Miss Hand came back to see her the next day, late in the afternoon, this time without Detective Hartley. She told Bobbi that she had found a potential family that she could stay with. Bobbi wasn't sure how that made her feel. She knew in her head that she couldn't go back to her dad, that would be a death sentence. But still, it felt strange knowing that all of the sudden, she would be living somewhere else, with someone else as a parent.
"I heard the surgery went well," Miss Hand said, trying to make small talk. Bobbi nodded. She wasn't interested in talking about the day before. "I also heard," Miss Hand continued, "that there was a bit of a commotion yesterday."
Bobbi clamped down on her bottom lip. She wasn't going to say a word.
"I'm sure that was a very frightening experience for you, Bobbi." Miss Hand's tone shifted. No longer was the conversation light and breezy. She sounded mad. No, serious. Bobbi looked up and confirmed her suspicions with the stern look on Miss Hand's face.
"I want you to know that your father was arrested after what happened here yesterday. Disorderly conduct, assaulting a hospital employee, violation of the parameters of our investigation. He wasn't supposed to come anywhere near you. I know it seems like, maybe, after yesterday, that Detective Hartley and I didn't keep our word to you. I'm sure you didn't feel very safe when he was right down the hall. But now that we're investigating and now that he's in custody, I want to assure you that you'll never have to see him again if you don't want to. We will make sure he stays far away from you, and I mean that this time." Away. Far away. She couldn't even imagine what it would be like to be far away from him. He had always been there, always looming over her every move, breath, and thought like a billowing and bellowing dragon that had her wrapped up in its scaly coils.
"Now, it's my understanding that tomorrow, you're being fitted for a knee brace and discharged. I'll be here to pick you up, and then we'll go back to your old house so you can grab what you need, and then we'll go meet your new foster family. The live in Manitowoc, and they have two other foster daughters that live with them, younger than you. Your foster dad is a high school teacher, and your foster mom is an old friend of mine. They're good people. I think you'll like them." Bobbi kept silent. She wasn't ready to think about a house full of strangers that she was about to live with. She just wanted to stay in the white, starchy room forever, away from the rest of the world. She wanted to sleep, or to curl up and hide. Her hands twitched. She wanted to run. She wanted to twirl.
"Do you have some pens or something?" she asked, breaking the silence. Her voice was croaky. She hadn't been using it very much since her dad had shown up. She didn't feel like talking. Miss Hand looked curious, but dug in her bag and pulled out a pair of ballpoint pens.
"How are these?" she asked, holding the pens out. Stiffly, Bobbi took them and tested them out, spinning a pen between her fingers in each hand. It wasn't perfect, but it would do until she could get her batons.
"Thanks," she said. She meant it, too. Even if it wasn't the same, it still felt immeasurably good to have something twirling in her hands. She felt calmer than she had in days.
"Glad they did the trick," Miss Hand said with a rare smile. "I'll see you tomorrow for discharge, all right?" Bobbi nodded. Tomorrow was going to be an interesting day.
Okay, they're coming together for real next time :) I'm curious, once the two stories have converged, would you still be interested in switching perspectives periodically? Are there other POVs you'd like to hear from? I was thinking about doing a few chapters from May or Jemma, but I'm not settled on it if you think that would muddle things too much... Let me know!