Ch 4
It was many weeks later and the girl had been released from the hospital into Sydney's care. This had been allowed because Sydney was the only person the girl had shown the slightest bit of trust in, and also because Sydney could act as a bodyguard should the need arise.
In all this time however the girl had not spoken one word to Sydney, or to anyone else for that matter. Oh she was learning to trust Sydney for she no longer flinched when Syd touched her and had even smiled a couple of times. But she was yet to laugh or even tell Sydney her name. This greatly distressed Sydney so she spoke to the child psychologist whom the girl was seeing everyday. The psychologist, although she could not discuss what happened in the sessions, did confide that the girl would curl up in a ball in a caorner of the room and never move or speak. The psychologist did try to reassure Sydney by telling her that this girl had obviously gone through a horrendous experience that most people couldn't dream of, even in their nightmares. It would take months for her to trust people, yet she had already started. She showed signs of trusting Sydney more than any one else. And Sydney should try to encourage this by not pushing her and trying to not get angry or overly upset about anything while near her. At least until the girl realizes that Sydney won't hurt her.
Sydney thanked the doctor and went into the room. After realizing it was Sydney and not someone else, the girl jumped up and flashed her a brief smile. This was the normal routine and had been for the past few weeks. But then she did something unexpected. The girl came up to Sydney and slipped her hand into Syd's, shyly, never looking at her as though she was expecting rejection. Sydney felt hot tears come to her eyes at this show of trust and maybe...affection? "Come on Sweetie, lets go home." Sydney whispered softly.
Later on, after supper and after the girl had gone to sleep, Sydney started to think about her. Walker and Trivette still hadn't had any luck identifying her. They had widened the search in the past month and were checking with the rest of North America before moving on to international. But with only a description, no name, birthday, date of disappearance or location, it was slow going. Sydney hoped they would be able to identify her soon.
The girls wounds had almost healed, just the broken bones hadn't, but she still remained skittish as a colt whenever Gage, Walker, Trivette or any man came near. If they were at home and one of the men stopped by she would always run to her room, slam the door shut and not come out till they were gone. Although lately Sydney had been noticing that when Gage came by (and he did almost every night) she wouldn't slam her door, just shut it. Maybe, just maybe she was starting to warm up to him.
Several nights later Sydney was returning home. It was late at night, almost 11 pm. She had been called out to the HOPE Centre when an abusive husband showed up drunk and demanding his wife. Sydney hated it when a man considered a woman his posession. But the incident had been cleaned up with minimal fuss. The man had, in actuality, passed out shortly after Sydney had arrived, but it was discovered that he had had a gun in his posession so Syd was glad she had gone. And then she had had to stick around for a little bit to help reassure the women and children that nothing bad would happen to them. Sydney hated having had to leave the girl alone; it was the first time, in the 3 months she had been there that Syd had to leave her. And on top of that a horrendous storm had moved in and Sydney wasn't sure how the girl would react to the thunder and lightning. So all in all it had been a long night and Sydney just wanted to go home and sleep, after checking on the girl.
When Syd arrived she immediately noticed there were no lights on. Her apartment was pitch black, too dark to see in front of her, lit only when a lightning bolt flashed. The second thing she noticed was the sobs and screams, coming from the girls room. These cries were different from the ones heard during her nightly nightmares, much more bloodcurdling, as if someone was actually in the room with her.
Sydney rushed to her room, fearing someone was in there but when she opened the door there was no one. At first she thought she was mistaken, maybe the cries came from a different room. But after several flashes of lightning and by following the sounds, Sydney found her. Curled up in a corner with her hands braced against an attack, lay the girl, continuously screaming, "No! NO! Please stop! I'll be good. I'll do anything! Please don't hurt me again! OH GOD, stop, please!" She sobbed in between the screams.
Sydney felt her heart break as she realized what had happened. The girl had gone to sleep and as usual, when she had a nightmare she had found a corner and curled up. But this time, because of the storm, it was as though the people were there, beating her again. With each clap of thunder she would flinch and cry out in pain, mayhap reliving the abuse.
Sydney was unsure of what to do. Should she try to awaken the girl or would that traumatize her even more? Before she could come to a conclusion the girl answered for her with a sudden scream, louder than those before. "Sydney, help me! Make them stop, PLEASE! Make them stop!"
With such a pitiful cry ringing in her ears and tears pooling in her eyes, Sydney moved over to sit beside her and hold her. At first the girl flinched when Sydney touched her softly but gradually she seemed to recognize Sydney's soft, gentle hands and voice. Her eyes opened and as soon as she realized it was Sydney she flew into her lap and arms, sobbing against Syd's neck. Sydney held her and rocked her, crying as well, until the tears had stopped. At this point she gathered the girl in her arms, carried her into her room and held her for the rest of the night; which passed without further interruption for the first time.
The next morning, when Syd woke she found the girl staring at her with a slight smile on her face.
"Morning Sweetie. Feeling OK?" With these gentle words, so lovingly spoken, Sydney received a huge surprise. Instead of the usual head shake or nod it was spoken.
"My name is Catriona....."
TO BE CONTINUED
(don't you just hate it with people do this!)
It was many weeks later and the girl had been released from the hospital into Sydney's care. This had been allowed because Sydney was the only person the girl had shown the slightest bit of trust in, and also because Sydney could act as a bodyguard should the need arise.
In all this time however the girl had not spoken one word to Sydney, or to anyone else for that matter. Oh she was learning to trust Sydney for she no longer flinched when Syd touched her and had even smiled a couple of times. But she was yet to laugh or even tell Sydney her name. This greatly distressed Sydney so she spoke to the child psychologist whom the girl was seeing everyday. The psychologist, although she could not discuss what happened in the sessions, did confide that the girl would curl up in a ball in a caorner of the room and never move or speak. The psychologist did try to reassure Sydney by telling her that this girl had obviously gone through a horrendous experience that most people couldn't dream of, even in their nightmares. It would take months for her to trust people, yet she had already started. She showed signs of trusting Sydney more than any one else. And Sydney should try to encourage this by not pushing her and trying to not get angry or overly upset about anything while near her. At least until the girl realizes that Sydney won't hurt her.
Sydney thanked the doctor and went into the room. After realizing it was Sydney and not someone else, the girl jumped up and flashed her a brief smile. This was the normal routine and had been for the past few weeks. But then she did something unexpected. The girl came up to Sydney and slipped her hand into Syd's, shyly, never looking at her as though she was expecting rejection. Sydney felt hot tears come to her eyes at this show of trust and maybe...affection? "Come on Sweetie, lets go home." Sydney whispered softly.
Later on, after supper and after the girl had gone to sleep, Sydney started to think about her. Walker and Trivette still hadn't had any luck identifying her. They had widened the search in the past month and were checking with the rest of North America before moving on to international. But with only a description, no name, birthday, date of disappearance or location, it was slow going. Sydney hoped they would be able to identify her soon.
The girls wounds had almost healed, just the broken bones hadn't, but she still remained skittish as a colt whenever Gage, Walker, Trivette or any man came near. If they were at home and one of the men stopped by she would always run to her room, slam the door shut and not come out till they were gone. Although lately Sydney had been noticing that when Gage came by (and he did almost every night) she wouldn't slam her door, just shut it. Maybe, just maybe she was starting to warm up to him.
Several nights later Sydney was returning home. It was late at night, almost 11 pm. She had been called out to the HOPE Centre when an abusive husband showed up drunk and demanding his wife. Sydney hated it when a man considered a woman his posession. But the incident had been cleaned up with minimal fuss. The man had, in actuality, passed out shortly after Sydney had arrived, but it was discovered that he had had a gun in his posession so Syd was glad she had gone. And then she had had to stick around for a little bit to help reassure the women and children that nothing bad would happen to them. Sydney hated having had to leave the girl alone; it was the first time, in the 3 months she had been there that Syd had to leave her. And on top of that a horrendous storm had moved in and Sydney wasn't sure how the girl would react to the thunder and lightning. So all in all it had been a long night and Sydney just wanted to go home and sleep, after checking on the girl.
When Syd arrived she immediately noticed there were no lights on. Her apartment was pitch black, too dark to see in front of her, lit only when a lightning bolt flashed. The second thing she noticed was the sobs and screams, coming from the girls room. These cries were different from the ones heard during her nightly nightmares, much more bloodcurdling, as if someone was actually in the room with her.
Sydney rushed to her room, fearing someone was in there but when she opened the door there was no one. At first she thought she was mistaken, maybe the cries came from a different room. But after several flashes of lightning and by following the sounds, Sydney found her. Curled up in a corner with her hands braced against an attack, lay the girl, continuously screaming, "No! NO! Please stop! I'll be good. I'll do anything! Please don't hurt me again! OH GOD, stop, please!" She sobbed in between the screams.
Sydney felt her heart break as she realized what had happened. The girl had gone to sleep and as usual, when she had a nightmare she had found a corner and curled up. But this time, because of the storm, it was as though the people were there, beating her again. With each clap of thunder she would flinch and cry out in pain, mayhap reliving the abuse.
Sydney was unsure of what to do. Should she try to awaken the girl or would that traumatize her even more? Before she could come to a conclusion the girl answered for her with a sudden scream, louder than those before. "Sydney, help me! Make them stop, PLEASE! Make them stop!"
With such a pitiful cry ringing in her ears and tears pooling in her eyes, Sydney moved over to sit beside her and hold her. At first the girl flinched when Sydney touched her softly but gradually she seemed to recognize Sydney's soft, gentle hands and voice. Her eyes opened and as soon as she realized it was Sydney she flew into her lap and arms, sobbing against Syd's neck. Sydney held her and rocked her, crying as well, until the tears had stopped. At this point she gathered the girl in her arms, carried her into her room and held her for the rest of the night; which passed without further interruption for the first time.
The next morning, when Syd woke she found the girl staring at her with a slight smile on her face.
"Morning Sweetie. Feeling OK?" With these gentle words, so lovingly spoken, Sydney received a huge surprise. Instead of the usual head shake or nod it was spoken.
"My name is Catriona....."
TO BE CONTINUED
(don't you just hate it with people do this!)
