There was a piece of paper laying on Edward's bed when he went into his room. He walked over to it, staring at it for a while curiously, and then carefully flipped it over. It was a drawing from Corina of him holding a rose. The details had been done so perfectly, and he smiled as he looked at it. There had been no voice or mouth movements, but he had been the first person there to make her talk (other than the doc). Later that day, he had Samantha help him tape it on the wall. She beamed at him as she worked.
"I told you it would mean a lot to her," she said softly.
"You said she likes roses," said Edward with a smirk. "I wanted to make her smile."
"She does seem to love them. I don't know why, but it's like they're symbolic to her or something. Everything she draws seems to have a rose in it somewhere. I wonder what it means to her." Edward shrugged.
"They're just special to her I guess." Samantha smiled at him.
"I never thought I'd say this, but you might be the one who'll be able to pop her out of her shell. Don't get your hopes up though, she hasn't spoken much in two years from what I've heard."
"Then there's still a chance," said Edward, and with that they left and went outside to where the others were.
Corina was the only one in the TV lounge when he stepped in. At first he felt like turning around and leaving her alone, but something stopped him, and he walked in anyways. Corina glanced up at him casually, and then turned back to the TV, seeming fine that he was there.
"I got your drawing," he said as he sat down on the sofa. "It's really good. Thank you." There was silence, and Corina didn't respond. Edward glanced at the TV, pretending not to notice. Perhaps her reaction the other night was a one time thing? He hoped that eventually he could see the side of her again that he had uncovered that night. He wanted to see her turn back into who Chris said she was, happy, energetic, and clumsy. All those things put together was better than how she was now.
His eyes strayed to the bandage on her arm, and he could see a few discolored spots, probably from blood. "Did that hurt?" he asked softly. Corina's eyes closed, and her lips trembled. She nodded slowly and a tear fell down her face. "Someone told me you do that to yourself. Doesn't it hurt?" She nodded again and sniffled gently, she was shaking a little. "You shouldn't do that then," he continued, trying to sound sympathetic. "Hurting yourself only makes it worse. And you always look so sad. Why would you want to make it worse than it already is?"
Corina pushed herself to her feet and slowly walked towards the door, her head hanging low and her hair hiding a good portion of her face. "Don't go," said Edward softly. Corina stopped and looked over her shoulder at him. Her bandaged arm was held up a little, and she massaged it with her other hand, as if she were trying to tell him something. She then turned and left silently, leaving him to stare.
"Are you ready for this?" asked the doc as he got his equipment ready. Edward was laying on the operating table, feeling extremely anxious for the first time. This was it. It was now or never. He was going to have hands!
"Yes," he said softly. "Just a little nervous." The doc nodded.
"That's very normal. I'd be concerned if you were just sitting there, completely okay." He chuckled and Edward smiled. "Now, you'll be in some pain once this is over, but I'll give you some painkillers to dull the pain. It won't take it all away of coarse, but it'll help." There was a tapping on the window and they both looked over to see the others standing there, waving and smiling at him.
"Good luck, Edward!" shouted Carrie.
"You're gonna be fine!" shouted Brittney.
"See you on the other side, Eddie!" cheered Chris, followed by an uproar of 'Eddie!'s. The doc smiled and walked over, signalling them to go.
"They'll all be waiting for you I can guarantee it," he said with a smile. He drew a shade over the window, and grabbed the anesthesia mask. "Ready?" he asked. Edward paused, looking around the room.
"Yes," he said at last. The doc held the mask to his face, and that was the last thing he remembered.
The operation lasted for nearly half the day, and when the doc finally stepped out, the group was still there, looking up at him anxiously. "How'd it go?" asked Samantha, wheeling up to him with a nervous face. The doc smiled reassuringly at all of them.
"He pulled through just fine," he said softly, recieving a few whoo-hoo's from the boys. "He's sleeping now, and he's got a heck of a lot of recovering to do, but the operation was a success."
"So he has hands then?" asked Carrie eagerly.
"Oh he's got hands alright," said the doc with a grin. "He's also got arms, a chest, and a normal neck, all perfectly functioning and able to feel things."
"Alright!" cheered some of them, and high-fives were passed around.
"Hush!" said the doc, glancing back in the other room. "I need to stay here and run some tests, but the rest of you can leave so he can sleep. Go!" They groaned, and left quietly.
Corina stared through the operating room window, which no longer was covered up, and watched Edward who was sound asleep, looking peaceful. "Can I trust you here with him," asked the doc from behind. Corina turned and looked at him. "Want to go get some shut-eye. Will you watch him for me?" Corina nodded. "If he wakes up, I've left a bottle of Advil on the counter. Give him two of those and don't let him move much. He needs to lay still if he wants to heal properly. You can set his bed upright if you want, but carefully." Corina nodded again. "Thanks. Just come and get me if something bad happens." He patted her on the shoulder as he left, and Corina stared at Edward again as he slept. He seemed completely peaceful, and she wondered when the last time was that she had slept that well.
"Doesn't that hurt?"
She could still hear him asking her that question from the night before. It made her stomach turn a dozen times. Edward was so innocent. He didn't understand things like that. He didn't know what it was like to live like she did. She hated people for that. Unless they understood fully what she was going through, she knew that they couldn't help her. He couldn't help her, even though she knew he wanted to. The rose outside was still beautiful, and she admired it every night. It made her think of him, without meaning to.
What did he look like now? she wondered. His face seemed the same, but she wondered how the rest of him looked. Was it real or fake looking. The doc had left her in charge, and she slipped into the room quietly, making sure the door didn't slam when it closed. Edward slept on, oblivious to the fact that she was there. Corina approache him nervously, and reached out, gently touching the blanket. She pulled it down a little and looked at his neck. The doc had managed to make the skin color the same as his face. There wouldn't be much of a scar left behind at all. She pulled the blanket down to his waist and left it there, admiring the doc's handiwork. The chest did not look fake at all. And his arms were perfect. The hands were just right, and she knew he'd be happy with what he saw when he woke up. There were bandages from where the doc had stitched him up, but nothing that should be too painful for him.
He twitched a little, and she pulled the blanket back in place, taking great care in not waking him up. Edward lay still, his breathing remaining normal, and she sighed, glad that he was not waking up yet. She didn't even know why she cared. He wasn't even her friend. All he had done was make her that rose. Why did it still mean so much to her now? Could he have really effected her that much? She was still in the room, she pointed out.
A yawn escaped her mouth. It had been a long day for everyone, especially the doc. The work done was perfect, and he deserved praise for it. She pulled up a chair and sat down, closing her eyes for a moment to relax...
Corina dozed off at some point, and stayed asleep until Edward woke up, some hours later. His vision was still a little fuzzy from the anesthesia wearing off, and gradually he began to feel pain from his neck to his waist. He groaned, and Corina's eyes snapped open. It took her a moment to wake up completely, but she did eventually, and Edward didn't notice she was there until she stood up and stretched her legs a little.
When she turned around, she saw he was awake, and moved to the Advil bottle on the counter without saying a word. She placed two in her hand and filled a small dixie cup up with water, bringing them to him quietly. Edward took the pills without a word, and sat back, looking tired still. "Where's the doc?" he asked after a while. Corina shrugged. Edward sighed and rubbed his head with his hand without even realizing it. Corina watched patiently, and he suddenly looked at his hand with wide eyes. A smile broke out on his weary face, and he held up his other hand, looking it over in facination.
"Look who finally woke up," said a voice from the doorway. They both looked to see the doc walk in. "Thanks for watching him, Cor," he said. Corina nodded and left silently. "Did she give you some pills?" he asked. Edward nodded groggily. "That's good," said the doc. "Are you in any pain right now? Any discomfort?"
"A little pain," said Edward in a sleepy voice.
"That'll wear off. I want you to lay still for today, and rest up. You need to revover now. Are you hungry or do you just want to sleep?"
"Sleep," he muttered with a half smirk.
"Alright then. There's a red button near your bed. Push it if you need anything." The doc left him, and Edward fell asleep again almost immediatly.
Samantha, Chris, and Lance all visited Edward the next day. He was much more awake now, and not in too much pain. He let Samantha touch his hand and look at it. A smile came to his face. He could feel her, and he loved being able to feel with his hands.
"They're so real," said Samantha with a smile.
"How you holding up?" asked Chris with a grin.
"Pretty good," said Edward. "It hurts a little."
"I bet it does. You just got an entire chest and arm makeover. It had to hurt a little."
"Corina gave me some pain killers when I woke up," he said softly. "They helped." Samantha looked at him surprised.
"Corina was in here?" she asked. Edward nodded. "Did she say anything?"
"No," he said in a sad tone. "She never talks."
"I thought she would, after what you made for her in the yard." Chris glanced at her in surprise.
"Are you kidding? You could make yourself a eunuch for her, and she still won't say anything," he muttered. Samantha got the giggles, and Edward smirked.
"I wish she would talk," said Edward softly. "I want to know why she cuts herself." Chris' gaze saddened, and Samantha sat back in her wheelchair. "Why can't you tell me?"
"I already told you. It's not my job," he said shaking his head.
"I have to know," said Edward darkly. "I have to know what happened to her two years ago. Please, tell me."
"Yes, please do," begged Samantha. Chris sighed and looked around nervously.
"Alright, I will, but this is a secret that stays in this place. The last thing we need is to have complete strangers treating her the way Joshua does." They both nodded, and Chris stood up, closing the door and came back to them, sitting in a squashy sort of chair. "Corina's been here for a long time. She was an orphan, and on to her third foster family. The doc met her during a check up, and felt pity for her. When the third foster family gave her up, he took her in and that's how this place got started. The thing is, Corina didn't look like she does now. She looked normal. No tail, regular skin, and her eyes were blue."
"What happened?" asked Samantha.
"I'll get to it. So anyway, she fit right in and got along with everyone as they came and went. We were pretty good friends up until about two years ago. That's when it all went wrong." He shook his head. "That was when I started to notice her talking to people I couldn't see, but she swore up and down they were there. She began to do things for them, and it got to the point where she almost died. Apparently one of them was chasing her around, and she dodged out of the way and right in front of a speeding Ferrari."
"Holy cow!" muttered Samantha.
"Yeah," said Chris, nodding sadly. "She got out very lucky with both legs broken and a dislocated arm. It wasn't till she was in the hospital that she got diagnosed." He paused and sighed, shaking his head mournfully. "She had Schizophrenia." Samantha placed a hand over her mouth and muttered, 'Oh no!' Edward looked at him confused.
"Skizophrenia?" he asked.
"It's when you hear voices in your head and sometimes you see them. But they're never there. It's all in your head but you can't tell the difference from what was real and what wasn't. She basically woke up in a hospital bed one day to learn that the majority of her friends and the people she saw were never real. It was like she had to start her life all over again."
"I can't even begin to imagine what that must've been like," muttered Samantha.
"It was hell for her," said Chris. "She was absolutely devistated and that lead to extreme depression and the cutting. Now she shuts herself out from everyone, afraid she'll become attached to someone who really isn't there. She's on medications now, but every once in a while she has a hallucination, so she figures the easy way out is to ignore everyone and never get attached to them in the first place. The doc is the only exception because he must've found a way to prove to her he was real."
"That's not fair," said Edward. He felt extreme sympathy for Corina now, and even angry that it even had to happen. "That shouldn't have happened."
"Damn strait," said Chris. "I don't understand why things like that happen to people like her? It's not right, and it makes me so angry everytime I see her."
"Why does she look like she does?" asked Samantha.
"Extreme misery and pain can be an ugly thing if you let it devour you. Litteraly. Something with all the misery did it I suppose. All I know is she's never been herself since."
Edward sighed and looked at the chair Corina had been sitting in the night before.
(A/N: The preceeding was dedicated to my friends who think that just because bad things happen to you, you're a bad person and it's your fault. R&R!)