Chapter Four
"Eric? What's wrong? Simon told me this was an emergency!" Annie exclaimed once she got on the phone.
"Ann, I'm on my way to the hospital right now. Can you meet me there?" Eric asked, obviously shaken up. Annie's stomach dropped. Something bad had happened; she could feel it.
"Eric! What happened? Is everything okay?" She asked nervously. Eric didn't want to get into it over the phone. He was already worried. He didn't want to have to worry himself more by explaining it to Annie while he was driving.
"Just get to the hospital Annie. I'll explain when you get there." He hung up the phone. He didn't even say goodbye. He never even stopped to think about it. All he could think about was Ronnie. Was I too late? How did this happen? Eric clouded his mind with worrisome thoughts as he continued toward the hospital.
"Mary!" Annie called as she got her car keys. Mary ran down the stairs.
"What mom?" She asked, sensing something was wrong.
"Please keep an eye on the kids. I have to meet your dad at the hospital." Annie replied, on her way out the door.
"Hospital? What's wrong? Is it that girl from church this morning with the crazy father?" Mary asked. Annie closed her eyes, praying it wasn't.
"I don't know Mary. I'll call when I find out." Annie ran out the door in a hurry and started toward the hospital.
Her whole drive there, she worried. She never thought that something horrible would happen at the Jenkins house. Oh Lord, please keep Ronnie safe. Annie prayed the whole way to the hospital.
When she arrived, she spotted Eric running toward her.
"Eric! What's wrong? Is it Ronnie?" She screamed as he approached her. He sighed.
"Yes. I'll explain as we go up to OR." He took her hand, as Annie's stomach dropped!
"What happened Eric? Just tell me!" Annie demanded as Eric dragged her to the elevator. He rushed to get the doors closed and up to the third floor. His hands were clammy and he was shaking. Annie took his hand in her own.
"Tell me what happened." She said calmly as the elevator doors closed. Eric sighed, and hung his head. Annie's eyes widened and she put her hand over her mouth.
"Oh my gosh, she's..." Annie whispered.
"No, Annie, not yet. But the doctors aren't sure she's going to make it." Eric replied sadly. Annie breathed heavily as she shook her head.
"What did you find when you got there Eric?" She asked quietly. Eric closed his eyes, replaying the horrific scene he had encountered only moments ago in his mind.
"Annie, it was horrible." He struggled to talk, as tears filled his eyes. "The place was torn apart, and Ronnie...behind the couch, bleeding. A gun was on the floor. It was hot. I think...I think her parents did it." Annie could see the sadness in his eyes, but also the anger. She felt it too.
"How could a parent do that to their child?" She asked, not expecting an answer, as Eric only shook his head disgustingly.
They ran from the elevator to the OR room, where they were stopped by a nurse, who told them that room was out of bounds.
"We want to know how that girl is doing. Can you find out for us?" Annie asked desperately. The nurse sighed.
"I'm not authorized to do that, but I can inform the doctors that you are here, wanting information. I'll tell one of them to come and talk to you." She said with a huff, and walked into the OR. Eric felt his heart race faster and faster with every passing moment, praying Ronnie would be alright.
Moments passed, and a dark doctor walked out of the room, removing plastic gloves from his hands. He approached the Camdens with a grim look.
"Are you the girls' parents?" He asked, eyeing them suspiciously. Eric shook his head.
"No doctor. I found her at her house. I'm Reverend Camden. I went to her house when I suspected abuse. We have reason to believe her parents are the ones who shot her. How is she?" He asked, worried to hear the news. The doctor sighed and shook his head.
"If it was the parents who did this to her, I can't understand how a parent could do that. I have a teenage daughter of my own. Ronnie is a very lucky young lady. You found her just in time, Reverend Camden. If she had been left for a longer period of time, she would have been dead. However, she has lost a lot of blood, and she is still unconscious, but she will wake up soon, and when she does, we are going to question her about what happened." The doctor explained sadly.
"Can we see her?" Eric asked. The doctor eyed them again.
"We don't usually allow anybody but family to visit our patients." He said disapprovingly.
"Listen doctor. It's possible the girl's parents just shot her. When she wakes up, she's going to be very upset. Don't you think it's important she has people there to calm her down and love her? Please let us stay with her." Annie's voice shook with emotion as she held her own tears back. Eric held her close as the doctor felt compassion for the girl, and for the Camdens.
"Alright, I'll allow it. Like I said, I'm a parent myself. She's been taken to room 1153 on the 11th floor. She will be unconscious, but she is expected to wake up shortly. I'll buzz up to the room to let them know you're coming. If you find out anything, if she tells you anything about what happened, let us know. We may have to involve child services." He smiled grimly, and left the Camdens alone. Eric and Annie embraced and thanked God she was alive.
"Let's go see her." Eric whispered, and as they walked toward the elevator, Annie asked a simple question.
"How do you think she's going to react when she wakes up and realizes the people who are supposed to be mother and father could have ended her life today?" She could feel her heart breaking for the poor girl. Eric shrugged sadly.
"That's why we need to be there for her. She has no one else." He took Annie's hand and they made their way up to the 11th floor together.
They arrived in front of Ronnie's room and Annie felt herself begin to cry as she saw the young girl lying in the hospital bed, unconscious, her beautiful face bruised and battered.
"What have they done to her?" She asked, struggling to find words, as she surveyed Ronnie's bruised arms as well. Eric had to manage to keep his own tears in, the sight was tragic.
"How can a parent hurt their child?" Annie cried, as she sat on the stool next to Ronnie's bed. Eric shook his head.
"Hopefully, Ronnie will be able to give us some answers as to what happened for sure. Maybe child services can get her out of that situation and give her some sort of future." He said sadly. Annie sighed as she took Ronnie's hand into her own. Eric admired his wife so much. She was so caring and motherly, especially to those who needed it.
Moments later, Ronnie's fragile body began to stir in the hospital bed. Annie and Eric turned their heads quickly and began to worry.
"Here we go." Eric said quietly, as Annie nodded grimly.
Ronnie's eyes opened ever so slowly, and she surveyed the room cautiously. She then turned and saw Eric and Annie sitting next to her. She stared at them curiously, as if hoping they'd explain something to her.
"Hi Ronnie. I don't know if you remember me, but -" Eric started.
"Yes...you're Jenny's pastor. I saw you this morning." Ronnie said quietly and weakly. Eric nodded.
"You're right, I'm Reverend Camden, and this is my wife Annie." He pointed to his wife, who had let go of Ronnie's hand, not wanting to scare her.
"It's nice to meet you Ronnie." Annie managed to say. Ronnie smiled meekly.
"It's nice to meet both of you. Jenny's told me so much about you both. She... really admires you." Ronnie's voice sounded weaker and weaker. Annie wondered why Ronnie seemed so calm. She wondered if she even remembered what had happened, but Eric had already wondered that himself, and continued talking to Ronnie.
"Ronnie, do you know where you are?" Eric asked carefully, leaning in a little closer. Ronnie puckered her brow and looked around again.
"The hospital?" She asked, beginning to be suspicious.
"Yes, you're in the hospital. Do you remember why you're here?" Eric asked, already half guessing the answer, judging by Ronnie's vacant expression. Ronnie slowly shook her head, and looked as though she might cry.
"Don't be scared honey, it's okay, we're here with you." Annie consoled, and Ronnie looked at Eric again, as he began talking again.
"Do you remember coming to church this morning?" He asked. Ronnie smiled slowly and nodded.
"Yes. It was my first time coming to church. It was a wonderful service, sir." Eric was stunned by this girl's politeness, especially considering the parents this girl had.
"Do you remember what happened after church?" Eric asked, as he feared what would happen once Ronnie did have memories of what happened. Ronnie puckered her brow and curved her lips. She seemed deep in thought and then nodded, almost ashamed.
"Yeah, my...my dad barged through the church doors and pulled me out of there. I'm, I'm sorry for his behaviour. My dad can be a little rude sometimes." Ronnie looked away, hiding her tears. Eric still pushed, needing to know what happened.
"Ronnie, this is very important. I need to know exactly what happened after you and your parents left the church. I need you to remember." He said quietly, watching the girl carefully. Ronnie looked away, distant in thought, obviously trying hard to remember.
"They took me home and..." Ronnie's eyes widened and she let out a gasp. Eric and Annie knew right away she had remembered.
"It's okay Ronnie. We're here. Just tell us what happened. We want to help you." Annie said as she took Ronnie's hand once again into her own. Ronnie shook her head quickly as tears had formed in her eyes.
"N-no, I-I can't tell you. I-I can't t-tell anybody." She sobbed as she turned her head and sniffled. Her body began to tense up and she began shaking. Annie looked at Eric desperately, but he kept trying.
"Why can't you tell me, Ronnie? Why can't you tell anybody what happened?" He asked.
"T-they told me n-not to, or else they'd..." She trailed off, not able to finish the sentence.
"Ronnie, we need to know, so we can help you. Did they do this to you?" Annie asked. Ronnie began to cry.
"You can't help me, nobody can. They're angry, you don't know what they're capable of." She even surprised herself, and clasped her hand over her mouth, wide-eyed.
"Ronnie, I found you at your house, unconscious behind your couch, bleeding, and there was a gun. If something happened, we need to know so your parents can't ever hurt you again." Eric explained as he felt his heart beat faster, fearing what he would hear. Ronnie seemed to be considering Eric's words, but then Annie spoke as well.
"Ronnie, I promise you if you tell us the truth, everything will be okay. Nobody will ever hurt you again. Please, just trust us." She pleaded. Ronnie sighed, and looked down at Annie's hand, which was gripped tightly around Ronnie's pale hand. Something was telling her to be honest and open up to these people. She knew what had happened, and was afraid, but feared what would happen if she kept it a secret. She drew in a deep breath, and began.
"After we left the church, my dad dragged me out to our car. He and my mom were yelling at me the whole time. I-I don't really remember what they said. I've kinda learned to ignore them when they get angry. They yelled at me during the drive home too. When we got home...my dad opened the back door and dragged me out, and pushed me into the house. I fell over from him pushing me, and he started to kick me." Ronnie began crying, and Annie moved closer and put her arm around the young girl, comforting her as she continued. "He kicked me into the living room, yelling and yelling. I was used to it though. Both my parents are always kicking me, or punching me, or hitting me, but I remember him saying something about how he was sick and tired of how disrespectful I was and he couldn't take it anymore. I looked up at my mom and she looked scared, and that scared me, because my dad left the room. I-I couldn't move, I was in so much pain from all the kicking. M-my dad came back and he was holding his gun that he hides in his dresser. He aimed it at me, and my mom looked like she was going to faint, but she didn't argue with him. She-she...just stood back. He told me this would be the biggest lesson I'd ever learn and...and...and, there was a loud noise...and everything went...black." Ronnie was sobbing uncontrollably now, as Annie held her so close, now crying herself.
"Oh honey, I'm so sorry. You didn't deserve that, you know that don't you?" Annie asked, and Ronnie shook her head sadly.
"It's my fault. If...if I hadn't gone to church...my parents wouldn't have been mad." She admitted sadly. Annie looked up at Eric who moved from the stool next to Ronnie's bed to sit on the bed with Ronnie and Annie.
"This isn't your fault. Nothing they've ever done to you is your fault. You have to believe that, Ronnie. They have a problem, but they aren't going to hurt you anymore. You're safe now." Eric held Ronnie's little hand in his own and Ronnie just cried and cried. For a long time, the three sat in silence. Eric was waiting for the perfect moment to step out and alert the proper people of what was going on, but he didn't want to leave this frightened teenager by herself. Annie could see what he was thinking, so she nodded at him, as if to say she'd take care of Ronnie while he left. Eric smiled at her, as she wouldn't let go of the sobbing Ronnie, who leaned up against Annie, allowing herself to be loved and cared for as she cried and cried.
Eric left the room quietly, and saw the same doctor they'd talked to earlier passing by.
"Excuse me." Eric called as he stopped the doctor in the middle of the hallway.
"Oh hello, you're Reverend Camden, I remember. Has Ronnie woken up yet?" He asked as he put his pen in his pocket. Eric nodded, maintaining his composure.
"Yes she woke up, and she's told us everything. Doctor, we need to call child services. Her father and her mother are abusive, and Ronnie admitted to me that her dad is the one who shot her." Eric explained as the doctor closed his eyes sadly, not even able to imagine a father shooting his own child.
"Very well. I'll alert the police and child services immediately. A police officer and a social worker will most likely come in and question the girl. I think that might scare her, but -"
"We'll stay with her. If that's okay with you." Eric said compassionately. The doctor nodded.
"You two are amazing. Taking this abandoned girl under your wing when she has nobody else. I'm glad she has you." The doctor smiled, and went to make some phone calls. Eric wondered what the next couple of days would hold for this poor girl.
