Note: I don't own anything
Interlude 1.1: Hope
Today Taylor learned that a week has passed since she was released from that damned torture chamber. She learned about it from her father when she randomly woke up in the middle of the day. When she opened her eyes he was just sitting there on a chair beside her bed, a sad expression on his face. It reminded her of how he looked after the death of her mother. It was the face of a man that gave up completely, a man that was broken on a fundamental level. This face changed drastically when he noticed that she woke up. It was almost like life itself entered his eyes first, then his face and the rest of his body. He twitched, probably thinking about hugging her, but remembered that she just woke up, restrained himself and started asking about how she was feeling. She told him that she felt weak and tired, but fine.
When she asked about what happened to him, why he was so sad, so defeated, it turned out that he didn't notice her note and didn't know that she woke up last night. That piece of paper, along with her glasses and a pen, lied there for a whole week, so he didn't even bother to look. Then, he told her about what happened while she was unconscious. He told her that she was saved by someone who was possibly a villainous cape, that she was delivered to the Central Hospital in the middle of the night, that Panacea healed her from the blood poisoning, and that the police was investigating what happened on the civilian side of things, cooperating with PRT that investigated the parahuman side.
Most importantly, he told her that because of the statements that the police got from the teachers, students and their parents, as well as several other related reasons, Blackwell is being investigated for embezzlement, bribery, conspiracy, fraud and many other things. And while this wasn't made public yet, he heard from Mayor Christner that Winslow High would be closed for renovation, and if the city doesn't find the money for it then the school could be closed indefinitely. The students would be transferred to Arcadia.
Hearing this, all of this, gave Taylor something that she thought she lost forever after her life turned into hell two years ago. It gave her hope that the next day could be better, that those who hurt her would get what they deserve, or at least leave her alone. This brief moment of happiness was exactly when a nurse came in. She apologised for the interruption, asked Taylor a few questions about how she was feeling, and reminded her father that his time was almost up as she left to call the doctor.
After the nurse left, Danny told her that soon both the police and PRT will come to get her statement, but that he didn't know exactly when. He asked her about what happened, and she told him everything. She told him about Emma and The Trio, about what they did, about the school not just ignoring her complaints, but punishing her and refusing to even try to investigate what happened. When he asked why she didn't tell him about it, she hesitated for a few seconds before deciding to tell him only a half-truth. Taylor said that he wouldn't be able to do anything about it. It was easy to see that Danny was hurt by these words and knew that what she said was mostly true. Maybe one day she would tell him the whole truth.
They stayed silent for a minute or two until the Doctor came in and introduced herself. After a quick check-up, Dr Lee said that she would be free to go in a few days and that with the exception of exhaustion she was completely healthy. Until then she was told to rest and eat more food. As Dr Lee left she said that the nurse will bring her lunch in a few minutes, and reminded Danny that his time was up. They sat there in silence for another minute before Danny finally said something. He apologised and promised that they will talk about all of this again later. They exchanged good-byes and love-yous, and then her father left.
The hospital food wasn't that bad, or at least not as bad as most people claimed it to be. Maybe it didn't seem so bad because of those few times she tried the food from Winslow cafeteria. At least this looked and tasted like food. The nurse came back a few minutes later after Taylor finished her meal to take back the tray. She didn't really have anything to do now and she felt exhausted after all the talking, so she went to sleep.
Author's Note:
That's Part 1.
