Chapter Five
Michael knocked on the door to the trailer angrily. But there was no answer. They stood there for several long, painful moments before Michael pushed open the door. Cautiously the four boys walked into the trailer, it was trashed. Furniture was upturned, and broken. A glass shattered on the kitchen floor. And then there was the blood.
"The one at the end of the hall is hers." Alex said and followed Michael as he headed down the hallway. Michael tried the door but it wouldn't open.
"Maria? Baby are you in there? It's Michael. Open the door baby." Nothing but silence came from the room. Michael took a step back and kicked the door as hard as he could. With Alex there he couldn't risk using his powers. The door flew open and he stepped inside. The smell of blood nearly made him throw up. Then he spotted her foot sticking out of the closet. "Oh shit." He whispered. Her shoe was only on part way, and he could see the blood on the floor. "Maria?!" He rushed to the closet and opened it the rest of the way and found her laying there, bruised and beaten and barely breathing.
"Oh god." Alex whispered. Guilt began eating away at his stomach. Why hadn't he said something? Why?! "Maria?" His voice cracked.
"Maria, baby open your eyes." Michael whispered carefully pulling her into his arms. "Look at me baby." One eye was open part way, the other was swollen shut. "Please baby." He whispered. "Alex, go start the car." The other man didn't move. "Alex now!" Suddenly Alex ran from the room. "Baby, look at me please."
Maria's mouth opened part way, she was trying to whisper something but he couldn't hear her. "It's okay, Maria, you're okay, you're safe now." He carefully picked her up and cradled her against his chest. He walked out of he room and down the hall, doing his best not to jostle her too much. In the living room Kyle and Max were still looking around the room, and Kyle was on his cell phone talking to his dad.
"Oh Jesus." Max whispered when he saw Maria. "Michael."
"We're taking her to the hospital." He simply said and walked out to the car and climbed into the back of the jeep with her still in his arms. "You're going to be okay." He murmured against her temple. "You'll be just fine my queen."
They arrived at the hospital and several nurses rushed to the young men and took Maria away from them. Michael and Alex were pacing the hallway hours later, they still hadn't heard anything.
"Alex, Michael." Sheriff Valenti said as he approached. "Tell me what happened."
"Hank... he beat the shit out of her. That's what happened." Michael snapped.
"Michael, watch that tone with me." The Sheriff told him. "Do either of you know how long the abuse has been going on?" Michael looked at Alex who bowed his head.
"About ten years." He whispered. "I wanted to tell... but she always said not to. It was never this bad." Alex could feel the bile rising in his stomach. "This is all my fault. I should have said something. I told her I was going to... and she just said she would deny it."
"Why would she do that?" Michael asked with concern.
"She was afraid of ending up with someone worse."
"I don't think it gets much worse than that right there!" Michael yelled pointing in the direction they had taken her.
"What did you want me to do Michael!? She said she'd deny it! How could I prove it!" Alex roared. He felt bad enough. He didn't need Michael's help.
"Alright boys, calm down both of you. Have you heard anything about her yet?" Both men shook their heads.
A few moments later a doctor appeared. "Well, we have stabilized her. She's not out of the woods. Her injuries are pretty severe. She nearly bled to death. Massive head trauma, we won't know if there is any permanent damage until she wakes up."
"Will she? Wake up I mean?" Alex asked.
"We're not sure yet." The doctor said solemnly. "She is in the ICU, so I can only let one of you in at a time to see her."
"Go." Michael said gesturing down the hall at Alex. "I'm going to go call Isabel and Tess."
"Oh... okay." Alex felt like he was in a daze. This was his fault. He followed the doctor down the hallway and into Maria's room. He gasped at what he saw. She was hooked up to all kinds of machines, tubes and wires everywhere. Where she wasn't bruised she was paler than he'd ever seen her. Bandaged, and a cast on her right wrist. "Oh god Maria." He whispered walking over to her side. Carefully he grasped her left hand. "Maria... why? Why didn't you just let me tell someone?" The tears finally overflowed. "I'm so sorry Maria. I'm so sorry." He cried resting his head against the bed. "I love you Maria, you can't do this... you have to wake up, and be okay."
Michael walked down the hallway and pulled out his cell phone and called Isabel. "Iz..."
"Michael? What's going on? Did you find Maria?"
"Get to the hospital."
"What? Why?! Michael?" Isabel's voice grew more and more panicked.
"Maria is in the ICU. And you need to get here before Alex has a complete meltdown. Get Tess, and get your asses here."
Max and Kyle came jogging down the hallway. "Hey, is she okay?"
"She's in the ICU."
"She'll be okay though, right?" Kyle asked. Michael just shrugged.
Hours later, everyones parents had convinced them to go home, except for Michael. Try as Amy might, he refused to leave Maria. Michael knew part of the reason Alex was willing to leave was because when he looked at Maria, he felt guilty. So did Michael. He had fought with her before this happened. He didn't notice the signs. The bruise on her cheek from nearly three months ago now made sense. The cuts. Her attitude. Everything made sense now. He held her left hand gently in his. "Wake up Maria, you have to. You've got to beat this." He told her softly.
"Michael, honey." Amy suddenly was standing in the doorway.
"Mom. I'm not going home." He told her tearing his eyes away from Maria to look at the older woman. She just smiled gently.
"I brought you a change of clothes. Your toothbrush, and something to eat." Amy cautiously walked into the room and set them down on the little counter by a sink. "Hospital food is terrible. And you'll need to eat something." Amy turned around and stared at the young girl laying in the bed. "Oh my." She whispered and covered her mouth. "Has anything been done about that monster that did this to her?"
"Valenti hasn't been able to find him."
"When she wakes up, what will happen to her?"
Michael shrugged. "She'll probably end up in another foster home."
Amy continued to stare at the girl. "She doesn't need that kind of stress, not after this. We'll see what happens, but if there is no other option, she can stay with us. You'll have to sleep on the couch. But... we'll just see alright?" Amy offered and walked over to kiss her son's cheek.
"Thanks, mom." Amy smiled and kissed his forehead.
"Anything for my son, and his friends." She ruffled his hair a little. "Try and get some rest, honey. You look exhausted."
"Sure." He nodded and watched his mother walk out of the room. He turned his attention back to Maria, whose fingers were twitching, as if trying to hold onto something, and her breathing had become a little more labored. Slowly he reached forward and gently squeezed her hand. The twitching calmed and her breathing evened out again.
The Queen was in a hidden room. Where she had her secret rendezvous with her Soldier. She was waiting for him. It was the middle of the night. Her King had retired to bed, and she had told him she was going for a walk. She heard the door open and smiled as she let her eyes slip shut. He had come to her again. His hand touched her arm gently and she smiled. "My Soldier." She murmured softly.
The hand gripped her arm and yanked her out of her seat, spinning her around. She gasped, coming face to face with the King. "Your Soldier? They all said you were seeing him... I chose not to believe it... to believe that you were my faithful bride." He slapped her across the face before producing a knife from the back of his pants.
"No!" She cried. "No! I love him!"
"And did you ever love me?"
She paused for a moment. "Of course I did."
"You lie." He growled and thrust the knife forward.
The sound that escaped her lips was a partial gasp for breath, and cry of pain. Blood dripped from her mouth and she slowly reached out to touch him. Her soldier was supposed to come. Where was he? Had he already been killed? He yanked the knife from her belly and she tumbled to the ground. "Unfaithful whore." He spat. He watched as she bled. Dying. As was the child he'd mistakenly believed was his. But he had been betrayed. By the two people he trusted most.
She gripped her belly. "Shhh. Hide." She whispered softly. "You'll be safe." She murmured to her baby.
"Ava." Rath's voice tore through the room. "Zan." He growled when realization hit him. Ava and his child were dying, at the hand of Zan. Rath was on Zan before he had a chance to react, or even realize that he'd come into the room. Anger of a man whose life had just been destroyed ran through his veins. Zan tumbled to the ground with a broken neck.
Rath fell to his knees beside Ava and pulled her into his arms. "My love..." He whispered pressing his own hand against her swollen belly.
"My love." She murmured back, tearfully.
It wasn't long before guards came, the King's guards. They came for Rath and held a public execution for him. The king and his wife were buried in the palace cemetery, while the soldier's body was buried outside the gates.
Maria woke with a start, gasping for breath, screaming, and crying. Michael had dozed off moments before, but suddenly he was wide awake and gently gripping her shoulders. "Maria, Maria it's okay, you're okay. You're safe. Open your eyes, look at me." He tried to comfort her.
Slowly she began to calm down, her fingers were digging into his arm, keeping him close. "Where... where am I?"
"You're in the hospital. Hank nearly killed you." Michael gently touched the bandage on her head.
Reality was beginning to come back to her and she looked down and saw the cast on her right hand. "Broken?" She asked and Michael nodded.
"You almost died Maria. There ... the amount of blood... a week, you spent laying in that closet, slowly bleeding to death."
"A week?" Her voice cracked.
"What happened?" Maria shook her head.
"I can't... I..." Tears started to roll down her cheeks. "I don't remember... I don't even know why. He always hit me... never a reason, but never like that."
"You're safe now, you're not going back there." Maria's shoulders began to tremble. "Maria, baby, you never have to worry about him again."
"That was the only home I had." She sobbed softly. "The only home I had, the closest thing I had to a father... and he almost killed me... he... hit me all the time."
Michael sat on the edge of the bed and gently pulled her into his arms. "You never deserved that. You have friends, and they love you, all of us will help you in any way you need. A place to stay, we'll help out. Sheriff Valenti said something about helping you get emancipated. You'll be able to get your own place, and you'll have a home."
"He should have left me in the desert." Maria whispered.
"What?"
"Sheriff Valenti. He should have just left me there. Four years old... fucked up from the start. He never should have picked me up."
"Stop talking like that Maria.' Michael said and she looked up at him and then shook her head and pulled away from him.
"Get away from me." Maria told him.
"Maria?" Michael reached for her again and she slapped his hands away.
"Leave me alone. Get out. Just... leave. I don't want you here."
"Maria." Michael didn't understand. He watched as she grabbed for the nurse call button and pressed her thumb down on it. Seconds later a nurse walked in and smiled at Maria.
"You're awake."
"Get him out of here." The nurse looked confused. She looked between the two and then nodded.
"I am sorry sir, but you'll have to come with me."
"No." Michael growled.
"Get out!" Maria yelled.
Jim Valenti appeared in the doorway a moment later. "Michael, come on." Finally Michael shook his head and left the room, and the nurse quickly checked Maria out before doing the same. Jim walked over to Maria's bed where she had curled up on her side. "I'm sorry." He told her softly and she lifted her head up to look at him.
"Why?"
"It is my fault you're with him." Jim reached out and gently stroked her hair.
"What do you mean?" Maria asked.
"I was the one that found you out in the desert.. Michelle and I were going to adopt you, we'd been talking about it for weeks before you ended up with Hank. Then she left. And I sort of forgot about everything else."
"You were going to adopt me?" Maria's voice cracked as she tried to imagine how different her life would have been had Sheriff Valenti been the one to take her in, rather than Hank.
"And I'm sorry for not. You're moving in with Kyle and me. No more foster homes. You're staying with us." Slowly Maria raised her left hand and found Jim's and squeezed it gently.
"Thank you." Jim nodded slightly.
"Why don't you want Michael in here?" Tears filled her eyes and she looked away. "Did he hurt you?"
She shook her head. "No... not physically anyways. I just... don't want him around."
"Alright." Jim nodded. "Do you remember what happened? Why Hank did this?"
She shook her head. "No... I... walked home from work. After an argument with Michael, and Hank was there... but... I don't remember what happened."
"Get some rest." She nodded a little and her eyes already started to slip shut instantly. He leaned down and kissed the top of her head gently and made sure the blankets were tucked in around her before exiting the room. He found all of her friends sitting in the waiting room anxiously awaiting news. "Kyle, you're going to need to clean your room."
Kyle frowned and shook his head. "What?"
"Maria is staying with us after she gets out of here."
"How is she?" Alex asked.
"She seems to be doing alright. She doesn't remember what happened with Hank. I'm going to put out an APB on him, and see that he never sees daylight again."
"Can we see her?" Isabel asked softly.
"I told her to get some rest, so I would wait a little while."
It was late the next evening when Maria's friends couldn't wait any longer to see her. She was sitting there, tapping her fingers against her cast, wishing she could heal it, when Alex walked in the door. "Hey sweetie." He said walking over to her.
"Alex..."
"Look, I'm sorry. I just want to say that. I should have told someone, regardless of what you said."
"I wouldn't have admitted it, Alex. You know I wouldn't have. It wouldn't have done any good." Alex sighed softly and leaned down to kiss her forehead. "You are my best friend Alex, and I love you, you know that right?" She asked softly and he nodded.
"I know." He said and tucked some hair behind her ear. "I love you too, Maria. And you'll be fine now."
They each took their turns coming in. Isabel chattered on about school assignments, and cheerleading. Tess talked about how much she had missed joking around about other girls with Maria. Liz talked about work, and reassured her that when she was ready to come back she was more than welcome, while Max sat in silence. Kyle told Maria that he'd set up the room for her, and it was all okay as long as she didn't leave her girlie stuff all over the house. Which Maria had laughed softly at and reassured him that he had nothing to worry about.
"What is he doing here?" Maria asked seeing Michael through the window, lurking in the hallway.
"He's worried about you." Kyle told her.
"I don't want him around."
"What did he do Maria?" Kyle asked her, and watched as her jaw trembled and she shook her head.
"He just needs to leave."
"Okay, okay, I"ll get him out of here." Kyle squeezed her hand gently. "Doctors say you'll be out tomorrow morning. If dad is busy with work, I'll come and pick you up alright?" Maria nodded a little and curled up on her side on the bed. Kyle watched her for a moment before walking into the hallway. "Come on Guerin, let's go for a walk." Once outside Kyle asked the question everyone wanted to know. "What did you do to her?"
"I don't know, man. Honestly. Things were fine, then she just started freaking out, yelling at me. Wouldn't let me touch her..." Michael bowed his head and shoved his hands in his pockets. "That night ... before she went home. I grabbed her. I just wanted to know what was wrong, and I grabbed her arms."
"Nice going, she is living in an abusive household, and you grab her."
"I didn't know Kyle, and you know that, so don't be a dick. She was mad at me before I did that, so I don't know what I did." Michael shook his head. "You know I would never hurt her."
"Apparently you did... but she won't say what you did."
The next day Jim took Maria home and helped her get settled in. He showed her were everything was, and told her to get plenty of rest. "I've got to head back off to work. I told Kyle to come straight home from school. So you'll only be alone for a few hours. You going to be okay?"
"I'll be fine." Maria nodded as she looked around the house. It was warm, and it was inviting. It felt like it could be home.
"We'll find Hank, Maria. He will pay for what he did to you." She nodded, a little forced. Jim came forward and pressed his lips softly against the top of her head. "Take it easy alright? Call if you need anything." Jim turned around and headed for the door, leaving Maria standing in the middle of the room.
"Jim?" Her voice came out unsure. He turned and looked at her.
"Yeah Maria?"
"Thank you. For... everything." He gave her a half smile and nodded before leaving the room.
Maria watched him go and then slowly began to walk around the house. Looking at things, touching things. It was a home. There were pictures. Some of Kyle as a kid, and as he aged, some with Jim, some without. She picked up a picture of the two of them, Kyle had to be about eight years old in it. She touched a blank space between them and watched as a picture of herself developed into the picture. About six years old, with a big smile on her face.
She smiled a little and clutched the frame to her chest as she continued through the house. She walked into the kitchen and smiled at the curtains hanging from the window. She could have grown up here. She wished she had. Maria turned around and screamed when she saw Hank standing before her. "No!" She screamed and opened her eyes. Hank wasn't there. The frame was laying on the ground broken, the glass shattered.
Maria sighed and knelt down on the floor. She held her hand over the frame and it slowly began to reform itself. The glass pieces melded back together. The frame back to its original shape. And her picture disappeared from the original. She put the frame back on the shelf and walked down to Kyle's bedroom, that was now her bedroom and crawled beneath the sheets.
After school Kyle headed back to the house and knocked softly on the bedroom door. "Yeah?" He heard a voice from inside. He pushed open the door and smiled a little.
"How are you doing?"
"I'm okay." Maria nodded.
"Good... you want some company?" Kyle asked and Maria laughed softly.
"You don't need to babysit me Kyle, I'll be fine."
"I'm not here to babysit. I am here because you are my friend, and I'm worried about you." Kyle walked over and sat on the edge of the bed.
"I'm okay. Really."
"Then is it okay if everyone comes over? Watches a movie? You could come join us?"
"Not Michael." Maria shook her head as she sat up.
"What did he do Maria? Why are you so mad at him?"
She opened her mouth, and then closed it and shook her head. "I don't want to talk about it." Kyle sighed.
"Maria, he doesn't even know what he did. Maybe if you talk about it, we can help?"
"It isn't anything important, it's stupid, but I don't want to be around him, ever again."
"Okay, Maria, whatever you want." Kyle sighed and stood up. "You want to come and watch a movie?"
"No, thanks." She said laying back down and curling up on her side.
A few days had passed and Maria still wasn't ready to go back to school. She wasn't ready to face it. Besides, she hadn't completely healed. Her wrist would be in a cast for three more weeks. And every one knew, so she couldn't just heal anything. She was laying on her side, a CD hovering over her left hand as it played. Pretty much everyone had taken up residence at the Valenti's and spent most of their time there, hovering over Maria. Part of her wanted to tell them to just leave, but part of her was thankful for it.
"Hey Maria, I brought you your notes, and assignments." Isabel said as she walked into the room. Isabel froze at what she saw. A CD, hovering over Maria's hand, suddenly felt into her palm. Maria looked over at her, panic written on her face. "Sorry... didn't mean to... barge..."
"Thanks..." Maria trailed off and sat up and held her hand out to Isabel to take the papers.
"You..." Maria quickly looked down at the CD in her lap. She reached down and held it on the palm of her hand. A moment later the CD was hovering over her palm again, Music began pouring from the CD. "You're..." Isabel opened her mouth and then closed it again.
"I'm the fourth." She whispered.