Hello again
***HAMLIN***
Upon returning to the room, Hamlin noticed two differences.
The first thing being the drapes were now pulled shut, cutting off any natural light. In its place were the blindingly bright fluorescent overhead lights and Hamlin could already feel himself baking beneath them. The room's atmosphere morphed into something cold and sterile. At least the view of the city allowed some normalcy, some sign life. Without it, the space felt dead like and unappealing.
The second thing he noticed, which to him was more important, was Eden's emotionless face staring up at the ceiling. The white curtain that had once shielded her from the world was pulled back along its oval track to reveal his Ghost Girl. She was unrecognizable.
Eden Burrows' hair had been chopped off into something resembling an old-fashioned bob. The soft brown waves, now clean, fell around her face, framing it. She reminded Hamlin of a 1920's Hollywood actress, but for the life of him, he couldn't quite remember her name. He raked his memory, squinting deep in thought, and unburied it. Yes, she reminded him of a young Bessie Love with her large eyes, roundish face, and pale skin.
Peaking out from underneath her hair was a yellowing burse the size of his fist. It covered the majority of her left cheek and nestled at the center was an ugly, yet healing, scrape. The wound looked as though someone vigorously took sandpaper to her skin. The thought sent an unnerving chill through him, and he couldn't imagine what other sorts of hell she was put through.
The tight ball of nerves that had been building in the pit of his stomach over the last month eased slightly knowing she was now safe from any further harm.
The nurse pressed a button on a small remote that hung from the wall and the head of the bed slowly rose. Eden faced them now, but she wasn't aware of their presence, or so Hamlin thought. Her eyes were vacant, unblinking, as she stared at the wall behind them.
She'd been dressed in a baggy grey top that hid the shape of her form. Blankets were gathered around her hips, covering the lower half of her body from view.
Hamlin's gaze drifted to the misshapen lumps that remained of her feet and couldn't fight off the overwhelming sense of despair that flooded through him. Tears pricked at the corners of his eyes, and a brief thought entered his mind. Maybe he wasn't ready for this meeting after all.
There was movement at his side as Officer Jones slipped her hand around his, holding it, "You okay?" she whispered.
Hamlin nodded his response. But he wasn't okay.
None of this is okay! He wanted to shout this into the void. And I don't think it ever will be, at least not for Eden Burrows.
Despite Eden's trauma, Hamlin forced himself to admit that she seemed healthy or, at the very least, was on the road to being better. She was alive, and that's all that should matter, right? Sure, her quality of life went down the shitter along with her toes, fingers, hair, and all her other emotional and physical scars, but she's alive, right? That should count for something. Only it didn't make him feel any better. In fact, it made him feel worse.
Hamlin knew if the roles were reversed and it was him that sustained those injuries he'd think he was better off dead. He pushed away from the morbid thought and cleared his throat to speak.
"Do you remember me?" The words were out of Hamlin's mouth before he could stop himself.
Barbra sucked in a sharp breath, narrowing her eyes at his probing question. She was fuming at his lack of ability to following a simple direction. Hamlin noticed her damned eyebrow shot up, mocking his stupidity. Her whole demeanor shifted when she sat, perched on the edge of her seat. There were three chairs stationed at the end of Eden's bed and blocking the narrow walkway was Barbra's long legs.
Jones wedged her petite frame past Barbra's unmoving legs and tumbled into the chair on the other side, nearest the window. It was Jones' turn to receive that arched brow of shame.
*** EDEN***
Eden closed her eyes against the bright lights above her, a frown settling over her brow when she couldn't recall her savior's face. Behind her lids came darkness, the cold night air, and trees, so many goddamn trees surrounded her. They were closing in, suffocating her, and killing her.
A low groan passed her lips but she had to continue.
She moved forward, searching deeper, trying harder than ever to remember. The sound of rainfall echoed around her. Then she was out in open air and was able to free again.
A blinding light flashed over her. For mere seconds, she stood frozen before the air filled with the pungent smell of burning rubber as it skidded past her before crash into the trees.
She watched from a safe distance to see if it was safe to approach the wreckage. Her savior was inside it; she could sense him fumbling around. With her fear pushed aside, she ran toward the scene, understanding this was just a memory of what already happened.
I only need to see his face then I'll remember him.
She pulled against the door, opening it wide, but it wasn't her savior sitting in the front seat. It was he; the man owned her, and the one she fought to escape.
His voice entered her thoughts as she gazed into his fiery eyes.
This is all your doing Eden. They must suffer because of your disobedience. You are the cause of their pain. End this now, and all will be forgiven. He spoke slowly, hypnotizing her with his ease with words.
She gave off a low gurgled cry from her bed.
You cannot run from me, Eden. I will find you. He pulled himself from the mangled seat. His broken legs somehow managed to govern his weight as he staggered towards her with jerking speed. I will always find you.
*** HAMLIN***
"Eden, open your eyes!" Barbra was on her feet, pushing past a stunned and silent Hamlin, and was at Eden's side within seconds of her outburst.
Eden groaned again, withering in pain. She was trying to push something away from her.
"Eden." The caseworker spoke calmly. "You need to breathe, dear. Remember how I taught you, in through your nose and out through your mouth. Do it with me, okay?" Barbra breathed deeply in through her nose and Eden, with her eyes clamped shut, tried to follow suit. "Good job. Now out through your mouth."
Eden's lips parted slightly as she breathed out a shaky breath. The pair continued to repeat the pattern until Eden's shoulders relaxed.
"It's okay if you don't recognize me." Hamlin started. "Hell, I even have trouble rememberin' that night." He stammered on, running a hand nervously over his sweaty forehead.
He glanced back at Jones who was sitting in her chair, perched on the edge of her seat like Barbra was moments ago. She was watching the other women intently.
"I'm just glad you're okay, Ms. Burrows. I didn't mean you any harm, honest to God. If I did…well, I'm sorry."
"Will you do your job and get these fools the hell out of here? Now!" Barbra glared up at the nurse on the other side of the bed, refusing to acknowledge Hamlin sanding a few feet away.
Eden's eyes snapped open at Barbra's order for their removal. She frantically omitted a long gurgling plea, staring up at her caseworker like a frightened child would its mother and shook her head no.
Eden glanced towards the officers at the foot of her bed, daring to meet Hamlin's gaze for the first time. What he saw behind her eyes was something that would haunt his dreams for the rest of his short life.
It wasn't the look of sadness behind her dull colored irises, or the pain etched across her features. It's the expression of utter bewilderment, of her unadulterated fear of what would happen next if they left her. In her eyes Hamlin saw what she wanted to scream: If you leave what will become of me?
No one knows. Hamlin wanted to speak, but a part of him knew she could understand him. He glanced toward the ceiling. Except for maybe the big guy upstairs and maybe the Devil himself. But for us ordinary folk, those livin' in the in-between will never know until our time is up. But your time ain't up, Eden. I can promise you that much.
Hamlin gave Eden a small nod of his head and silently made a vow to protect her. I don't know how and I don't know when but as God as my witness I will find the man responsible and bring him to justice.
***EDEN***
Eden's gaze wavered and eventually drifted back to her gauze-covered hands as she withdrew herself from reality once more. She didn't know the officer in front of her but she trusted him. He would make things right. And when he did she planned on end her life.
No more suffering.
No more memories.
Just darkness and peace.
***HAMLIN***
All but her right thumb, index, and middle finger were bound. Tears glossed over Hamlin's eyes when he noticed the slight discoloration of the three remaining fingertips.
Will she loose those as well?
"I think she's back from where ever it was she went to." Hamlin mumbled, looking right at Barbra, and with a little more confidence he added, "She's okay now. We can continue with this."
"Oh really? Please enlighten me then. Tell me how you can know such a thing?" Barbra glared up at him with her same arched eyebrow. He was starting to think that it was permanently stuck like that or Barbra Shaman just considered everyone around her a complete idiot.
"She is God damn it!" Hamlin snapped. To his surprise, the brow lowered as Barbra slowly stood. She folded her arms and glared at him, as though she expected him to continue to prove his point so she could get to ripping him a new asshole.
"Can we all just take a seat and give this a fair chance?" Jones spoke up from her chair. "I think we can at least agree that we owe Eden that much."
"Fine by me." Hamlin couldn't stop the corner of his mouth from lifting in a satisfied grin.
Without a word, Barbra brushed past him and returned to her seat.
***MADDI***
The nurse, who Hamlin will later come to know as Maddi Devers, seemed oblivious to everything around her. She moved about the room with ease, preparing the small space for them to work with.
She made sure Eden was comfortable leaning back against her mound of pillows. After positioning the rolling table over the bed to cover Eden's lap, Maddi Devers fished a surprise out of her pocket and held it up with a ridiculous grin on her face. In her hand was a gaudy multicolored pen meant for a five-year-old. Its thick base would make it much easier for Eden to grip. While Officer Hamlin was purchasing his notebook she spotted it among the rack of last minute items and snagged the last one, knowing if Eden didn't wanted she could keep it for herself.
"I thought you might like this a little more than the other pen. You can write in any color you want. See?" She switched between a few of the colors to demonstrate how to use it. "I had one of these when I was a kid. I'd use the different colors to code my emotions. It was a puzzle to which I only knew the answers."
The nurse sat next to Eden on the bed. "If I were feeling sad I'd use blue. Yellow would be for happiness. Pink was for when I talked about my crushes. And red," She paused, shrugging her shoulders, "is the universal sign for anger I guess. But green was the special one." She whispered. "It was for secrets."
***EDEN***
"Eden," Barbra's tone changed back to one fit for a small child and not an adult woman of Eden's 32 years. It worked, nonetheless, because Eden glanced up from her mutilated hands. Her gaze was confident enough, strong, and unwavering. "You have a choice to make, dear. Please take as much time as you need. Would you like Officer Hamlin and Officer Jones to stay or would you like to be alone to rest?"
Eden glanced at Jones, tilting her head and eyeing the woman's pleasantly young, round face. She figured the girl couldn't be more than 24 years old. The officer's body resembled that of a newly developing teen with her small, barely there, breasts and her thin, narrow hips and thighs. She was attractive in a Tomboy way with straight dark brown hair and eyes.
Jones's shifted her weight under Eden's silent stare by crossing her legs and closing that desired thigh gap most women would kill for. Then a much darker thought entered Eden's mind, and it made her want to vomit.
He would have thoroughly enjoyed this girl since she could pass for someone much younger with her boyish frame. He would have gotten top dollar for her. Like he did with Eden and all the ones that came before her. She felt Jones' discomfort and offered a polite smile, but the sight of Eden's cracked teeth seemed only to make Jones that much more uncomfortable.
I'm no longer desirable. Eden wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. Who's going to want me now? No worthy man with the proper funds would bid on a woman with one tit, half a foot, three barely working fingers, who happened to have a barely recognizable cunt and anus. But she fancied the idea that she'd get a few offers for her muteness because as he loved to remind her. Women are to be seen, not heard.
"Should I send them away?" Barbra didn't bother to hide the hope coloring her tone at the chance to do just that.
Eden shook her head, signaling she wanted them to stay. The last thing she wanted was to be alone with her thoughts and memories.
"I guess that settles things then," Barbra said. "They can stay."