. Sara had begged the school nurse not to call her parents. Sara knew that her parents coming, regardless of who came to get her, would not result in anything good.
Sara lay shaking in the nurse's office. She was afraid of what would happen. Despite coming to school with bruises and other signs of neglect, nothing was ever done. Her mother came stomping in the doors of the school. Sara heard her before she ever saw her.
"Where in the hell is that little brat? What's so wrong with her that I need to leave that damn job of mine to come pick her up at school? Couldn't you just make her walk home?"
"Ma'am..." Principal Hanson spoke, "Sara is in the nurse's office."
"Well, where is that?" Her mother screeched.
Sara thought to herself, "You should know where it is. You have been here enough to explain the abuse you have heaped on me."
The door slammed open, causing Sara to cower in the corner of the bed. She could tell her mother was way past upset. It also appeared to her that her mother had been drinking.
Laura Sidle walked over to Sara and pulled her up by the shirt. "Get up, you little brat. You know I had to leave work to come get your sick self. You are probably faking or making up stories, just to make my life difficult."
Sara knew better than to try and talk to her mother when she was like this. But, of course Sara's silence made her mother angry as well.
Sara gathered up her belongings and followed her mother to their car. Before they even left the parking lot, the attack continued. Her mother wasn't even paying attention to driving. "Well…I will drop you off. Your father should be home. And then I will go back to work. And now, since I had to miss time to pick your sorry ass up…I will either have to work late or miss getting paid for this time."
Laura Sidle pulled the car up along the sidewalk in front of the dilapidated house that was where they were living at the time. "Well, get out!"
Sara, already feeling bad from the fever and compounded by her mother's verbal attacks, nearly broke out in tears as she walked up to the door. Even before she walked up to the door, she heard her father yelling at the television program he was watching. He too, sounded as if he was drunk as well.
She tried to be as quiet as she could as opened up the rusted screen door. But, the next door neighbors dog saw her and started barking. Maybe he is too drunk already to notice or maybe he will think that the dog is barking at something else.
As soon as Sara walked in the door, her father turned and glared at her. "Why aren't you at school? Skipping out, huh? Lazy piece, you are."
Sara raced up the stairs to her room. Her father, too drunk and too lazy, just let her go. Sara put the chair from her desk, up under the doorknob. She laid down on the bed and cried. She felt so bad and nobody cared. Would she ever have someone who loved and cared for her?
"I'm sorry for being sick. I'm sorry…I'm sorry…"
Catherine, who had finished her shower, walked by the door to where Sara was sleeping. When she heard Sara whimpering and saw her fidgeting, she went in and sat down on the bed next to Sara. She wasn't sure how Sara would react if she tried to touch her, so she just sat there, hoping Sara could sense her presence.
Sara awoke startled. When she saw Catherine sitting there, she tried to back up. It scared her, at first. But, as she realized where she was and what had happened, she calmed down. She reached for her tiger and held it close to her. She whispered to herself, "It's okay. I'm safe. Catherine cares for me. So does Warrick and Nick and Greg."
Catherine sat there and waited for Sara to calm herself down. When Sara realized what she had said, she gasped and looked at Catherine. "I'm sorry."
"Sorry for what?" Catherine questioned as she reached to touch Sara's hand.
"I must have had a nightmare and… and…" Sara stopped. "You probably don't care about me other than the fact….that you are my supervisor and I am your employee."
Catherine, stunned by Sara's words, scooted closer to her. "Sara, you are a terrific person. No matter what you think…I do consider you to be more than a coworker. I consider you a friend, a very dear friend. And do I care about you a lot, just like Warrick and Greg and Nick."
"Really?" Sara said kind of nervously, avoiding eye contact with Catherine.
"Mmhmm." Catherine responded. "Sara, would it be okay if I hugged you?" Sara nodded.
Catherine leaned over and took Sara in her arms. Sara whispered, "Thank you, Catherine."
