Wow that was difficult. Here's another chapter full of drama.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy and thank you for all the reviews you guys left me for the last chapter.
Chapter 13
Anne had been a nurse for many years. She'd seen the lot, bored old men moaning at her, nervous mothers shouting at her, drunken old men throwing up on her, she'd seen everything. However nothing could have prepared herself for this night.
She was fairly new to the psych ward and so had only been assigned to a few patients.
That night it was chaotic in the ward. It was one disturbance after the other. She wasn't supposed to be on duty but it had been so hectic that she had been called in. Her husband was not amused but she couldn't bring herself to say no, especially after hearing Martha's flustered voice on the phone.
Whilst most of the nurses were assigned to helping the men who were causing the trouble, she was in charge of checking to see if the other patients were alright.
She quietly opened each door of each patient. She was about to give the go ahead that they were all alright when she heard a muffled sob coming from the room across the way.
She frowned, the sign outside the door read "Ryan Atwood." He must have been pretending to be asleep when she'd checked. She remembered Martha mentioning that something awful had happened to him. Another sob brought her across the hallway and she turned the door handle, quietly.
She could feel her heart constricting at the sight before her. He was huddled into a little ball and was shaking slightly.
"Ryan, are you okay?" she asked gently, moving further into the room and putting a carefully controlled hand on his shoulder.
She gently rolled him over and she frowned at the tears that were rolling down his cheeks. Martha had said that he was having trouble talking about what had happened and showing his emotions. This was definitely a show of emotions.
She turned on the bed side lamp and he squinted up at her.
"Are you ready to talk?" she asked gently.
She sat down in the chair, trying not to be too intimidating and gave a soft smile when he nodded. It had only been a slight nod but it was a nod nonetheless.
She could see him physically bracing himself and it was obvious how scared he was.
"Just take your time Ryan, I'll stay with you, you're not alone."
He opened his mouth a couple of times and she waited for him to gather enough courage. Her eyes flittered to the bandages that covered his wrists and her breath caught in her throat.
"I…" he started and she held her breath, seeing whether he would continue. She wasn't a shrink, she was a nurse but right now this kid just needed someone to listen.
She saw his sweat soaked bangs and her fingers itched to brush them away from his face but she didn't want to risk physical contact.
"I don't like it here." he stated, swallowing thickly when he had finished.
She continued to wait for him to speak.
"It reminds me of there…" he broke away, his eyes roaming around the ceiling.
"Where, Ryan?" she asked quietly.
His eyes turned to her confused.
"The… the room they kept me in. I couldn't get out and there was always lots of shouting outside."
She frowned; Martha hadn't told her anything about this.
"Tell me more about the room." she prompted, trying to keep him talking.
He paused and she thought for a moment that she'd pushed too far and he wasn't going to continue.
"It was so dark and there were no windows. They didn't want me to be found. It was too dark for me to find my way out. The light would only come on when they came in. I could hear rustling in the dark and I couldn't move away from the rats." he shuddered at the memory and Anne found herself shuddering with him. His words were coming out quickly and slightly jumbled.
"They'd only come in one at a time and I could hear them flipping a coin or gambling before they came in. The one with glasses wasn't as bad as the others. He used to bring a piece of bread in with him but he was the touchy feely one. He'd come in the least, I used to long for him to come… I was so hungry but then I'd feel awful afterwards."
His voice was thick with the tears that were creeping down his face.
Anne felt herself cringing inside.
"The worst one had a beard. He… he liked me to beg but would hurt me anyway. He'd come in the most… I guess he was the best gambler."
"How many men were there?" she asked.
"I don't know. New ones would come in all the time. One of them told me that Kirsten had planned it all and that she wanted me gone. I didn't want to believe him… but I mean… how did he know her name?" his voice shook.
Anne had seen Kirsten or "Mrs Cohen" coming into the hospital to visit. She could always be seen calming her composure before going into his room and then crying into her husband's chest afterwards. She was polite to the staff and everyone respected her. She couldn't even imagine her arranging all this evil to happen to Ryan.
"Ryan, look at me. I have seen Kirsten coming in and out of the hospital. She doesn't look the type to arrange this sort of thing. Sometimes men like that say those sorts of things on purpose to upset you."
Ryan looked at her and she could feel his eyes burning into her.
"I think it would be easier if I just disappeared out of the Cohens' lives." he hesitated and Anne could see fresh tears running down his cheeks. It was clear sensitive this topic was for him.
"Is that why you tried to kill yourself?" It was really just her thinking out loud and she immediately regretted it. She winced as his head shot up in surprise.
She frowned when he nodded slightly, avoiding her glance.
"It's just… I cause so many problems. I have always caused problems, ever since I started living with them." He choked back a sob and she took his hand gently.
"I'm sure they don't think that. I can see every day how much they care about you." she felt him grip her hand tighter as he fought against his tears.
They both sat in silence, neither saying anything more. She sat with him till he finally fell asleep.
xxx
When Kirsten and Sandy came into the hospital the following day, they were surprised to be greeted by a woman that they had really only seen fleetingly before.
They were ushered into a small office, where Ryan's doctor was waiting. The nurse stayed in the room with them and Kirsten noticed how exhausted she looked.
"Good morning Mr and Mrs Cohen." The doctor smiled at them and shook their hands.
They politely returned the greeting and sat down across from her.
"I have some excellent news for you to begin the day with. Ryan made some outstanding progress last night with Anne here. He told her a lot about what happened while he was kidnapped and why he resorted to hurting himself."
Kirsten felt her eyes widening in surprise.
"What did he say?" she asked, fearing the answer.
The doctor smiled at her. "I'll leave you with Anne while I go on my rounds. Anna isn't his doctor but there is still some patient confidentiality involved. She'll tell you what you can."
She got up and nodded at Anna to come forwards.
xxx
Ryan was so tired.
He couldn't believe how much he had revealed to that nurse the night before. He felt embarrassed by how much emotion he had let out whilst talking to her. His father would have beaten him black and blue if he had known.
He looked at the clock on the wall and saw that his shrink was late. Maybe the nurse had spoken to her. He stretched out in his bed; it was nice to get a lie in.
He wondered when the Cohens would be arriving today. He was worried that the nurse would tell them the real reason why he had hurt himself.
He didn't know how he was going to face them.
He leant his head back and closed his eyes. He wanted to get rid of the growing pit of anxiety settling in his stomach.
tbc…
Thanks for reading :)