Chapter eleven

They sat and talked for a few more minutes before Laura told them Tori needed some rest, ignoring her yells of protest. She put away the file, and got out her phone instead. The case itself was quite simple with all the evidence already found and documented, a bit like the old detective novels her social worker used to give her at Christmas.

Her phone was several years old, kept for the sole reason that it had excellent signal. A sleek black touch model to begin with, but had picked up several bumps and scars over the years.

Going through her inbox she found two messages from Clara, a sort of friend from school, calling to ask what happened.

"Hi, it's me Clara!" her bubbly, high pitched voice came out of the speakers.

"Hey, it's Tori" She replied. Sometimes she wondered why they were even friends, most likely that they were both outsiders, Tori for her dark mind and Clara for her dim but sweet disposition.

"Oh my god! Where have you been? I've been so worried-"

"Clar…"

"I come home one day and on the news it says the children's home blew up!"

"Yeah I know! Sorry I haven't called you yet, I've been in hospital and-"

"What! Oh no! What's happened?"

"I was about to tell you. I got pretty badly hurt by the explosion and have to stay in hospital for a bit. A couple of burns, a few scratches, some bruises, not really that interesting"

"But that's awful-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Look Carla"

"Hm?"

"Listen carefully, I need you to get something for me"

"What?"

"Can you try and bring your laptop in for me? I need to do some… homework" it was a bad excuse, she wasn't even going back to school after the summer. But there may be the tiniest chance Carla would believe it.

"Oh that English report Mr Simmonds set? Yeah, sure I can bring it. Hey, when you've finished can I have a look over yours? Mine could really use the help."

"Huh? Whatever, come as soon as you can. I'm going insane with boredom"

"Kay. See you soo-" Tori cut off the line before she could finish as Laura came marching back in, holding the little plastic cup of pain killers.

Slipping the phone back in her bag as the nurse turned to shut the door, she sat up, wincing from the stabs of pain shooting through her limbs.

"The doctors are prescribing you a new pill, you're to take it twice a day, everyday mind. Even if the pain isn't bad, for two months" she sat the cup down on Tori's bedside table.

"Yippee!" She smiled sarcastically "More pills!"

"I know dear. It's not fair, but soon you'll be out and back home"

"Back to Dartmoor" She scowled at the name tumbling out of her lips.

"Bad was it?" Laura had been briefed about her past from the other nurses.

"Hmm, being beaten up, all your stuff getting nicked and the care workers locking you in at night because they think you're gonna run away?" she added the inflection at the end. "Oh it was a ball!"

"Well maybe it'll have changed" she slapped the end of the younger girl's bed and turned to leave.

As she was about to leave the nurse stopped trying to remember something.

"Oh yeah, forgot to mention. You may feel a little drowsy, at the worst black out. They take a while getting used to, but that'll pass before you go home. Night"

Tori looked to the window to find that the sun had just disappeared and the sky was dark indigo, the crescent moon half hidden by clouds.

"Night" she called back, switching off the bed side lamp.

A.N

Okay, so not as dark as I suggested, sorry if I mislead you. I got confused with the chapters, there was a mistake involving two chapter fours. But I know the next chapter is darker.

Love Rosie