"You can go in now." Kloppman looked at Hope as he walked out of Sage's hospital room.
Hope stared at Kloppman. "Who said I wanted too?"
"Well you are her sister."
"Twin sisters in fact but we quit being sisters twelve years ago."
Dibs took a sip of his coke "you two don't look like sisters, twin sisters at least."
Whisper rolled her eyes. "You idiot they're just not identical twins."
"I think you should go in there. I mean when someone's in the hospital they normally want some family." Dibs continued not realizing that Hope was glaring at him.
"Thanks for the opinion Dibs I'll be sure to remember that." She sat down across from him on the empty sofa.
Kloppman gave Hope a stern look. "You should go in there, it wouldn't hurt."
"What do you know about hurting? If you're so worried about her why don't you go in there?" She snapped.
Jack stared at Hope in disbelief. "Your sister is in the hospital, she just fainted for no damn reason and you won't go in to see her."
"She's obviously alive. I share a cabin with her I'm sure during some point of the next few months I'll have the pleasure of running into her again." Hope replied bitterly.
BC looked around and saw sneaks leaning against the doorway while the doctors talked. "Anyways she was probably just tired or something."
"Yeah I faint all the time when I get tired." Jake responded sarcastically.
"Can we please talk about something else?" Spot begged looking around at everybody.
Nugget shrugged. "So what does everyone do for fun?"
"Yeah let's play twenty questions." BC bobbed her head and mocked a cheerleader voice.
"No wonder none of you have friends." Whisper mumbled.
Hope turned her head and smirked. "FYI Whisper you're not here for being Miss. popular."
Kloppman looked at the group and sighed.
Skittery walked towards Sage's room. "Well I'll go say hello then." When he got to the door he was pushed to the side by three doctors.
"Son, we'll need you to leave us alone with the patient unless you're immediate family." A young looking doctor looked at Skittery and then to Sage's charts.
"Oh well I'm just her friend." He pointed at Hope. "But that's her twin sister."
Dr. Ramirez looked at Hope carefully for a moment.
"Tell the whole damn hospital Skittery. It doesn't matt…" She stood up and shouted but when she looked at Dr. Ramirez her eyes widened.
Kloppman walked over "Hope, you look like you've seen a ghost."
"I…I need to go to the bathroom." She started to walk to the bathroom, treating her sprained ankle with care. She felt him grab her arm. "Leave me alone."
"Cayleigh I need you to tell me the truth." He spoke harshly "Did your dad do this to you?"
She shook her head. "No."
"You have to stop lying for him. I know that a smart girl like you cannot fall down stairs every other day." Dr. Ramirez looked her in the eye.
"This is not you're hospital. What are you doing here?"
"I came for you're sister, I'm her doctor also." He replied
"Well go help her, I don't need you're help." Hope snapped. She didn't realize that everyone was looking at her fight with the doctor and listening in.
Dr. Ramirez looked at Hope defeated. "He's going to kill you one day if you let him continue beating you." He made sure he said all the words clearly. "He's not allowed to abuse you and the only reason he does is because in the last twelve years you have never admitted it."
"And neither have you! It's not my job, aren't you suppose to report suspicions?"
"Cayleigh HRS will not take a girl away who swears up and down that she fell down the stairs. If you were four they'd take you but you're seventeen."
"I know and I only have one year left with him so please just leave me alone. In one year I'll be safe."
He shook his head in disappointment. "You'll never be safe as long as you cover for him." Dr. Ramirez grabbed his clipboard and walked off towards the elevators.
Hope turned around and saw everyone starring at her. In five minutes twelve years of lies were wiped away. Kloppman walked over and put his hand on her shoulder. "Don't fucking touch me!" She screamed slapping his hand away.
"I'm sorry Hope I didn't know."
She laughed. "You're sorry. I bet you're sorry Kloppman. But sorry doesn't change anything." She went back to the couch and sat down closing her eyes.
Spot looked around. "Well that explains a lot."
Whisper slapped him hard across his face. "Shut the fuck up."
"Damn it girl if you do not quit hitting me."
"What? What are you going to do? Push me like you pushed Hope at the last match?" She asked crossing her arms.
BC glared at her brother. "Just be quiet Spot."
Kloppman walked in Sages room and saw she was sleeping. "Wow. You are lucky you are in here. The hospital lobby has become a war zone and your sister seems to be the one starting all the battles. You wouldn't believe me but all ten of the other campers are camped out waiting to hear if you're going to be okay." He patted her hand and left the room.
Hope sat up and made her way into Sage's room. "It's uncomfortable out there Chloe. Everyone's starring at me like I'm a leper. Thanks to Dr. Ramirez. He thought that in front of everyone at camp would be a good time to bring up dad and his choice of discipline. The doctors told us you'd have to stay the night for observation and we're all getting ready to leave. They asked me if I wanted to stay but I said no. It's not like we're sisters anymore." She smiled at Sage and tucked a curl behind her ear.
That Night
"So what do you think is up with Sage?" Jake asked sitting on the couch in the boy's cabin.
"Kloppman said something about exhaustion." Dibs informed him.
"Why'd they keep her overnight? Is that routine procedure?" Jack asked with a hint of worry in his tone.
Skittery nodded. "Yeah. I guess it just depends on how exhausted you are."
"Oh."
Dibs laughed. "You act like she's you're girlfriend."
"Yeah." Spot laughed. "Last time I checked she was screaming at you and calling you bandana boy."
Jack rolled his eyes. "So what?"
"It doesn't exactly sound like Love." Jake scribbled on a piece of paper.
Spot drank the rest of his coke. "Do you think the reason Hope flipped the other day has anything to do with what the doctor was arguing with her about?"
Skittery looked at him like he was stupid. "Yes Spot it makes a lot of since. I read somewhere when I wrote a paper that abused kids often lash out when someone scares them by touching them without warning."
"Or it could have just been she didn't want a slime ball like you touching her." Dibs offered with a grin.
"I want to know why they hate each other so much. You and BC don't act like that towards each other."
"So? Our parents also didn't split and divide us up like possessions."
Girls Cabin
Hope walked out into the lobbying after changing into her pajamas. She didn't make eye contact or even look at anyone else but she could feel their eyes on her.
"How ya doin Hope?" Whisper asked
"Fine. How are you?"
"Good."
There was a long awkward silence.
Hope grabbed a bottle of water out of the mini fridge and looked at the five girls. "What do I have something in my teeth?"
Nugget shook her head no.
"I was well aware of that Nugget but you are all starring at me like…"
"Like what?"
"Like all of a sudden a bruise is going to appear, like I'm damaged" Hope replied with a frown.
They all nodded and looked away.
"I'm going to bed." Hope walked into her room and slammed the door, turning the radio on as loud as it would go and turning off the lights. Maybe, just maybe if she closed her eyes and thought hard enough when she opened them in the morning it would all just be a dream.
