Disclaimer: Anything related to TNA or anyone else clearly doesn't belong to the writers of this story. This is written purely for entertainment purposes. If TNA is willing, though, the writers of this story would very much love to own any of the TNA-owned people mentioned within this story. We also don't own Sterling James Keenan but would very much like to. That is all.
A/N: Hey, look, I get to post another chapter! Lizzie is currently using headless Barbie dolls as arrows in her archery lesson so I've been given the chance to put up chapter 10. Um... not much else to say except... thanks for the reviews and... we rule! (I joke... because I can.) Anyway, read on and let us know what you think of this chapter. There's loads more emotion coming your way so... be warned. Phoenix
He made his way back to the motel and unlocked his car with shaking hands. Once he was in the confines of the vehicle, he pulled his cellphone from his pocket and found James' number before pressing the call button. Before long, his friend's voice rang out over the line.
"Chris? Dude... what's going on? You fucking hung up on me earlier." James protested.
"Shut up and listen. I'm on my way to the airport now. I'll catch the next available flight to Orlando. See you soon." Chris told his partner quickly, fighting to control his voice. James could sense something wasn't right though.
"What? And what about Lily and Kady? You're just gonna leave them both in Kentucky? Who's going to look after the kid while Lily's in hospital?" He questioned, never knowing his friend to be irresponsible.
"Kady's in hospital now, too. I fucked everything up, man. I just want to get back to work and let them get on with their lives without me, they'd be better off." Chris told him.
"Uh.. back up, here. You're not making any sense, man. What happened to the kid? Did you finally snap and beat some sense into her?" James tried to joke.
"Fuck off! I'd never lay a had on her, never! I... she tried talking to me after I hung up on you earlier and I brushed her off. She got upset, took it as me saying that I'd never wanted her or whatever. She locked herself in the bathroom and cut herself." Chris explained.
"Shit. Is she alright?" James asked, now regretting joking about the situation.
"Of course she's not. She needed surgery to repair an artery in her arm, as well as a blood transfusion. The doctor wants to keep her in for a week. I told Lily about it and she tried to get out of bed... I've screwed everything up, man. I've lost everything." Chris sobbed, banging a hand on the steering wheel.
"Chill, man... just calm down. You haven't lost everything. She's still alive, so is Lily. You've just got to work harder now, that's all. Leaving won't do any of you any good." James assured his teammate.
"How the fuck is Kady supposed to forgive me for causing this? Even if she does, Lily won't. This proves that Kady was better off without me, man. It proves that Lily was right all along. She was right in keeping Kady from me. What kind of father am I?" Chris gave in to the emotions he'd been trying to hold back and leaned back in the driver's seat.
"Hate to break it to you, man, but you're the only one she's got. If you leave now, you won't get another shot at the whole fatherhood thing. You can do this, Chris, I know you can." James encouraged, worrying about his friend's state of mind.
"It's too late... I've caused too much pain, man... I'm in too much pain, myself. I just... I wanna get out of here." Chris told him.
"Damn it, Harris. Fine... get your ass back here so I can kick it." James finally relented, knowing that Chris probably just needed some space to clear his head.
"Feel free. Can you pick me up from the airport? I probably shouldn't drive in this state, man." Chris queried, feeling a little better now that James had taken the time to hear him out.
"Yeah, call me when you land." James agreed. They said their goodbyes and Chris ended the call, dropping his phone to his lap before starting the engine.
Around 2am, Kady woke and tried to work out where she was. The smell of disinfectant assaulted her nostrils and that, coupled with the bareness of the room she was in told her that she was in the hospital. Her arm was heavily bandaged and a low ache emanated from it. Kady groaned and rolled over slightly, coming almost face to face with Danny who'd woken a little earlier.
"Hey... you okay?" He whispered, not wanting to scare his friend.
"No... I fucking hate hospitals." Kady mumbled.
"Should've thought about that before you tried killing yourself then." Danny smirked.
"I didn't try to kill myself. I just wanted the pain to stop." Kady retorted seriously. Danny leaned back slightly.
"So... now what?" He mused, wondering if Kady would think about what her life with Chris was going to be like after her little stunt.
"I don't know. I just know that Chris can fuck off and die as far as I'm concerned." Kady replied, venom dripping from her words.
"You can't blame this on him. It was your choice to pick up the razor, Kady, he didn't force you to." Danny stated firmly. From what he'd seen of Chris, he knew the guy was just trying to help Kady, trying to be a father to her. He kind of respected him for that.
"Fuck you! He didn't exactly give me a reason not to! I hate him, Danny. I truly hate him for what he's done to me." Kady sobbed, the emotion wearing her out already, given her weakened state.
"You don't mean that. Things were getting better between you guys. This is just another bump in the road for you both to get over." Danny figured.
"I don't want to get over it. I don't want him near me again, ever." Kady cried.
"Well, I don't think you'll have to worry about that. Hey, son." Jenna smiled at Danny as she entered the room that they were in.
"Mom? What are you doing here?" Danny wondered, getting up to give his mother a hug. He kind of needed one, after the night he'd had.
"Chris stopped past the diner to tell me what had happened. Said the house was a mess and that he was leaving." Jenna explained. Danny looked up at her, remembering the state of the bathroom when Chris had broken through the door.
"Good riddance." Kady spoke up quietly. Danny looked back at her and shook his head.
"I can't believe you'd say that! After everything he's tried to do... you say you weren't trying to kill yourself yet it was Chris that saved your life. Think about that." Danny told her before walking out of the room to cool down.
"It was him that ruined my life in the first place! Fuck him!" Kady called after him. Jenna sat down in the chair that Danny had vacated and stared intently at Kady.
"You know, there was a time when I hated your parents with a passion. I used to reduce Lily to tears at least once a week. And the one thing I learned from that is that Chris is a good guy. Sure, he used to get in my face about what I was doing to Lily but it was because he genuinely cared about her. He'd always go after her, always. Now, for you to lie there and say that he ruined your life after everything he's tried to do for you, I'm honestly stunned, Kady. He has tried so hard to get you to let him in and you've fought him the whole way. The Chris I saw tonight at the diner didn't much resemble the guy that used to get in my face. You've broken him completely, Kady. I hope you're happy." Jenna told her, hoping that the girl heard every word.
"He doesn't care about me! Never has and never will!" Kady countered.
"Why should he? It's obvious you could care less about him. At least he tried, Kady. What have you done, other than fight him and your mother at every turn?" Jenna pointed out.
"I tried! I tried tonight and he pushed me away!" Kady replied heatedly.
"Yes, and he knows that was wrong. You didn't give him a chance to make it right. You shut him out in the most violent way possible." Jenna told her, motioning to her bandaged arm.
"Leave me alone." Kady replied, closing her eyes and rolling away from Jenna as much as she could.
"Fine, Kady. Keep shutting people out. Soon you won't have anyone left at all. Hope you'll be happy then." Jenna said sadly as she got to her feet and went to join Danny in the hall. Kady's sobbing soon greeted their ears and Jenna put her arms around her son, stopping him from going back into the room.
"Come on, son. Let's go see how much we can clean up at home." She sighed. Danny nodded reluctantly and let his mother lead the way down the hall.
"Can we go see Lily first? I don't know if she knows about Kady." Danny queried.
"Sure. You know where her room is?" Jenna wondered. Danny nodded and led the way to Lily's room. When they got there, he knocked on the door lightly before they walked in.
"Oh, Danny. Thank god you're okay. How's Kady doing? Any news?" Lily asked, happy to see someone that might be able to tell her how her daughter was doing since she couldn't get out of bed to go see for herself.
"You know?" Danny asked, confused for a moment.
"Chris came in and told me. Have either of you seen him? He was kind of upset and I think I made things worse." Lily mused.
"He's gone, Lil. He came into the diner and told me what had happened and that he didn't think either of you would forgive him. He was a total mess." Jenna told her. The pain that came over Lily's face upon hearing those words was visible, even to Danny.
"He... he left? Did he tell Kady he was going?" Lily wondered, thinking about how upset it would've made Kady.
"No, he didn't tell either of us. Mom said he'd gone when she came in but Kady didn't care. She says she hates him and never wants him near her again." Danny answered.
"Damn it!" Lily vented, once again trying to get out of bed. It wasn't long before she lost her breath and had to give up.
"Calm down. I think Kady just needs time to realize that Chris honestly does care about her. She needs to think things through, ya know? Once everyone's cooled off, you can try again." Jenna figured.
"You honestly think she'll give him another chance? Because I know how much she was against it this time. God, I wish I could go back in time and change everything!" Lily fumed. She hated not being able to go and comfort her daughter, hated the fact that she hadn't been able to stop Chris leaving.
"Lily, honestly, they were getting along okay earlier. Then, something happened with Chris and Kady tried to talk to him about it and he just... I dunno, brushed her off, I guess. She came inside upset and... I think I'm going to be sick again." Danny trailed off, remembering the scene in the bathroom more vividly. He ran out of the room and headed for the nearest men's room.
"Poor kid. I'm so sorry he had to see it... I wish there was something I could do." Lily said sadly, watching after Danny.
"Actually, I'm glad he got to see it. It'll stop him thinking about trying to do the same thing. He'll be okay, although we've still got the task of cleaning up the blood before us." Jenna remembered.
"Oh, god. I'm so sorry, Jen. I'll pay for... whatever needs to be done. You shouldn't have to deal with this." Lily knew, putting her face in her hands.
"Hey, let's just think of it as Kady getting back at me for all those years I harassed you. We're even, yeah?" Jenna offered. Lily looked up at her and smirked.
"You think a little blood on your carpet is going to make us even? Keep dreaming." She joked. Both women were laughing as Danny returned.
"So, that's what laughter sounds like. I'd almost forgotten." He mused. Jenna shoved him lightly before wrapping an arm around his shoulders.
"Come on, boy. We'd better let Lily get some rest now. And you're going to bed when we get home, too." Jenna warned.
"What about cleaning up?" Danny reminded. Jenna ruffled his hair with her free hand and he pushed it away.
"I'll do it. You've had enough to deal with." She told him. Danny nodded and they said goodbye to Lily before leaving the hospital completely.
Chris dozed in and out of consciousness on the flight back to Orlando. He was worn out both physically and emotionally. All he wanted was to figure out how to breathe again without his heart feeling like it was going to jump out of his chest. He hated himself for what he'd done to Kady, to his daughter, his little princess. Well, maybe he couldn't quite call her that yet, but that's what she'd been to him when she was a baby. His little princess. And now he'd let her down... again.
When the plane landed in Orlando, Chris disembarked with the other passengers, pulling a baseball cap down lower over his eyes. He wasn't in any sort of mood to be stopped by fans and was pretty sure he'd hurt someone if it did happen. After finding his stuff at the baggage claim, Chris made his way outside and pulled his cellphone from his pocket. He hit the button to call James and held the phone to his ear.
"Mm... James here." A groggy voice answered.
"It's Chris. I'm at the airport now. Want me to just get a cab?" Chris wondered, guessing that his friend had been sleeping.
"No, man. I'll come get ya. I was just sleeping off a bit of the booze." James replied.
"See ya when you get here, then. I'm waiting out front." Chris farewelled before ending the call, hanging up on James yet again.
He found a bench to sit on and waited, hoping James wasn't intoxicated to the point that his driving would be impaired. The last thing anyone needed was for James to get into an accident or get picked up for driving drunk. Chris was pretty sure TNA management would can the whole AMW gimmick, if not fire both of them, if that happened. The way he was feeling right now, that would be the icing on the cake.
Around half an hour later, James pulled up to the curb in front of the bench that Chris was sitting at. Chris picked up his stuff and walked over to the car, James getting out to meet him.
"Dude... you look like shit." He smiled, pulling Chris into a manly hug.
"You're one to talk, you reek of beer. Hope there's some left for me." Chris told him.
"Want me to stop and get a box on the way back to the hotel?" James wondered, knowing there weren't many left in the box he had.
"Nah, forget it. Drinking in my mood would be a bad fucking idea." Chris decided, throwing his bags into the backseat of the car.
James nodded and watched Chris get into the passenger's seat. It wasn't hard to tell that the guy had changed. He was pretty sure that only time would tell how much of a change there was, though. He ran around to the driver's side and climbed in next to his friend.
Chris remained quiet throughout the drive back to the hotel. He knew he owed James more of an explanation about what had happened in Kentucky but he didn't even know where to start. Thankfully, James hadn't asked him anything or pushed him into talking about it. Once they got to the hotel, James carried on of Chris' bags for him up to the room they were sharing. When they were inside and the door was closed, Chris threw the bag he was holding against a wall with quite a bit of force. That seemed to be all the energy he could muster, however, as he sank down onto the couch moments later.
"What the fuck am I gonna do?" Chris whispered, replaying his last conversations with Kady, Lily and Jenna in his head. He hadn't even said goodbye to Kady... hadn't told her he was leaving.
"You're going to clear your head, chill here for a few days and then you're going to call the hospital and talk to your kid." James told him matter-of-factly.
"And what am I supposed to say to her? 'Gee, kid, I'm sorry I fucked up your life. Hope you don't hate me.' Somehow, I don't think that's gonna cut it." Chris fumed. James sat down on the couch across from Chris and stared at him.
"Tell her the truth. Tell her you have no idea what the hell you're doing but that you're still willing to try and be a part of her life, if she'll let you." He shrugged.
"She'd laugh and tell me to go to hell, not for the first time either." Chris reasoned, knowing enough about his daughter now to be able to guess how she'd react to him.
"Fine. Don't call her. Let her think you've had enough of her. Let what Lily said about you be right." James agreed, remembering what Lily had said Chris would do when he'd had enough.
"What? What do you mean 'let what Lily said about me be right'?" Chris asked, looking James in the eye.
"Before you guys went to Kentucky, I was trying to convince Lily that she should give you a chance to get to know Kady. She said you'd walk away again once you got bored of playing daddy. Looks to me like she's right." James explained.
"Fuck you! I didn't get bored of playing daddy, James. I just realized that I'm messing her life up worse than what it already was. I can't do that to her anymore! If she wants to give me another chance then, it's up to her, she can come to me. I'm not going to force anything anymore." Chris decided.
"And calling her to see how she's doing would be forcing it?" James questioned.
"Yes. No... fuck, I don't know. If you're so concerned, why don't you fucking call her?" Chris yelled at his friend before getting up and going into his bedroom and slamming the door. James watched after him and shook his head, unsure of what to do to help his friend. Deciding he couldn't do anything more tonight, he headed for his own room, stripped down to his boxers and climbed back into his bed.
Chris sat on his bed and buried his face in his hands. The complexity and fragility of the situation was taking its toll, in a twisted turn of events he never thought his life would take. The images of Kady sitting in a pool of blood, all the while screaming how much she hated him and how he destroyed her life – it was emotionally crippling. Under all the makeup, dark clothes, and hellacious attitude she had, Kady was a beautiful child who had lost her way and was now travelling a dangeous road to self destruction. In Chris' mind, it was because of him. As much as Kady must've been screwed up before he arrived, now he had exacerbated things to the point where she might not be able to be saved. His body tensed as the pain of it all took hold.
"What the hell do I do now...?" he whispered in the dark silence of his room. He slid under the sheets of the bed, knowing full well that there wouldn't be much chance of a descent night's sleep that night.
Back in Kentucky, Kady was now alone in her hospital room. With the medication, she was no longer feeling the physical pain, though her conscience was torturing her mercilessly. There was nothing she could do about it, given that all the meds made her weaker than a kitten, so she'd have to lie there and endure the mental anguish, which she believed was caused by Chris. Kady hated hospitals with a passion; the sickening oder of death mixed with anesthetics; the sounds of doctors rushing to the aid of accident victims or victims of illness or violence, in vain attempts to rid people of their ailments. It was all too depressing for her, a teenage girl whom had practically tried to take her own life only a few hours before. The thing is, no one had even gotten to her like Chris had. She had never experienced that kind of emotional response with anyone, and that's what rocked her to the emotional core.
Kady looked up at the clock on the wall, which now read 5:36 AM. She hadn't gotten much sleep, only via that from surgery, and even the drug-induced sleep she was in wasn't the most pleasent or comfortable. She was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to leave everything behind. Her mother. Chris. Everyone who made her life more difficult. Even Danny and Jenna were starting to step on her nerves, and she didn't mind not seeing them again for a while either.
"What do they know?" she whispered, as if trying to assure herself that she was right and everyone else was wrong. "None of them know... they can all go to hell."
It was hard for Kady, being only fourteen years old and subjected to the mess that had now consumed her entire life. School. Being a regular kid. None of it mattered to her anymore, nor would it until all of this was settled. Though if she would see Chris Harris again, it would be too soon. And she was convinced that after all of what happened in the last week, the last thing Lily would do was go back to that damn job in TNA. She stared at the heavy bandages that now covered her entire arm and sighed. If only I had gone a bit deeper... then i probably wouldn't be here to feel the pain... in her state of depression, such thoughts were not new to her. All her life she had wanted to know who her father was, and now she knew him, it made her world all the more complicated and painful, not less. It would've been easier if he was an alcoholic or locked in prison somewhere... her mind mused, in a taunting manner. Then it would be so much easier to forget him...
Over the years Kady had comforted herself for not having a father with ideas that maybe he wasn't a quality person at all, which would justify her hate for him and why he wasn't in her life. Meeting Chris had challenged all those emotional safeguards and walls she had built up. In fact, he had smashed right through those preconceptions she had of him and for a while there, she had felt it becoming easier to be around him. And she felt safe. Kady hated herself for being so weak as to let her guard down around him, thinking that he wouldn't hurt her. The fact that she had shown weakness around him was enough to invoke bitterness and self-loathing.
"I hate him..." she whispered again, tearfully. "I hate him..."
Her heart was being torn to shreads all over again, just like it had on her tenth birthday when the reality at the time hit her that her father wasn't coming to get her. Gazing around the bland, dull hospital room and the machines that were keeping her pain at bay, Kady was able to take in the full scope – the intensity – of what had happened to her and Lily. More drama than she would never hope to see again in her life. If there was ever a time when she actually wanted to be with her mother, this was it... at least Lily would know what to do. At least Lily wouldn't leave her.
Three hours had now passed, and it was fast approaching 9:00 AM, and while nurses had come in and out regularly to check on her, Kady was mostly left to herself. And the mental torture was not letting up at all, and tears kept flowing in cycles. She'd calm down for a while before the memories lashed out again and pushed her over the edge.
"Hey sweetie," one of the nurses entered the room to make the hourly check on her. The middle-aged woman smiled, pleasently, despite the not-so-nice attitude she and the other staff members had often got from this particular patient. She walked over to the window and pulled back the curtains. "Did you sleep well?"
Kady replied grumpily with a small grunt, but enough to tell the nurse her answer, and closed her eyes. She didn't want to be bothered by the feigned cheeriness of hospital stuff, who in reality didn't give a damn about her.
"How are you feeling? Any better?"
"No."
"Oh dear," the nurse walked up to the side of her bed and started checking the machines. "That's no good. Do you need me to get you anything?"
Kady replied with only a singular-worded response, "Food."
The nurse chuckled and kept inspecting the equipment. "Soon, darlin', the doctor will be here in five minutes, just to give you a check, and then the orderlies will be bringing breakfast round. That sound good to you?"
"Whatever."
"My, my, so cheery," the lady smiled and patted Kady's leg. "Well hopefully you'll be feelin' better soon."
She left the room, but Kady wasn't alone for long and before she knew it, a man who looked to be in his late thirties or so and wearing a white coat entered the room. She rolled her eyes at the thought of being poked and prodded with needles while listening to the same bullshit comfort words that had no impact on her anymore.
"Hello, Kadence," he smiled at her, looking up from his clipboard. "You're looking much better this morning."
"As opposed to me almost bleeding to death?" she countered, sarcastically. "Then I suppose you're right."
The doctor ignored her and rounded the end of her bed to walk up and stop just beside her. He started checking out her physical recovery, by checking her breathing and taking her temperature. Normally Kady wouldn't need much of an invitation to resist or cause trouble, but given the fatigue and weakness she was experiencing, she didn't give him too many problems.
"Well," the doctor spoke up a couple minutes later. "Everything seems to be progressing as normal. You're very lucky, you know that?"
Kady groaned. "No, I don't. But I'll suppose you tell me."
The doctor sighed and rubbed his forehead. He had to pull a double shift today, so he was in no mood to get into an argument with the kid. "It's mandatory for the hospital to provide counselling services to patients who attemped suicide. In about an hour you'll be visited by a child psychologist. Her name's Mary Taylor, and—"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa..." Kady interrupted. "I don't need a fucking shrink!"
"Well, unfortunately for you, you're going to get one. Hospital policy. If you were over eighteen you could refuse it, but unless you have a parent or guardian to sign a waver then you have to have this consultancy," he explained.
"But I wasn't trying to kill myself!" Kady whined, protesting the need for a psychologist to come in and tell her about why she was so screwed up. She didn't need it because she already knew the cause... Chris Harris.
"I'm sorry, Kadence. But I must insist that you have this appointment; she's very qualified."
"But my mom's in hospital in intensive care and my dad—" Kady stopped when she realised she had just called Chris her 'dad'. She felt like she swallowed paint or something. "... he's left."
"Then I'm afraid you'll have to go through with it, Miss Myers," the doctor stressed and turned to leave. "Right now you're progress is where we expect it to be; you should make a full recovery. Wait... did you say your mother is an admitted patient?"
Kady shrugged and nodded. "Apparently you people don't talk to each other much. Idiots. She was in a car accident yesterday. She'll sign off on me not needing a shrink..." she paused to think about that for a moment, before adding, "... on second thought, maybe not."
The doctor frowned and made a note on his clipboard to check out the status of Lily Myers. Something had to be wrong with this family situation if both mother and daughter were in hospital, for two entirely separate reasons. And the father was in the picture, but left? This raised several troubling questions in the experienced doctor's mind and he left the room to make haste with his observations. Kady settled against her pillow and continued to mope, muttering unfriendly words about the doctor, and how unfair she was being treated. The usual teenage stuff.
At the same time, the doctor briskly walked down the hospital corridor and stepped into the nurses station a few seconds later, where two female nurses sat at their desks, going over medical files.
"Good morning, Doctor Sanders," one of the nurses, Emma Wilson, greeted with a warm smile.
"Hi, doctor," the other one, Maggie, chimed in but didn't look up from her work. The doctor, still flipping through the pages on his clipboard, barely looked up from his work either and picked up a file that was on Emma's desk, and extended it to her.
"Hello," he returned the greeting to both of them. "Nurse, will you do me a favour? Check the log book for accident victims reported as being admitted yesteday. Under the name 'Myers'."
"Sure," Emma replied and took the file from him, somewhat eager to momentarily break away from typing up a report for the file of a seven-year-old male patient who had died the night before. Doctor Sanders leaned against the wall, still in a state of mixed confusion and concern. The attitude that Kady Myers had shown him, plus the severity of her injuries, and when she talked about her parents... well, it would be enough to gain any halfway competent physician's attention.
"Uh, okay here we go," Emma spoke up a couple minutes later. "There was a code blue emergency admission. Lily Myers, 32 years old. Suffered severe head, chest, and leg wounds plus several severe lacerations and internal bruising following a motor vehicle accident yesterday." She turned the file around and held it to Doctor Sanders, who took the file and skimmed through it. At the same time he was holding Kady's medical file, and he opened it to check her records. He then found what he was looking for. Under the listing for 'father', it read: Chris Harris. A gut feeling it was, and as a doctor, he experienced many of them, but somehow he felt like this was a situation worth looking into.
"Nurse Wilson?"
"Yes, doctor?"
"Dr. Mary Taylor is on her way to speak with Kady Myers, I need you to request that if she can, to please pay a visit to her mother, Lily Myers. It's important."
Emma was hesitant but nonetheless, she nodded in agreement. "Okay."
"Also, one other thing..."
"Sure..."
"I need you to call social services. Inform them that there might possibly be a case of abuse."
Exactly one hour later, Kady sighed with frustration and looked away; she couldn't stand to look at the pretentious, probably fake facial features of the lady sitting before her. Doctor Taylor was nice enough, though Kady believed that she was a condesending bitch who didn't give a damn about anyone or anything except getting paid for her 'services'. In which case she should've become a hooker, Kady thought, maliciously.
"Kadence? Let me start off by saying feel free to talk with me about whatever comes to your mind. I'm here to help."
"Sure, help your bank balance," Kady muttered under her breath. "Bitch."
"What was that?" Doctor Taylor asked, not catching what she had said.
"Forget it, nothing," she told her. "What do you want to know? So we can get this over with..."
"Well... why don't you tell me about why you're here? What happened?"
"I think it's pretty obvious, don't you?" Kady was being intentionally difficult. This bitch was getting more annoying by the second. "I mean, I bled out quite a lot, you know. Though I suppose you read the report."
"Indeed, I did," The doctor replied, making notes as she spoke. "And I saw a lot more there than just the physical injuries, Kadence."
"Oh?"
"Yes. You inflicted these injuries on yourself; now that tells me that you felt like you needed a way out. That there is some underlying cause of your emotional pain that made you lash out physically, to help control it," Mary relayed her inital findings to the obnoxious child.
"Wow, you're good. Earning every cent," Kady spat. "I wasn't trying to kill myself, lady."
"But you wanted the pain to end?"
"That's right."
"Would you mind telling me about that?"
"Actually, yes I would mind. And I'm tired, so I wanna sleep. You can go now," Kady gestured to the door, hoping this lady would take the hint and get lost.
"You know I can't. You know why I'm here. Can you at least tell me why you felt the need to physically deal with the emotional pain?" Mary remained calm, having dealt with many troubled children in her sixteen years as a children's mental health professional.
"What the fuck would you know, lady?" Kady hissed. "Why do you care?"
"Because, Miss, it might help your parents and you to understand why you did this to yourself."
"My parents know why," Kady told her, not relenting for a second. "And I don't see how it's any of your business, so back off!"
"But I want to understand if you know why you did it," Mary pressed, softly. "Please, Kadence. I promise it'll be okay, and that no one can hurt you now..."
"What do you mean by that?" Kady queired, raising an eyebrow at the doctor's choice of words.
"All I'm saying is that you might feel better if you talk to me about it. Have you been having troubles at home?"
The teen snorted and stifled the urge to burst out laughing. "That's an understatement."
"Uh huh..." Mary grew increasingly weary of this child's attitude; proving herself to be a bit more of a challenge than Doctor Sanders had described earlier that morning. She and he were friends from college, so she agreed to come in at his request. And then, on arrival to the hospital, one of the nurses informed her that Doctor Sanders suspected some sort of abuse going on within the family circle, in which she may need to keep in mind. "Well, why don't you talk to me about your parents then. How do you get along with them?"
"I don't." Kady stated. "What's your god damn point?"
"I see," Mary made some more notes and then looked up. "What about your father? What can you tell me about him?"
"If I actually knew much about him, I'd be happy to oblige," Kady unwittingly was giving the doctor more insight into her troubled mind, but even if she did know what she was saying she wouldn't have cared. All she wanted was for this lady to go away and not come back, though had the distinct feeling that such a desire would not come to fruition. "I still don't see what you're getting at."
"Earlier today you told Doctor Sanders that your dad had left. Does that mean he was here?"
"For a bit. The bastard then decides to leave me again, which he told me he wouldn't do. So I just think who the hell cares? I don't. I survived thirteen years without him, I think I'm able to get along in life without him."
"So you grew up without your father around?"
"Didn't I just say that?" Kady retorted, angrily. All her feelings about Chris were resurfacing now, and she couldn't stop herself from releasing that anger. Mary noted her reactions, both physiologically and emotionally.
"When did he come back into your life?"
"You mean, when did he decide to fuck up my mom's and my lives? Last week. He didn't even recognise me at first. Mom got a job in TNA, where he works. I literally enough ran into him, and the rest is history as they say... or whatever..." she yawned and looked at the clock again. Approaching 10 AM now. Time was slowing down again, for her anyway.
"TNA?"
"I dunno what it stands for. It's a wrestling company of sorts, or something. Chris is a wrestler."
Mary seemed surprised at this revelation (but who wouldn't be?), and her hand moved quickly across the page; her mind spinning with notes and possible cases that could fit the one she was handling now. Her hand started to ache in its rush to catch up with the speed of her brain. Kady watched her, intently, curious as to what she was writing but was too lazy to try find out.
"How did you find out that he was your father?" Mary continued her questions.
"I know I'm not 'Little Miss Social Butterfly'," Kady smirked, somewhat satisfied. "I ran into Chris and his drunk tag team partner. We didn't exactly get along. So later on, I was pissed off at mom for some reason, I can't remember why. Anyway, we were at a TNA venue thingy that day and when mom was busy I slipped out and caught the bus back to our shitty new house not too far away. I went upstairs to find out some of my art stuff that was still packed away, and I came across mom's old year book. Low and behold I saw his picture in there, too. But then a photo slipped out; of all three of us when I was a baby. Needless to say, I was pissed." Kady's tone darkened, as did her expression... if she wasn't physically incapable of moving, it might even have been quite intimidating to Mary.
"And then what happened?" the doctor pressed, now personally curious to what happened. "Did you confront them?"
"Me? Confront? Not unless I have to. I've always tried avoiding mother as best I could... the only reason we've been able to tolerate each other for so long is the few words we exchange," Kady found herself relaxing more into telling this stranger what had happened. It surprised even herself with the fact that now she was becoming more open about it. "No, I hopped on a bus and headed back here to Kentucky, where I grew up. This is my home. Florida is a piece of shit. I hated it there. So... when I get to this diner, the fucking coach left without me! Can you believe that?"
She brushed some hair from her face and picked up the plastic cup of water that was by her side. After taking a few sips, she set it back down and cleared her throat. Kady hadn't meant to divulge into a lengthy detail about how she ended up hear, but it was sort of helping!
"So, anyway," she continued. "I decide to hitch the rest of the way to Kentucky. I know, you're thinking why the hell I would do such a fucked up thing, right? So this dude pulls up and offers me a ride. He's totally freaky looking, and I should love that, right? Because I'm into the whole goth thing. But since I decided to use common sense to get to Kentucky alive, I declined and so this other guy rocks up. He's cool looking; clean cut and all and so I go with him. Only, I get to learn the oh so important lesson my mother tried to teach me when I was a kid."
"And what's that?" Mary was becoming more enthralled with this girl's tale, a tragic one it was sounding more like.
"Looks can be deceiving. He tried to get into my pants," Kady explained. She was nonchalant about it, like speaking about it wasn't a big deal to her, which took Mary by surprise. "But the first dude who had pulled up to give me a ride, Sterling, and he beat the shit out of the guy. Turns out he had been tailing us. Why, I don't know. But he got me here, anyway. So when we get here, mom and Chris were here! And we went into a screaming match, and mom slapped me and—"
"Wait! She slapped you?" Mary interrupted, concerned that Doctor Sander's guessing of abuse may be right. From everything that Kady was telling her so far, all signs were pointing to far less than desirable circumstances for a child to be living in.
"Yeah. I had pissed her off, and she grabbed my arm and slapped me. So anyways, wrapping up this epic tale, mom gets hit by a car while trying to stop me from walking away," It was at this point when the emotion returned to her, as the images of seeing her mother lying on the road, bleeding, came crashing back. She swallowed the lump in her throat just as a tear fell from her eye.
"Do you wanna stop?" Mary asked.
"No, it's ok," Kady sobbed, wiping her eyes. "And... I dunno what happened after that, between me and Chris, it was like... like I was seeing him in a whole new light? Something terrible happened, and he didn't run away. He stayed with me and wouldn't leave... and I started thinking, 'Maybe he is for real', you know? And as much as I screamed that I hated him, and tried to push him away... he didn't..." Kady trailed off, losing herself to thought. It hit her that Danny and Jenna were right. Chris didn't leave, even when she was hitting him and spewing the most hateful words at him. He still didn't leave.
"He didn't what?"
"He didn't leave me..." Kady whispered. "I... I can't explain it... I just felt so hurt by him for so long, it was hard to accept the idea that maybe he really did care. And... later that night, at Danny's house – he's my best friend – anyway, I looked outside, and Chris was really upset. I went out to see if he was okay, and he kinda brushed me off. I got real mad. I didn't even give him a chance to make it right, or apologise... so I ran inside and into the bathroom, and I started cutting myself. Because I thought he never wanted me. I just wanted the pain to end, that's all I wanted! I didn't want to kill myself. And then Chris broke through the door and... the look on his face when he saw me, I don't think I'll ever forget, ya know? He was so scared and shocked and hurt... and guilty. I could see it, but I didn't wanna believe it... and then he saved me. Again. He wrapped me in a blanket and that's the last thing I remember."
A few minutes later, Mary exited the room and closed the door behind her. She was totally blown away by the incredible story Kadence had just told her, but knew she had a job to do. This was certainly no healthy environment for a child to be in, not right now at any rate. She approached the nurse's desk and cleared her throat to get the attention of the Emma, who looked up.
"Hello, Doctor Taylor," she smiled. "Everything is well, I trust?"
"As well as things can be, yes," Mary forced a smile. "Could I please borrow the phone? I have a call I need to make, it's urgent."
"Of course," the nurse pushed the phone forward and Mary muttered a grateful 'thank you', and picked up the receiver. She dialled the appropriate number and waited until someone picked up at the other end.
"Hello?" came a stressed-sounding male voice.
"Matthew? It's Mary Taylor."
"Mary? How are you?"
"Good, good, listen are you busy right now?"
"A little bit. But I always got time for you,"
Mary chuckled at her life-long friend's flirtacious ways, and shook her head. "I need you to do me a favour."
"Anything for you."
"I need you to start a file on a girl named Kadence Myers. I'm going to send you the appropriate paperwork as soon as I receive it."
"Um, sure. Can I ask why?"
Mary sighed. "I MAY be requesting emergency removal of Kadence Myers from the custody of her mother, Lily Myers."
"Another abused child..." Matthew commented, sadly. "The world is an evil place at times..."
"No, no... it's not that I think she's been abused, far from it," Mary quickly explained, knowing that the business Matthew was in, it couldn't be helped but assumed that there was abuse involved.
"Then what is it?"
"I can't go into my diagnosis of a patient with you, Matt. You'll just have to wait for the paperwork."
"I need a valid excuse from taking a child from a parent, Mary, you know that." He pressed.
"It's my professional opinion that in her current situation, she's not safe with either parent. Not because of them, but I believe it's herself that presents her with the most danger. They are the stress points in her life, and I believe the safest thing to do is to remove her from her mother's care and perhaps place her with a family that won't exacerbate her mental state. All I'm asking is that you be prepared for a call from me, okay? I'll let you know."
"Send me the paper work."
"Will do."
They exchanged goodbyes and hung up; Mary gave the phone back to the nurse and turned away. Next on the agenda was to talk with Lily Myers. If this woman further affirmed Mary's belief that Kady wasn't safe, then she would put in another call to Matthew and request legal action be taken. And, of course, she would have to get in contact with the Chris Harris person. But, first things first. She slung her handbag over her shoulder and started towards the elevator, to meet Lily Myers.
A/N2: Uh oh, can you say 'more trouble for Chris, Lily and Kady'? You can? Excellent. Keep your eyes peeled for another chapter. It should be posted in the next day or two as Lizzie is eager to get this story over with. I'd make you wait for it. Guess I'm slightly more evil than Lizzie like that. Anyway, leave us a review and let us know what you think. Constructive criticism is accpeted but needless flames will be used to roast marshmellows. Thanks. Phoenix
