Chapter 2: Houseguest
Sully stood with his hand steady on the doorknob for a moment. His mind finally caught up to him, and he rushed out to kneel down on the porch. Michaela followed him outside, and she was surprised to see a young girl with light blonde hair, about Colleen's age, lying as if she'd fallen onto the porch. Her face was bruised, and a few cuts bled on her legs. Her dress was tattered and dirty, and the sight was heart breaking.
"Oh Sully," Michaela whispered. "Help me bring her inside." Sully gently lifted the young girl into his arms and carried her inside. Michaela cleared off the table, and Sully put her down on top of it. The girl was unconscious, and Michaela was alarmed by the simple fact that this poor girl was so severely beaten. "Sully, would you mind waiting upstairs? I need to examine her." Sully nodded and retreated up the stairs. Michaela poured some of the hot water from the kettle into a bowl and brought it over to the table. She slowly unbuttoned what was left of the girl's top, and noticed scratches and bruises on her chest. Michaela took a clean cloth and began to clean the wounds with water. She grabbed her medical bag and cleansed the cuts and bruises with antiseptic. The girl's face was fair and beautiful underneath the scratches and the dirt. The bruises weren't too bad once Michaela had cleaned her face up, but a look of sadness seemed permanently etched into the girl's features.
Michaela slowly removed the girl's skirt, fearing what she would find under her clothes. Unfortunately, she was correct in finding scratches on the girl's thighs, and bruises along her breasts. The girl was barely developed into a young woman, and Michaela was certain she couldn't be more than fourteen or fifteen years old. It was a sad thing to find a victim of rape, and she'd seen so many while working in the poorhouses of Boston. No woman deserved this treatment, and unfortunately this young woman wasn't even a woman yet.
What she didn't expect was to find this girl's belly swollen with child. She was clearly four or five months pregnant, but very thin due to malnourishment.
"Oh you poor thing," she whispered. "Who did this to you?"
She went upstairs to find one of Colleen's old dresses. This girl, though clearly a young teenager, was about the size of a twelve year old. She was thin, and even with her extended belly, she could probably fit in one the dresses Colleen had long-since grown out of.
The girl still wasn't awake when Michaela dressed her. She hadn't spoken to Sully of the situation, and figured it would be best after she got the girl settled into a comfortable bed. She had turned down Matthew's old bed and had Sully carry her up quietly as not to disturb the children.
Sully put her on the bed, and Michaela covered her with blankets. She didn't want to try smelling salts on the girl, because she didn't want her to wake up alarmed. She knew the girl would wake soon, and she wanted her to feel comfortable when doing so.
When they met in the hallway after shutting the door, Sully put his hands on Michaela's arms as she tried to search her mind for an answer.
"Michaela," he began, "what happened to her?"
"She's been raped," Michaela explained. Sully sighed and looked away. "That's not all."
"What do ya mean?"
"She's pregnant," Michaela replied. "It's hard to say how far along, because she's so malnourished, but I would say she's about four or five months." Her hand went sympathetically to her own pregnant belly. Sully pulled his wife into a hug.
"Nobody should ever have to go through that," he said softly, closing his eyes, hoping to God that none of his loved ones would ever have to experience the pain and turmoil that a rape brought.
"She's just a child, Sully," Michaela said softly, tears forming in her eyes. "She can't be much older than Colleen."
"What are we gonna do?"
"I suppose the right thing to do would be to find her family."
"But what if she was runnin' away? What if her . . ."
"We should wait until she wakes up," Michaela replied, swallowing hard. She brushed a tear off of her cheek, and Michaela went back into the room to sit with her. Sully knew she needed some time to think. This was a very difficult situation for anyone to go through, even if they hadn't personally experienced it. He knew it hit home to her, though, because she was first of all a woman, and second of all, someone who had to try to tread the physical body and the psychological mind.
Sully was just starting down the stairs when Colleen's bedroom door opened.
"Pa?" she asked. Sully turned to her.
"Yeah?"
"What's goin' on? I heard you and ma talkin'."
"Don't worry now. We'll talk about it in the mornin'." Colleen looked concerned.
"Maybe I can help?"
"No, no. You just go get some rest. Your ma will talk to ya in the mornin' about it, alright?" Colleen gave up and nodded, withdrawing back into her room.
Meanwhile, Michaela sat next to this young girl's bed. The chair she sat in hurt her back, so she leaned over to get a pillow to put behind her. As she was leaning over, the girl began to stir. Michaela slowly stirred. A whimper escaped from the partially unconscious girl's mouth.
"It's alright," Michaela whispered soothingly, gently brushing the hair out of the girl's eyes, caressing her forehead. The girl's eyes opened, and Michaela stared into the brightest green eyes she had ever seen. The girl sat up quickly and screamed out in pain.
"Where am I?!" she asked immediately, clawing at the bed sheets, trying to escape.
"It's alright!" Michaela exclaimed frantically. "You were on our front porch." The girl climbed out of the bed and rushed over to hide in the corner of the room. Michaela stood and slowly started to go over to her.
"No! Stay away!" she screamed, pulling her knees up and wrapping her arms around them. She began to sob in long, heart-wrenching cries. Sully walked in after the cries had woken the children. He motioned for Colleen and Brian to stay in the hall. Colleen held her brother back, and they both stood frozen with fear.
"She's frightened, Sully," Michaela said softly. "She won't let me near her." Sully knelt down on the floor near the girl.
"We're not gonna hurt ya," he promised. "We found ya. Ya looked pretty hurt and you were unconscious on our porch. We brought ya in, and she cleaned ya up real good." He motioned to his wife.
"We just want to help," Michaela added. The girl drew away even further, backing herself into the corner as far as she could.
"Maybe we should give her 'til mornin'."
"We can't leave her alone, Sully. She's scared, and I don't blame her."
"Neither do I, but she don't look like she's gonna calm down while we're here. We should give her some space."
"She must be hungry, Sully."
"It ain't gonna do any good to fix her food she's just gonna toss away. She's scared, and I say we should let her be 'til mornin'."
"Go away!" she screamed. "Don't hurt me!"
"We won't hurt you, sweetheart. We're here to help you." The girl curled herself up in a ball on the floor, and Michaela had to agree with Sully. She needed to rest. In the morning, they would come back and try to help her. She turned to Sully and whispered to him. "What if she tries to run away?"
"She ain't in any condition' to be runnin' away. She's hurt and carryin' a baby. This is the only place she's got 'til we can figure out what to do. Look at her, Michaela. She's too weak to run away." Michaela nodded and left with Sully. Colleen and Brian were still standing in the hallway with frightened looks upon their faces.
"Ma, what happened?" Brian wondered.
"It's not a good time," Sully spoke up. "Go back to bed."
"We can't sleep now," Colleen explained. Michaela sighed and rubbed her belly. The baby was kicking again, and Michaela knew very well that she wasn't going to be able to sleep with that poor girl in the other room.
"Well, I suppose we're all in for quite an experience, so it won't do a bit of good to wait until tomorrow to talk about it." Sully and Michaela joined hands and followed the children downstairs to have a talk.
Michaela literally woke with the chickens when the rooster crowed at dawn. Sully was still sleeping, but nature was calling Michaela. She made her way to the washroom to relieve herself, and on her way back to the bedroom, she stopped by Matthew's room to check on the girl she had cared for the night before.
As she was getting ready to go in, she heard Daniel whimpering in the other room. She decided to check on her boys first.
She and Sully had both been apprehensive about having this stranger sleep in the room next to the other children. Sure she was young, pregnant, and a victim of a terrible crime, but they weren't sure if she was dangerous to herself or anyone else. Their fears had been assured just a little when they checked on her before they retired to their room the night before. They had opened the door to find that she had crawled back onto the bed and fallen asleep, curled up as a sleeping child would lie.
Once Michaela had dealt with her cranky little boy, she moved down the hall to sneak into the girl's room. The young girl was awake and standing by the window. Her fingertips were pressed up against the glass, and she seemed to be staring out at the rain that was coming down in heavy sheets.
"Are you hungry?" Michaela asked. The girl jumped as if she'd been shot, and she backed against the window. Michaela held her hands up in front of her. "It's alright. Don't be afraid." She smiled warmly. The locket around Michaela's neck caught the girl's eye. She slowly walked over to Michaela, who didn't know what to expect next.
The girl's fingers shakily reached out to touch the heartsong locket.
"Beautiful," she whispered. Michaela let out a short sigh of relief.
"Yes," Michaela replied. The girl looked down at Michaela's tummy, and she proceeded to touch her own." Tears flooded like bright green pools in her eyes. She began to cry, the tears stinging her healing cuts. Michaela reached out and put a hand on the girl's shoulder. The girl shrank back and ran over to the window. Just a moment ago, the girl had reached out and literally touched her. Now she had reverted within herself. It broke Michaela's heart. "I know what's happening to you is scary. Your body is changing, and you're feeling alone."
"Alone," the girl whispered. "Alone." She turned back to Michaela. "He hurt me."
"Who?" Michaela asked. The girl shook her head and closed her eyes, trying to fight away the tears. Michaela knew the girl wasn't going to say anything more about the rape yet. "All right. We don't have to talk about that. What's your name?"
"Annie," she replied simply.
"Annie. That's a beautiful name," Michaela said with a smile, though the girl was no longer looking at her. "My name is Michaela." The girl turned back to look out the window. "I'll go make you something for breakfast." She quietly closed the door and descended the staircase.
Wolf and Pup were scratching at the door, begging to be let out, so Michaela quickly ushered them outside before starting up the stove and getting the skillet ready for eggs.
Colleen came down the stairs a few minutes later.
"Here, let me help," she said with a smile. "You should rest ma. You've been up half the night."
"I'm fine," Michaela promised.
"Let me do this anyway. It's the least I can do after havin' been out all night like that without tellin' ya." Michaela sighed.
"Colleen, were you just out walking in the woods with Jared?"
"Yeah," Colleen replied. "Ma, I'll let Jared know that I can't see him tonight. He wanted me to come to Grace's."
"Well, Colleen, promise me that you're not going to do something you'll regret."
"I won't," Colleen replied. "I think I'd rather stay here tonight and help with that girl."
"Annie."
"What?"
"That's her name."
"She told you?"
"Yes. She reached out to me just a few minutes ago. I think she's going to come around sooner than we originally thought." Colleen cracked a few eggs into the frying pan.
"Maybe she'll be able to tell us who did this to her." After talking with the children the night before, they had all decided to help this young girl out. Annie was in desperate need of care and love, and from the looks of things, she didn't have much of that in her life.
"I don't know, Colleen," Michaela replied, placing her hand on her belly. "That all depends on what she wants to tell us." She looked up at Colleen, and fear suddenly washed over her. Colleen was growing up into a beautiful and intelligent young woman. Now that she was beginning to notice boys, and they were beginning to notice her, she knew that there was always the element of danger. Some of those young men Colleen knew were nothing but trouble, always bullying the younger children in the classes. She knew that she wanted her daughter to end up with a man somewhat like Sully, understanding and non-judgmental towards other people. "Colleen?"
"What?"
"I want you to promise me something." Colleen flipped over the eggs in the skillet.
"Promise what?"
"I want you to promise me that you'll never let a boy hurt you." Colleen stared curiously at her mother.
"Ma, you know I wouldn't."
"It's just that there are some boys out there who have been taught differently than your brothers. They don't treat girls with respect. Obviously a boy like that has done something to Annie."
"Ma, the boys that I like are nice and never make fun of anybody. Well, Jared does sometimes, but he'd never hurt me. I wouldn't let him."
"Unfortunately, nobody can prevent themselves from getting hurt emotionally, and I only wish there was a way for women to learn how to protect themselves. They don't teach that in schools though." Michaela frowned and Colleen put the eggs onto a plate.
"Want me to take this up to Annie?"
"I'll do it," Michaela replied, taking the plate and a fork into her hands. She started up the stairs while Colleen continued cooking breakfast. Brian nearly sideswiped his mother as he bounded down the stairs. "Brian!"
"Sorry ma!"
"Where are you off to in such a hurry?"
"I gotta go!" he exclaimed, having to relieve himself.
"Can't you use the washroom upstairs?"
"Somebody's in there," he replied. He rushed into the tiny room downstairs which served only one purpose. It was times like these that she was grateful that Sully had put in an indoor outhouse. She shook her head and finished walking up the stairs. She came to Matthew's room and walked inside, only to find that Annie wasn't in there. She put down the plate of food and walked over to the washroom. She knocked on the door, and her knock was answered by a pain-filled sob.
She let herself into the room, and saw that Annie had stripped out of Colleen's old dress and was sitting in the empty washing tub. Michaela felt a tug at her heart and swallowed hard.
"Annie?" Annie broke down, and Michaela knew what the girl wanted. She wanted a hot bath to try to wash the feeling off of her skin.
"Why me?" she whispered between sobs. Michaela went to kneel beside the tub. She stroked the girl's tear-stained cheek.
"I don't know what you're going through, but I do know that what happened to you was painful and humiliating. Annie, if you could only tell me a little more information about yourself; about the man who did this to you, I might be able to help." Annie shook her head with frustration. "Alright," Michaela replied, not wanting to push her too far too fast. "I'll go heat some water for you. There is a fresh rag and soap over in the basin." Michaela left the room, and ran into Sully in the hall.
"Mornin'," he greeted her."
"Good morning," Michaela replied tiredly.
"You get any sleep?"
"Some. You?"
"Some," Sully admitted. "What's goin' on?"
"Annie wants to take a bath."
"Annie?"
"That's her name. She told me." Sully nodded in understanding.
"It's good she's talkin'. I'll go heat up some water and bring it up to ya."
"Thank you," Michaela replied. Sully leaned in to give her a quick kiss, and Michaela started back to the washroom. When she was inside, she pulled a stood over to the tub. Annie was sitting in there, covering herself with her arms. She was shaking with fright, and Michaela knew she was uncomfortable. She didn't want to leave her alone now, though. "What's your last name?" Annie sniffled.
"Black," she replied. "Annie Black." Michaela had heard of Mr. and Mrs. Black who used to live around Colorado Springs. Rumor had it that they were killed by Dog Soldiers, along with their only daughter.
"Margaret and Edward Black," Michaela whispered. Annie looked at her with wide eyes.
"You know my parents?"
"I've heard of them. They were killed by Dog Soldiers?" Annie shook her head.
"No. Indians saved me from trappers."
"Trappers?"
"They hunted animals and Indians. The Indians . . . they helped my pa till the soil. The trappers tried to shoot the Indians, but my pa and ma got hit instead."
"But you got away," Michaela concluded.
"The Indians took me in. They are long gone now, but they took me some place safe."
"Where did they take you?"
"I thought it was safe."
"Annie? Where did they take you?"
"I made a mistake," she cried. "Oh God! Please don't let him hurt me." She curled up into a ball, Michaela went to console her. A knock came to the door.
"Fresh water. I'll bring another pail up as soon as it's heated." Michaela went to get the water and gently poured it into the tub. It only filled an inch of the tub, but the warm water was refreshing to the broken young girl. The girl dampened the rag and lathered it with soap. She began to scrub her skin, and when Michaela tried to calm her, she jerked away and seemed to disappear within herself.
"Alright. I'm sorry if I upset you."
Soon, the washtub was filled with water, and Michaela left Annie to clean herself. She had tried to help the girl was her hair, but Annie was determined to help herself.
When Michaela joined her family downstairs, they were all dressed and in the middle of breakfast. She sat down and poked around at the eggs on her plate. She didn't feel much like eating, however. Her mind was worried about the poor girl upstairs.
"Michaela?" Sully wondered.
"Hmm?"
"Ya gotta eat," he pointed out.
"I'm sorry. I'm not very hungry."
"But you need to keep up your strength." Michaela sighed heavily.
"Colleen, I don't have any appointments scheduled for the day, but if you could stop by the clinic for a couple of hours today, I'd appreciate it. I think I had better stay home and see if I can get anymore information from Annie."
"Pa, can I come to the reservation with ya?" Brian wondered. Sully looked at Michaela with worry in his eyes. He knew she was determined to help this girl, and he wanted to help her too, he just didn't know how.
"Sure, Brian."
"Can I go too before we go to town?" Colleen wondered.
"Sure," Sully replied. "Michaela, do you want me to take the boys?"
"They'll be fine here. Colleen, if you could take some bandages out to Snow Bird and Cloud Dancing for that burn on Snow Bird's arm, I'd appreciate it."
"Sure ma," she replied. Once the children were outside, waiting for Sully to come out and hitch up the wagon, Sully walked over to kneel beside Michaela's chair.
"I'm worried about you. I know you're upset about this whole situation, but you gotta understand that you can only help her so much."
"I know, Sully. I just want her to know that she doesn't have to let this ruin her life. I want her to stay here for as long as she needs."
"How long might that be?" Sully wondered.
"Her parents are dead, but from the sound of it, she doesn't have any family. All I know is that the Indians took her someplace she thought was safe, and it apparently wasn't. I know her name is Annie Black."
"Well, I'll ask around at the reservation . . ."
"She said those Indians are long dead, but perhaps Cloud Dancing or someone at the reservation will know, so yes, ask around at the reservation."
"I'll also tell Horace to send a wire to ever major town around here. Maybe somebody will claim her as kin."
"And if there isn't anyone?" Michaela asked softly. She took Sully's hands in hers. "I know we have a new baby on the way, but do you think it would be so bad if we let Annie live here? She's going to need the support. She's so young and having a baby."
"You want to take her in? Permanently?"
"For a while," Michaela replied. "I got her to reach out to me."
"You think this is wise?"
"I don't know, Sully. I just walked in on the poor thing sitting alone in an empty washtub, balled up, crying like a child."
"She is a child," Sully pointed out.
"With some unfortunate baggage."
"It's gonna be a lot of work."
"I'm up to the challenge."
"Even with the new baby on the way? Michaela, I wanna help her just as much as you do, but you gotta think of yourself and the baby." His hand moved to her belly. "Connor and Daniel practically wear ya out, and ya got Colleen and Brian that need ya too. Annie's gonna need a lot of attention."
"You can't expect me to throw her out, can you?"
"'Course not," Sully replied, shaking his head with exasperation. "But, Michaela, ya can't fix everything that needs fixin'. She's gonna need a lot of love and attention that you ain't got time for. You got your own family to think about as well as runnin' the clinic." Michaela closed her eyes for a moment when the baby kicked. She rubbed the spot where its foot was pressing into.
"Give it a week, and if there isn't much change, we'll send her someplace safe in Denver." Sully caressed Michaela's cheek.
"That sounds like a good plan."
"Someplace safe," Michaela repeated, shaking her head. "That's what the Indians told her, but that obviously wasn't the truth."
"It's gonna be fine," Sully promised. Michaela shook her head, swallowing hard. "Sully, please tell the children not to say anything about Annie. I don't want people talking. I want to get to know her better before anything else happens. Tell Horace to keep quiet as well."
"I will," he replied. He kissed her hand and brushed his hand over her belly gently. "I'll be back in a few hours."
"Be careful," Michaela called after him as he started toward the door.
"Always."
The homestead had been quiet until the boys decided they wanted to play. Michaela had a quilt set out on the porch for them to play on, and she was sitting in a rocking chair, reading a book of Ralph Waldo Emerson's works. Annie hadn't come out of her room since she returned from her bath, but when Michaela had gone up to check on her earlier, she found that the plate containing the breakfast eggs had been cleared. She felt good in knowing that the girl had at least had a little bit of a bite to eat.
Michaela had checked on her a couple of times that morning, and she was pleased to know that the girl was resting. She needed the rest after all she had been through, and she only hoped the girl would learn to trust her as a friend and be able to tell her more about what happened. She was beginning to wonder if the "safe place" the Indians had taken her had been the place where she had been impregnated and probably raped more than once. Annie said she had made a mistake, and Michaela wasn't sure if she had been raped originally and thought it was her fault.
Unfortunately, there were a lot of unanswered questions, and Michaela wasn't sure if Annie would ever be able to talk about it. What she was sure of was that she was going to try her hardest to be there for her. Sully was right, though. She had her real family to think about, but that didn't mean she couldn't include Annie in that family, did it?
"Dog!" Connor squealed as Pup ran out of the barn and up toward the house.
"That's right," Michaela said with a grin. Pup ran into the house, a loud crash was heard. Michaela groaned, knowing that Pup had accidentally knocked over her favorite vase. She stood, putting her book down on the chair. She kept an eye on the boys as she walked into the house to clean up the broken glass. She was surprised to find Annie crouched down on the floor, sweeping up the broken glass into a pan. "Annie, you don't have to do that." Annie finished quickly and put the pan down on the table. "Thank you."
"Caleb."
"Excuse me?"
"The Indians took me to Caleb and Rose." Michaela quickly moved to usher the crawling boys inside of the house. She picked them up and put them on one of the wing-backed chairs where they liked to lounge. She then sat down on a chair at the table. Annie slowly moved to do the same.
"Would you tell me about Caleb and Rose?" Annie swallowed hard.
"They had a son. George." She nearly choked on her words. Caleb was nice until Rose died. Then he started to beat me and make me do the chores." She stared into the black emptiness of the fireplace. "He would make me sleep in his bed when I was bad."
"Oh sweetheart," Michaela whispered.
"And he let George take me to the barn sometimes and . . ." Fear began to rise in Annie again as the memories flashed through her mind. Michaela put a sympathetic hand on the girl's shoulder. "They both hurt me when I made mistakes."
"That's how you got pregnant," Michaela concluded.
"Caleb died a year ago," she whispered.
"George did this to you?"
"I kept the baby a secret," she cried. "But George found out last night." Michaela felt the sickening reality hit her. George had found out about the baby and raped her. He'd left her to die. "I saw this house and it looked safe. I was scared."
"Oh Annie, I'm glad you found us." Annie began to cry again.
"I feel so . . . so . . ."
"I know," Michaela whispered. "But you're safe now. Do you hear me? You're safe and nobody will ever hurt you like that again, not if I can help it." She pulled the girl into a hug, and this time Annie didn't pull away. Michaela was amazed at how quickly Annie had opened up. But Annie felt a connection to Michaela, as if she could tell her anything.
"I want to forget it all," Annie sobbed. "I don't want to remember! I didn't want for this to happen! I want this to be a bad dream." Michaela closed her eyes as her own tears began to fall.
"It's alright. Everything is going to be alright." She wondered if Annie would warm up to becoming a mother, but she wasn't sure if that would happen. The girl was still young, very young, and she still needed to be a kid. She never asked for this, and she couldn't have avoided it. Michaela needed to know.
"Annie, do you know how old you are?" Annie brushed the tears from her eyes. She tried to remember. It had been a long time since she'd thought about a birthday. She'd been so preoccupied with fearing for her life that the date of her birth seemed to be fuzzy. She finally remembered.
"I just turned fourteen," she replied. She looked away and her hand moved to her stomach. She looked up at Michaela, and felt like she couldn't say anymore. She began to sob and jumped up, running up the stairs to the room she'd been given to sleep in.
Michaela sat frozen in her chair. She didn't quite know how to react to the fact that she had a girl no older than Colleen in her home that was having a child of her own. Reality began to hit home to her, and she began to wonder if this really was too much for her to take on.
But a moment later, she realized that it was her job to help people in need, and Annie was in need. She would do whatever she could to help her, and she hoped that it would turn out for the best.