Hailey's POV

"Hi..." Charlie tried smiling at me but it came out too forced and creepy looking. Her smile then faltered when I didn't say anything.

She was almost unrecognizable.

The cut that went from the side of her forehead to the side of the head had healed but left a scar as a reminder of what happened. Even with her baggie hoodie and sweatpants, I could tell she had lost quite a bit of weight and her face looked thinner as well.

"Uh, can you get off of me now?" Charlie squirmed uncomfortably underneath me, "You've already caught me, I'm not going to run again."

I wasn't so sure about that but I let the girl sit up, studying her face carefully.

Her eyes were sunken and bloodshot and no longer held that steely look in them. Instead, they looked dull, like the light in them had been turned off, leaving nothing but an empty cocoon.

I had so many questions but it seemed like I was so shocked that I wasn't able to form any words.

"I assure you I'm real," Charlie mumbled, "All too real."

"What happened?" I finally whispered.

Charlie looked away.

I had never seen her like this. Not even when I told her about her father.

"Come on," I stood up and extended my hand out to Charlie who still sat on the grass, "Let's get you back to the district."

Charlie looked like she wanted to object, to run away again, but to my relief, she took my hand and I tugged her up onto her feet.

"I'm glad you're okay," I muttered to Charlie as I pulled her into a hug.

I felt Charlie nod and I let go of her.

"Let's go," I said and wrapped an arm around Charlie before walking towards where Jay had parked the car.

As we got closer, I saw that everyone had already congregated around and were just waiting for me. When they saw that I had Charlie with me, they freaked.

"Where'd you find her?"

"Is she okay?"

"So the person was right!"

Beside me, Charlie just gave a stiff nod and I opened the back door of the car. I didn't have to say anything, Charlie picked up on the cue to get in.

"So where did you find her?" Jay asked me, repeating his question.

"I was asking around in the park and saw her in the field and figured I should ask her as well. I didn't realize it was Charlie," I explained, "But as soon as I told her who I was and what I wanted to ask, she took off so I chased after her."

Rojas nodded slowly, "Good thing you did that."

"Not even once did I think that it might be her," I shook my head, "It wasn't until I saw her face and even then, I couldn't believe it."

"Is she okay?" Voight asked, "Do we have to bring her to Med?"

I briefly looked at the back window of the car that Charlie was sitting in.

"She looks okay but it can't hurt to bring her in," I replied, remembering how thin Charlie looked even under the baggy clothing.

"You should notify her foster parents," Jay told me, "They'll be glad to know she's okay."

I nodded, "Yeah, they will."

We agreed to meet up back at Med and Jay and I got into the car with Charlie in the back seat.

"Where are we going?" Charlie asked as Jay started the engine.

"Chicago Med," I replied, pulling out my phone to call Caroline and Micheal.

"I'm okay," Charlie quickly said, "I'm perfectly fine. You don't need to take me to a hospital, and I mean, I'm sure everyone at Chicago Med hates me from my last visit there."

Jay shook his head, "You're going. End of discussion.

Meanwhile, I had dialled Caroline's number and put the phone to my ear. She picked up on the second ring.

"Did you find her?" Caroline asked, her voice hopeful.

I smiled, "I did actually. She's sitting right behind me."

I heard Caroline break down into sobs through the line and my smile grew wider. Not because she was crying, but because you could just tell how relieved she was.

"Oh my god," Caroline gasped through her cries," Can I talk to her?"

"Uh, can you talk to her?" I looked behind me at Charlie who nodded to let me know she was okay with that. "Sure, just give me a moment."

I handed Charlie my phone and she tentatively put the phone to her ear.

"Hello?" She said into the phone, a tense look on her face.

I couldn't hear what Caroline was saying but she must have been talking a lot because Charlie barely got any words in.

"Look, I'm really tired, can we talk when I'm at the hospital?" Charlie finally butted in and Caroline must have agreed because Charlie muttered a quick thank you before hanging up.

As she handed me my phone back, I examined her face again, unable to help myself.

"What?" Charlie asked coldly, noticing my lingering gaze.

I shook my head, "Nothing."

"Well, it has to be something," Charlie snorted, "Do I have something on my face? Food maybe?"

She was practically dripping in sarcasm and I wasn't sure how to respond to that.

"No," I said quietly, "There's nothing on your face."

I heard Charlie slump against the back seat and for a moment, I felt completely useless. I had no idea what she was going through or what was going through her head.

It wasn't long before we arrived at Chicago Med. Jay parked the car and all three of us hopped out.

Charlie shoved her hands into the pocket of her hoodie and started walking towards the building, not even looking to see if we were following.

"Is she okay?" Jay whispered, leaning closer towards me so Charlie wouldn't hear.

"I'm fine," Charlie replied, not looking back.

Man, she had good ears.