After the kids took their showers and left for school, Nicole gathered up her things and headed to her car. She backed out of the garage mindful of the garbage cans and mailbox, and headed towards the hospital. She breathed in and out deeply, preparing herself for the session. She mentally went through a list of things to do after work as she pulled into the parking lot and headed for the administrative office. Lou was standing near the nurse's desk when he took notice of her.
"Hey Nicole, it's good to have you back." he greeted as he gave her a handshake.
"It's good to be back." she said as he led the way down the hall. "So what do you have for me this time?" He handed her a manila envelope.
"Brown, Charlotte, age 17, height 5'6", brown hair and gray eyes. She went missing two months ago, and was found in an abandoned warehouse by the police yesterday around 1:30 PM. She was involved in a human trafficking operation with thirteen other females, ages ranging from fifteen to twenty-one." He stopped short from a door about ten feet away and turned to face Nicole with a sad and serious look on his face.
"Nicole, I think there is something you should know." he said and glanced around to make sure that no one was near enough to over hear. "Not all of those girls made it and she's in pretty bad shape herself. It can be hard to see kids like this, especially when you have kids of your own. I just want to make sure that your ready to face this emotionally." She took a deep breath before nodding. He seemed convinced and stepped aside and let her walk by. She paused before the door when he didn't follow.
"Aren't you coming?" she asked.
"I'm not allowed to be in there." he said with a slight smirk on his face.
"Why not?" she questioned. It seemed odd to her.
"You'll find out." he said and walked away with his hand in a wave. She quickly reviewed the file again before taking a deep breath and stepping into the room. The gaunt-looking girl lay strapped to her hospital bed in the bright, plain room. The room was full of the hum and rhythm of the monitors that were wired to the girl. Nicole walked closer and studied her pale face and watched the steady rise and fall of her chest. She spotted a chair by the wall and pulled it over to the bedside and retrieved a notepad and pen from her purse. Charlotte cracked open her eyes at the noise and stared blankly at the wall in front of her. Nicole waited for her to make eye contact, but she never did. So, she gave talking to her a try.
"Charlotte, My name is Nicole Trager and I am here if you would like to talk about anything." Charlotte gave no indication as to weather she had heard her and continued to stare at the wall. Nicole jotted this down on her notepad and tried again.
"Is there anything you would like me to do or get for you?" again she was silent. A male nurse walked into the room to check on Charlotte's vitals and monitors for anything unusual. Charlotte's eyes snapped to the nurse and her heart monitor began to beat with a newfound speed. She struggled against the straps that bound her to the bed as he got closer to her. Nicole sat in a state of shock as the confused nurse tried to calm her down. A female nurse heard the commotion and ran into the room with a scowl on her face.
"Back away, back away!" she ordered and administered a sedative through the IV.
"I thought it was posted that no male personnel are allowed to be in here." She scoffed annoyed.
"Sorry, I didn't see anything that indicated that." He said and scooted out of the room. The sedative took affect and Charlotte fell into a slumber.
"I'm sorry you had to see that." Said the nurse to Nicole as she checked that all the tubes in wires were still in place.
"No, it's okay, I needed to see that. I'm her therapist…Nicole Trager." She said and shook hands with the nurse.
"Becky."
"It's nice to meet you. Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?" asked Nicole.
"Sure."
"How long has she been reacting like this?"
"Since she woke up in the hospital, but the police and the paramedics told us that she acted perfectly normal towards them." Said Becky.
"Has she spoken to anyone?"
"Nope, not even to her family."
"Are they still here?"
"They were here this morning, but we convinced them to go home and rest before it gets crazy around here. I can give you their number if you would like it."
"That would be great." Nicole replied. Becky grabbed a hold of her clipboard, jotted the number down on the corner of the paper, and handed it to Nicole.
"Well, I best be going before someone misses me. Good Luck." Said Becky. She walked out the door and began to examine all around the outside of the doorway and walls. She looked annoyed as she unstopped the open door and tore a sign from its front.
"What moron puts a sign on the front of a door and then makes it to where no one can see it?" she said as she slapped the sign up on the wall beside the door and walked up the hall muttering to herself. Nicole took a few minutes to put her thoughts down on paper before gathering up her things and heading to the door. She went through all the symptoms in her head and could only think of one thing: androphobia. It was obviously some sort of post-traumatic stress disorder that pertained to the event, but why she didn't react that way to the police and the paramedics was a mystery to her.