AN: Hey guess what a miracle happened last night. Stephenie Meyer bequeathed all rights to the Twilight Saga to ME! Yah really and then I woke up. Uh hu none of this is mine. Oh and Infra red ain't mine either it belongs to Placebo.
Somebody Call an Ambulance
Infra red by Placebo
I came down to wish you an unhappy birthday
someone call an ambulance
there's going to be an accident
I'm coming up on infra red
There's no running that can hide you
cuz I can see in the dark.
"Isabella, Isabella, got to wake our Isabella" Abigail and Connie sing in their annoyingly high pitched off key little voices to the tune the little talking mice sing in Cinderella. I am so going to have to talk to Katherine about restricting their TV time, or at least their Disney time. Or I will kill them. A maniacal smile forms as I seriously consider doing just that. My mental status at this time is highly questionable.
"Shut. Up." I growl smashing my pillow over my head hoping to muffle the continued auditory torture. No such luck, their dog whistle squealing voices cut through my cheap polyester filled pillow easily. "Urg." I shout sitting up abruptly and throwing my pillow at the nearest curly red bed headed child. "Shut. Up!" I repeat as if they did not hear me the first time!
"Ooh, I'm telling Miss. Katherine and your going to be in so much trouble! Your not allowed to use that word!" Connie screams crying as she holds her head in her hands pretending that I hurt her with the stupid pillow.
"I'm telling Miss. Katherine that you hit Connie on the head!" Abigail adds to the now deafening screaming in the room. And to think, once I was an only child. No, I'm not letting my mind go there today. I have to get ready for school, a trip down dead end memory lane isn't going to get me through the day. The twins charge out of our room, probably off to find Katherine and happily report my "abusive behaviours". That's all I need today.
At least the noise left with them. It's never fails to amaze me how after 14 hours of, pain killer induced, unconsciousness I can have a headache. Throwing myself over the side rail of my bunk bed I land with a thud on the hard satillo tile floor, my feet collapsing out from under me. My ankle throbs mercilessly announcing yet another trip to the ER most likely. Shit. Just what I needed. Tears trail down my face caused not only by the burning throb of my ankle but the raw festering sore that I used to call a heart that I so carelessly ripped open by allowing myself to think about them yesterday.
"Isabella," Katherine sighs as she walks through the door to my shared room. "You know I am going to have to write this incident down in your file right. You can't keep yelling at the girls, and hitting them, even with a pillow, is highly inappropriate." Finally she looks around the room trying to find me. She gasps seeing me curled up on the floor looking pretty pathetic clutching my right leg with my red face puffy and tear streaked. Yah, I must be a sight to behold. "Oh my God, what happened? Are you alright?" Her tone instantly changing to one more sympathetic and less authoritative . I've never really been able to look at Katherine as an authority figure considering she is only six years older than myself.
"Oh the twins didn't tell you they threw me off my bed?" I reply causticly watching her face turn to a look of utter horror. I try keeping my face straight but I can't stop the sarcastic smirk fighting for dominance. "God, I'm kidding." I sigh, she is so gullible. "I tried to jump off the side of my bed and my feet didn't want to cooperate." I explain reluctantly. The last time I accidently hurt myself she about freaked on me. I thought she was going to pass out at the sight of the puddle of blood on the kitchen counter. Of course I did get out of kitchen duty permanently for that one, her fear of me ever touching another sharp object has greatly reduced the time I spend doing chores.
"Can you walk on it?" She asks concern deeply creasing her brow making her look years older than she is.
"You know, your going to wrinkle prematurely if you keep scowling like that." I answer trying to break the tension. I don't mean to be such a bitch to her, but sometimes it just comes out. Then of course I feel like crap, I think that's what the last genius shrink they had me going to called Reactive Attachment Disorder, or RAD for short. God if I were only born twenty years earlier that would have been really "cool". Her face morphs into an expression of anger for the briefest of seconds before she visibly puts on her 'I'm in control here' face.
"Yah, I think I can walk." I reach over taking her hand to pull myself up putting the lightest amount of pressure possible on my foot. "AHH fuck!" I yell at the top of my lungs grasping desperately to her shoulders to keep from falling as fire shoots up my leg. The pain is unbelievably intense. "God! That hurts!"
Katherine sits me down on Abigail's bed lifting my legs making me lie down with my foot elevated on two nasty slobber stained pillows. "I'm calling the ambulance. Don't even think about moving."
Yah, like I could. Oh man, the faint smell of urine makes my stomach nauseous. Fury flows freely in my veins as I realize my butt is no longer dry. Damn it, Abigail wet the bed again, and guess who's sitting in it. Today is definitely not my day. The fire in my leg is still unceasing in its ferocity but I will not sit here in a puddle of someone else's urine! Pushing myself up I swing my legs off the bed. The pain shooting through my lower body is so intense it nearly makes me black out. Stars cloud my vision as the flames lick my body all the way to my lower spine. Ahh shit, this hurts. I try to gently easy myself to the floor and scooch over to my dresser pulling my injured leg behind me. Several pairs of boys boxers are folded neatly on the left side of my bottom drawer with a stack of wife beaters on the other side. I grab a clean pair of shorts and a fresh shirt. Pulling my shirt off I pray none of the boys choose right now to walk down the hall seeing as how the door is standing wide open and I'm sitting here topless in all my glory. I quickly pull the new shirt over my head tossing the nasty wet one back on Abigail's bed, she can wash it, after all it is her pee. I know I won't be able to change my shorts on my own but maybe a nurse at the hospital will help me.
"Isabella! What are you doing on the floor! I told you not to move!" Katherine scolds loudly causing my head to throb in time with my leg.
"Abigail peed her bed again. You," I pause giving her the death stare. "Sat me in it." Between my embarrassment, my headache, and my ankle I really don't feel much like being nice right now.
"Ooh, yuck. I'm sorry, I didn't think about that." She replies her voice softening a bit and her face expressing her apologies. "I called Jan and your CASA, they are going to meet you at the hospital. They had wanted to meet with you sometime today anyway."
"Great." I reply trying to hide my sarcasm. "Hey, I'm sorry. None of this is your fault. I'm just pissed." I finish quietly.
"Don't worry about it. Your hurt, of course your going to be in a bad mood." She answers, "Hey look at the bright side, you get to miss that Calculus test you were so worried about."
"Yup, there's always that!" I laugh genuinely happy to think about the short reprieve this mornings injury is buying me. Calculus is hell, really and truly created the devil himself, and taught by his evil minions.
Wailing sirens stop in front of the house and Katherine gets up off the floor to go open the door for the paramedics and escort them to my room. Two men enter my room with a gurney between them. Oh yes, my day just started looking a little better. Firefighter A leans down to introduce himself.
"Hi, my name's Embry and this," waving his arm toward his partner, "Is Jake. So tell us what happened." Oh I would definitely play doctor with these two.
"I fell." I answer smiling sweetly up at the two really good looking men standing over me looking down at me like I were a damsel in distress. Embry's dark eyes twinkle as a small smile forms on his lips.
"Really? Well let's get you up on the gurney so we can take a look at you." He replies. His strong arms glide under my bent knees and wrap around my back, his well defined muscles flexing under my weight as he easily picks me up and sets me on the gurney. "We need to check your stats real quick then we'll be on our way."
The man he had introduced as Jacob looks down upon me smiling brightly as he places a blood pressure cuff on my arm. "It's just going to hug your arm a little. Try to stay as still as you can." How I manage to keep a straight face I don't know. The thought of this gorgeous man repeating verbatim what countless haggard over worked and cranky nurses have told me my entire life strikes me as absurdly amusing. To my great relief once my vitals were duly recorded Jake reached below the gurney bringing the back up to a sitting position before signaling for Embry to lead the way out to the "bus". The team loads me gurney and all easily into the back of the ambulance. Jake climbs up beside me fastening a single seat belt over my abdomen and rechecking the brakes on the gurney before shutting the entry doors as Embry starts the engine, thankfully leaving the blaring siren off.
"So Isabella, how did you really do this to yourself?" Jake asks in a voice resembling the deep resonating sound boulders make when breaking free from their mountainous perch. MMM I could listen to that voice all day.
"Really, I told the truth. I fell. Not much to it, I manage a ride to the ER about every other month. It's a gift really. Not many people are as talented as I am in the art of self inflicted injury." I reply lightly.
Jake's laughter reverberates from the metal sides of the ambulance. He simply shakes his head giving me occasional amused glances. The remainder of our ride is disappointingly quiet and quickly comes to an end. No more is said as I am unceremoniously wheeled through the ER to my room. I wave to a few nurses I recognize from my frequent visits.
"Back so soon Isabella? I thought we wouldn't see you for at least another week." Alison says waving as we pass.
"You are a regular here aren't you?" Jake teases after I've waved to the discharge nurse.
"Told ya." I reply. "Honestly though, I only come for the food." His face contorts in disgust as he teasingly lays his hot hand against my forehead as if to check for fever. "Really you should try it sometime. You'll never taste anything like it anywhere else."
"I'll take your word on it. I like my stomach lining just the way it is." He says between suppressed laughs as he lifts me easily from the portable gurney to the hospital bed, setting me down gently. He covers my legs with a white blanket folded at the foot of the bed tucking me in as if I were a small child. "Take care of yourself kid." He says seriously as he backs the gurney out the door and disappears down the hall leaving me alone in the indescribably depressing white hospital room. Nothing could be worse than this silence, watching the worker bee hospital staff fluttering around outside my door carefully avoiding looking toward the open door for fear of making eye contact and possibly being flagged down, well maybe one thing could be worse.
"Oh Isabella!" A continually congested nasally voice exclaims from my doorway. Speak of the father of sin himself, here she is. Jessica Court Appointed Special Advocate from hell. I swear this goody two-shoes wanna be candy striper soccer mom is a blight on the structure of family law, and those who are bound by the statutes of such law. Namely me. She's been a thorn in my side since she was appointed my case. "What did you do to yourself this time!"
"I. Fell." I answer simply tuning out the endless prattel this simple statement has unleashed. I stare at her wondering if she is related in some strange way to the woman who does the voice for the teacher from the old Peanuts cartoon movies. 'wah wah wah wah wah'. Leaning my head to the side and crossing my eyes just slightly I can kind of see a resemblance. They could be sisters.
"Oh good I see Jessica is already here." A much more lets get down to business voice states. Ah thank god Jan is here, she's the only person who can get Jessica to ever shut up! "Have they taken you to radiology yet?"
"NOPE" I answer popping the p with an exaggerated smile. "No one's been in here, except for the really hot paramedics. I think they were Native American, very nice." I reply with exaggerated enthusiasm smiling slyly, lowering my brow, and nodding my head approvingly knowing Jan gets flustered easily with any topic even slightly related to sex. Oh yes there it is, the tell tale blush, I've crossed the line, next comes the stuttering.
"Wwwell, that's nnice." She answers taking a deep breath to calm herself before continuing. "Ahem, Jessica, would you mind going and finding a doctor. If you can't find anyone tell Alison at the discharge desk that Isabella is still waiting to be seen." Jessica happily runs off do as she's told just like a good little volunteer should. I half expect her to lean into Jan to get her head pet on the way out the door. Pathetic.
"Well, that should buy us ten minutes of peace." Jan says sounding relieved. "Now why did I think you needed a CASA again? No, don't answer that." She interjects quickly stopping my smart elek reply before I could even open my mouth, she knows me too well. "I have something important to speak to you about. Without a third party." She tilts her head toward the door with a wink.
"Alright, shoot. I'm a captive audience." literally. I can't go anywhere so why not; its the perfect time for a lecture.
"You know the state of Arizona only provides care for children in the foster care system till the age of 18. As far as the state is concerned you have one month from yesterday to find housing and move out on your own." Jan states not bothering to hide her agitation.
"But school's only been in for two weeks. I still have a full year before I graduate." I ask shocked; I guess I had always assumed I would be cared for till I graduated at least.
"I have some good news for you." She replies in a more confident tone, obviously having heard something she wanted to hear in my reply. Hmmm might it have been the desperate unstated pleading for help. Nothing boosts the ego like a good serving of begging. "I've found a small program for kids coming out of the foster care system nation wide who, because of extenuating circumstances are not able to be self supportive at this time. I think it will be a good fit for you."
"So what's the catch?" I ask knowing nothing is as simple as it seems, especially when dealing with government programs.
"No catch. Like I said this is a small program, privately funded and operated. I've chatted with the program managers about your case; they seem to think you would be a good fit. You will of course have to keep your grades up, help around the house, and be involved with the community. They expect each participant to donate at least one hour to community service per week." Jan explains.
"So what, is this like another group home?" I ask. It doesn't sound so bad, better than trying to support myself and go to school at the same time.
"It's more like a managed independent living situation. You would live with three other girls in an apartment of your own. You would be supervised by the managers of the program on a daily to weekly basis as needed, but you would be living on your own." Jan answers hope written clearly in her eyes.
She knows my answer already. "So where do I sign up?"
A broad smile lights her face making her look much younger. "Right here. I was hoping you would agree. They said the could only hold the spot for you for three days. I'll get this faxed off today."
She hands me a small stack of paperwork to read and sign. Wait a minute. "It's in Washington?" I almost scream. Her face falls slightly at my outburst.
"You don't want to move?" She asks sounding resigned and disappointed.
"No no, I'm just surprised is all. I just thought I would be staying in Phoenix." I answer quickly trying to reassure her. "When do I leave?"
"Well we need to set up a school transfer, and get your file sent over to Dr. Cullen in Washington. I would guess no later than next Tuesday. How does that sound to you?"
"Great!" Good bye Arizona! Adios! I never thought the idea of leaving my past behind would sound so appealing. Only six days to freedom!
AN: This story is not meant to be an expose on the flaws of the foster care system. If you are a Court Appointed Special Advocate or a Social Worker for children in the system I applaud you! I owe much to "The System" so please no offense is meant. This is simply a work of fiction.
As always, please review let me know what you like, or what I can improve upon. Sneak peaks for those who throw me a quarter.