A View of Happiness
Chapter Four
By A Shot of Amber
I'm glad to see you back after what happened in the last chapter. Please be kind and read and review or send all comments, questions, suggestions, comments, and flames to . Thank you!
A View of Happiness
Chapter Four
I came to in the hospital to see people looking down on me. As my vision became clearer I saw my parents standing at the foot of the bed. Next to me was a balding man wearing a white coat and carrying a clipboard. His wrinkled features crinkled into a smile when he saw my eyes open.
"Good morning Serena. I'm glad to see the drug is finally wearing off."
"Where am I?" Serena asked wearily.
"Oh Serena! Are you okay?" Mrs. Tuskino cried grasping her hands together.
"Don't worry Mrs. Tuskino. She'll be fine. The drugs she took didn't do any damage to her body. She'll be perfectly alright in a few days," the doctor replied reassuringly but turned back to Serena with a grave look. "Serena do you remember what happened?"
"I remember the party," she began hesitantly as the memories came back to her. "I remember taking my drink and leaving the party and being in the car and..." Serena stopped as she remembered being in the car and what happened before she passed out. Tears began to flow down her face and she broke into sobs and covered her face with her hands.
"As I thought. You do remember," the doctor said gravely. "Serena we were able to take a vial of semen out of you. We also tested your blood and you tested positive for Rohypnol which is also known as Roofies or the date rape drug. You were probably slipped the drug in your drink and then while you were starting to feel the affects driven away from the party. The man who slipped you the pill was probably also the man who raped you."
At this Mrs. Tuskino stifled a sob while Serena looked at the doctor in wide eyed horror.
" Serena I have an officer here who would like to talk to you and help get information on the man who raped you. He is right outside if you want to talk to him."
Serena who had began to cry again shook her head and pulled the blanket up to her chin. "No! I don't want to talk to him! He'll prosecute me for drinking! He'll say its my fault and tell me I should have known better! I don't want to see him!"
The doctor exchanged looks with the Tuskinos then turned back to Serena. "All right Serena then we won't do this now. Still you will probably want to talk to an officer soon and report this. Rape is a crime not for you but for the person who did this to you. In the mean time I suggest we leave you alone. The nurses' will want to do some more tests before we can discharge you."
Serena nodded silently and wiped away her tears. The doctor turned and headed for the door with the Tuskinos when Serena spoke up. "Mom could you call my friends and tell them where I am? I don't want them to worry."
Mrs. Tuskino turned around and smiled. "They are in the waiting room. Someone found a number in your purse and got a hold of your roommate Rei. Would you like to see them?"
"They are here? Now? How long have they been here?" Serena asked sitting up in bed.
" They've been here all night with us," Mr. Tuskino replied.
"Can I see them then?"
The doctor looked at her gravely then smiled and nodded. "I'll send them in now Serena. The nurses can do the tests later."
"Thank you," Serena replied lowering herself back onto the bed and pulling her blanket back up to her neck.
The doctor and her parents left the room closing the door behind them while Serena looked out the window at the still dark sky. It was early in the morning right before the sun would rise, how long ago had she been at the party innocently drinking a beer? How long had it been since Derek left her unconscious in a alley while he drove off probably to brag to his friends about his easy lay?
Serena stifled a sob as a tear ran down her face while the door opened. She quickly wiped away the tear and sat up in bed smiling at her friends who came in silently. Rei was still dressed in her party outfit a red dress with black fishnet stockings up to her thighs. After her came Mina who was holding a bouquet of red roses along with Lita who was holding a bunch of balloons. Behind all of them came Darien still dressed in his wrinkled shirt and khaki's with a worried look on his face.
"Hey girl," Mina said softly walking over to the bed with the others.
"Hi everyone," Serena replied moving the blanket down to her lap and smiling at her friends.
"These are for you," Lita said handing Serena the balloons. "We raided the hospital gift shop and bought a dozen balloons."
Serena laughed softly and took the balloons which were colorful with get well signs, hearts, and smiley faces. "Thank you, they are beautiful."
"These are also for you," Mina took the balloons from Serena and in their place handed her the bouquet of roses. "Darien thought you might like them."
Serena looked at the roses in her arms and smiled then looked up at Darien who was standing at the foot of the bed looking at her with worried eyes.
"Thank you Darien, they are beautiful," she replied smiling at him.
Darien nodded his head. "I thought you might like red roses."
"I do."
Rei lifted the bag she was holding up and rested it on the bed. "I brought you a change of clothes so you don't have to wear your dirty ones home."
Everyone exchanged looks at this but remained silent.
"Thank you," Serena replied resting one hand on the bag then removing it as she saw the scrapes on the palm.
Mina was crying silently and drying her eyes with a tissue while Lita and Rei looked at her at the scrapes on her palms to the black and blue mark on her face.
"Does it hurt?" Lita asked gesturing to the mark on her face.
Serena reached up and touched the mark, it hurt to touch but she smiled and shook her head. "Not that much."
"I can't believe he did that to you," Darien growled clenching his hands into fists in his pockets.
" Darien please don't," Rei said softly shaking her head no.
Darien didn't say anything but instead just looked at Serena who was looking back at him. Finally she sighed and looked back at Rei. " How did you guys find me?"
Rei sighed also and took a seat in the chair next to the bed. "After you and Derek left we started searching for you. We didn't know that you had left..."
After he had searched the house without success he headed for the back porch to where she had last been. He was worried about the rumor he had heard. What if Derek had slipped Serena some drugs? She may be in danger at this very moment!
He pushed past some people making out near the door and walked out onto the back porch. Near a tree a group of his fraternity brothers stood drinking and talking. The only way to know the truth was to go through them. Darien headed towards them and called to one of them who would probably tell the truth.
"Hey Todd!"
Todd looked up and grinned. "Yo Darien! Where's your hot date? I thought you'd be upstairs with her getting it on."
"You know I don't have a date but I am looking for one. A certain girl named Serena, have you seen her?"
" Serena?" Todd asked looking up at the sky. "You mean the blond girl with the strange hairstyle?"
"Yea, I'm looking for her. I wanted to tell her something," Darien replied trying to keep the tenseness out of his voice.
"Your too late man. She left with Derek a little while ago. I don't know where they were headed off to but she looked tanked."
" Tanked has in drunk or tanked as in drugged up?"
"Wow, I don't know. She looked tanked as in drunk I guess. She was stumbling and complaining that she was dizzy and hot but that could just mean that she was drunk."
Darien nodded and looked around at the people standing around him. "Todd did you hear about someone bringing roofies to the party?"
"Yea Derek was bragging that he brought some and was even passing them around. Wait! Do you think that he slipped your girl some?"
" That's exactly what I think," Darien replied heading back towards the glass doors.
" What's up with Darien?" Someone asked.
"He thinks that Derek slipped his girl roofies," Todd replied.
"You mean that blond girl that was with Derek earlier?"
"Yea."
"Oh man that girl is getting her do's right now! He slipped her a pill earlier and she actually drank it! She's probably out and unconscious right now and in his car."
Todd looked at the guy standing next to him then back at the door where Darien had disappeared. "I hope he finds her soon."
" Darien! Did you find her?" Rei asked as he walked past her with an intent look on his face.
" Gather the girls, we are leaving," Darien replied tensely.
"Did he?" Rei began.
"Yes he did."
"Oh God," Rei groaned then turned and ran into the other room to get Mina and Lita while Darien pulled out his car keys and walked out the front door towards his car parked on the street.
"I got the call from the hospital that you were here while we were driving around looking for you. Your parents called me and told me what had happened. That must have been at about 2am. We came here and met your parents in the waiting room. You were still unconscious and they were performing tests when we got here so we waited in the waiting room till now when they let us in."
"How long were you searching for me?"
"Maybe for an hour when I got the call," Rei replied. "We came straight here after that," Rei took Serena's hand which was resting on top of the cover. "I'm so sorry that this happened to you."
"I agree, no one deserves this," Lita added from where she stood next to Rei.
Serena nodded as tears began to form in her eyes. She was still sore down there and she could feel the mark on her face throbbing in pain. Darien and Mina both noticed this. Mina looked over at Darien then stepped forward and placed her hand on Rei's shoulder.
"You know we should get going and allow Serena to get some sleep."
Serena shook her head and wiped away the tears. "Actually I don't want to be alone right now. You guys can stay, it would be great if you did."
Darien who hadn't spoken for awhile looked at her then nodded his head and smiled, the first smile from him she had seen all night since it had happened. "How about I stay with you while you sleep? The others can go back to the campus and get some sleep themselves."
Rei looked over at Darien who was looking back at her with an intense look. She nodded and stood up without letting go of Serena's hand. "That sounds like a good idea. We'll come back later when you check out."
" Alright," Serena replied nodding her head and squeezing Rei's hand before letting go of it. She smiled at her friends who came over to her and hugged her. Lita took the roses from her and set them on the table next to the bed beside the balloons.
"Have a good sleep," Mina mummered hugging her tightly then followed Rei and Lita out of the room.
"We'll tell your parents to go home and get some sleep," Lita called before the door closed behind her.
Darien watched them leave the room then walked over to the light switch and flipped it off. The room plunged into darkness only lit by the sky turning pink in the distance.
"Do you want me to sit by you?" Darien asked walking back to the foot of the bed.
Serena nodded and settled herself into the bed, pulling the cover up to her neck. Darien sat down in the plastic padded chair and took her hand which she has extended to him. He closed his hands around hers and patted them gently as she closed her eyes. A few minutes later a nurse came in and injected Serena's arm with something to make her sleep. Soon Serena was asleep and Darien was left alone sitting in the light of the rising sun watching her sleep.
Serena pulled on her jeans and zipped up the fly. She had changed out of her hospital gown into the clothes Rei had brought her a pair of blue jeans and a pale green sweater. The medicine was wearing off when she woke up to find Darien asleep in the chair next to her bed still holding her hand. She looked at him, his black hair falling in his eyes while his chest rose and fell while he slept. She smiled and let go of his hand and climbed out of the bed.
In the bathroom she changed into her clothes and looked at herself in the mirror. Her hair was a mess of tangles and falling out of her buns. She also looked at the mark on her face, an angry red mark with blue and black shades. She touched it gently and winced at the pain, this would be hard to hide. Instead Serena pulled her hair out of their buns and fingered combed it as much as she could before pulling her hair into a ponytail and winding it into a bun at the base of her neck.
Outside in the hospital room Darien woke up as the doctor came in carrying a clipboard and a bag containing Serena's torn and ripped clothes. She came out of the bathroom dressed in her clean clothes as he asked Darien where she was.
"I'm right here," Serena replied closing the bathroom door behind her.
"Ah there you are Serena. Well we got all the tests back and you are good to go. Is this man going to give you a ride home or would you like me to call your parents?"
Serena looked past the doctor at Darien who was running a hand through his hair to get it out of his eyes. He met her eyes then turned to the doctor. "I'll give her a ride home, we live on the same campus."
The doctor nodded and turned back to Serena. "Here is your clothes Serena. Since you refuse to see the police we can not give them over as evidence." Serena looked at the clothes with fearful eyes but she took the bag and held in her hands.
" Please don't throw them away since they may be called in for evidence against your will if your parents decided to press charges but in the meantime you need to keep them in that bag, so they don't get ruined. Also I would like you to come back in a week for a follow up to see if you are pregnant."
Serena gasped and looked up at the doctor.
"Now don't worry, there is a strong chance that you aren't but we still need to check. Also I would like you to talk to an officer about what happened. Rape is a crime and whoever did this to you needs to be taken in and prosecuted."
Serena shook her head and walked past the doctor. "I don't think that is a good idea. He will know I was drinking underage and that I took drugs. I will be the one to be prosecuted, not him. If it is all the same to you I would rather not talk to anyone, I just want to go home."
The doctor looked at Darien who shook his head slightly. "Alright then but please take detective Johnson's card and when you are ready, please call him." The doctor handed Serena a business card. "In the meantime when ever you are ready just go to the nurses station and someone will check you out. Good luck Serena."
"Thank you doctor," Serena said softly. He nodded and left the room leaving the door open behind him. Serena turned to Darien who reached down and picked up her bag.
"I'll drive you back to school."
"That sounds good," Serena replied heading towards the door with him following her out.
She checked out at the nurse's station, getting her id bracelet removed and her papers signed and filed away. After that she and Darien took the elevator down to the first floor and walked out into the sunshine to his car parked in the parking lot.
"You have a nice car," Serena said as they approached the red sports car.
" Thanks," Darien replied unlocking the doors and throwing her bag into the back seat. Serena climbed into the passenger seat and buckled her seat belt before they took off.
With quiet grace Darien maneuvered the car out of the parking lot onto the street that headed back towards the college. Serena sat in the passenger seat with her arms folded in her lap looking out the front window. Occasionally Darien looked out over the side at her but she didn't look back at him, she was quiet and still only blinking to show that she was even alive. He knew better then to speak so the car ride was quiet until they got to the college and Darien parked in the student parking lot next to her dorm.
"Do you want me to walk you up?" He asked turning off the car and turning to her.
Serena looked away from the front window to him. He noticed the haunted look in her eyes and it didn't disappear when she smiled, a smile that didn't reach her eyes and nodded. "That would be nice," Serena replied.
Darien grinned at her then opened his door and climbed out of the car. Serena did the same thing and reached into the back seat for her bag and the plastic bag of her clothes. She took both without looking at the blood stained skirt and slammed the door shut.
Together Serena and Darien walked into the building and up the stairs to her floor. The stairs were empty of people but on her floor a few people stood in their doorways talking and laughing. When they saw Serena some called out to her asking how the party was and where she was all night. Serena smiled weakly and nodded her head to them. A few people noticed the bag of blood stained clothes in her hand and their greetings died on their lips. As she passed and more people saw the haunted look in her eyes and the clothes in their hands they grew quiet and began to whisper. She didn't notice them but just continued on towards her room. Once there Serena turned and looked up at Darien.
"Thank you for staying with me today and thank you for the ride back."
"It was no problem. I figured you wouldn't want to be alone in the hospital while you were asleep," Darien replied.
"You were right." Serena brushed a stray strand of hair behind her ears as someone turned on their stereo and the sounds of Hobbastank's The Reason entered the hallway.
Darien didn't even turn around to see where the music was coming from he just looked down at Serena who was looking down at the floor. "Are you going to go to dinner tonight?"
Serena shook her head and dropped her hand. "All I really want to do is to take a shower and get some sleep. I think I'll just skip dinner tonight."
Darien nodded his head. "Alright, well I'll let you get some sleep. I'll see you later," he turned to leave but Serena suddenly stopped him by grabbing his hand. Darien turned back to Serena as she smiled at him and tightened her grip on his hand.
"Thank you again for staying with me when you didn't have too. I really appreciate it," she said softly.
Darien smiled and nodded his head. "Your welcome Serena."
"Good night."
"Good morning," Darien replied back then turned and walked back towards the stairs while Serena watched him before unlocking her door and walking into her room.
I know this is short but I'm running out of ideas at the moment so I'm going to end this here and come back in a week to update. In the mean time please read and review or send all comments, questions, suggestions, and flames to . Thank you!