Sorry for the long wait, honestly this chapter was kinda hard. I didn't know how to write it properly, but I finally finished it. It's a little short, but serves its purpose.
Not long as she had whispered her name, Misty's breathing shallowed once more as she grunted in pain. Asleep for a few days, yet wake up in pain and still tired. What a load of aggravation, yet she blamed none of it on the family that found her or the hospital people. They were only trying to help. It's her own damn fault for thinking that she could get away in the middle of winter. Why didn't she think ahead, why was she so stupid! Her thoughts were a losing battle, clearly her self-blame was overpowering and she mostly let it. Caroline and Norman had gone to collect the doctors, whilst May and Max remained near the injured girl in a bitter silence. Neither knowing what to say or and they certainly had no clue that she was blaming herself for everything.
Eventually, May cut through the awkward silence with a simple, if innocent, question. "S-so, Misty, w-was it? What were y-you doing out in the cold," her voice was filled with such awkwardness, it was clear that she was just trying to spark up a conversation to rid the room of the awful silence. However, Misty wasn't in the mood to talk as her bandaged side restricted her breathing a little. Plus, she didn't want to talk about the reasoning behind her escape. It'd just bring up bad memories and she was already a shell of her former self, without slipping further.
So, instead of responding, she managed a gasped whisper. "W-what's gonna h-happen?..." it was short, in a gasped breathe of air. Her lungs burned with air, as she struggled to move her arms in a desperate attempt to find a part of her not strung by pain. That's when she found her left ankle, untouched by the rest of her nerves and sensations. She couldn't feel it. Broken... she thought, tears near whelming up. In her attempt at escape, she had only caused more pain. What about the people that still loved her, why...did she run?...Because...I would have died if I stayed...o-one r-r-... even in her thoughts, her traumatic experience kept one desperate word behind stutters. Was enough to b-break me... she finished, not even caring about the lack of the word.
"Oh, we haven't thought much about it..." May lied, through the grit of her teeth. The family had only just been fighting about it after all, the house was large enough to support one more mouth. She knew it personally, having her friends come over basically once a week without much of a warning sometimes. Sighing, she looked down at her hands that Misty noticed were cupped around a cat-like Pokemon with a crescent moon embedded in it's forehead's pink and white pattern. Seemingly noticing what Misty's eyes were trailing on, May formed a smile. "Oh, you wanna know who this is? She's my friend, a Skitty that my father adopted many years ago and I raised until today. She's not my only Pokemon, but she was my first."
Feeling a little less awkward talking to someone that was her own age, roughly. It was something Misty preferred over talking to Caroline, the older woman left her really worried about safety and being sent back... "O-oh...Eevee was my f-first Pokemon..." she whisper, deciding to talk about her own beloved friends. "She was a gift from my mother..." her voice slowed, sound fading away at the memory. Though, the sadness certainly wasn't the only reason, her voice had gone scratchy and rugged as her mind switched on with the desperate want to rest.
"So we have something in common, our first Pokemon were gifts from our parents?" May commented with a gentle smile, before she noted that Misty definitely wanted to rest up. With a quick decision later, she decided to hand some more water as she knew Misty needed to stay awake for when the doctors arrived. "I can see your tired, but we need to get you sitting up stably since the doctors will want to talk to you."
Whilst nervous about chatting with strangers, Misty nodded in slight and drowsy agreement. May shuffled the pillows beneath the girl's head and adjusted the tangerine haired trainer's body so that she was in a comfortable, but stable sitting position. Smiling, the brown haired Hoenn-decent nodded her head with satisfaction of her 'work'. Gently, she petted her Skitty's head as she prepared to continue talking. She also kept a firm eye on Max, who was sitting in the corner awkwardly. It was clear that the young boy had no clue what to say or do in this situation. Suddenly, she felt a movement in her hand as Skitty leaped onto the bed before she could stop her. "Ski-skitty!" the little kitten-like Pokemon cried out, sniffing and meowing at Misty for attention.
Even though she was surprised by the sudden Pokemon on her lap, Misty managed a smile and gently petted against the pink Pokemon's crescent moon. May sighed with relief. "I thought she was going to scare you, but you seem more relaxed with Pokemon than with humans..." she commented, trying to be as gentle and nice as humanly possible.
Pokemon didn't hurt me...except...bugs... Misty thought, not wishing to say her thoughts. She didn't know if she could trust May or her family yet, and she didn't want to reveal something that could potentially hurt them...as well as herself. Eventually, she forced a small whisper. "...Y-your name was M-may, r-right? W-why do you want to help me so much?...Y-you...don't know me..."
"It's not a case of helping someone familiar, Misty. Anyone would want to help someone when they were out in drastic weather like that or clearing hurting from a past event," May's smile was comforting, Misty had to admit that much. Suddenly, a noise caused the trio of children's heads to snap towards the door. Coming in, followed by a white-coated female doctor, were the parents of the Maple family.
The doctor was kind, even though she unnerved Misty, as she gentle asked questions. "So...miss Maple informs me that your name is Misty Waterflower, correct. I have looked at your background information. Your mother and father are divorced, and you were leaving with your father and three older sisters. Yet, you were out in the blizzard on your own..."
With fear drying her mouth and increasing her heart rate, Misty stayed silent and rigid. This resulted in a sign from the doctor. "Moving on from that, we found multiple cuts and bruises on your skin. Plus, damage to your left ear that likely has affected your hearing," well that must have obvious to the tangerine haired girl, she just hoped that the doctor hadn't found out the rest. She didn't want to hear it, didn't want to, didn't wan- "...We also found severe damage in the pelvic region, likely from an assault."
That did it, like a deer in headlights, Misty's eyes widened and she just froze with glimmers of tears in her eyes. She didn't want to relieve that, not again...she just stood there shaking in paranoia. She half-wished to go back to that horrid place, anywhere but here. Reliving the nightmare all over again. Why was she stupid, she now wished she had never called out for help. Dying in the cold would have been quicker and painless, unlike this. I just want to die...
For the briefest of seconds in her frigid state, she could see the horror merged into May's blue eyes. Must have been a shocker, finding out that the girl she had been helping had been raped. As she came back into reality, she could hear the doctor saying something though her right ear barely picked any of it up. Besides a single phrase that stood out. "Luckily, the assault hasn't resulted in pregnancy. However..." Misty forced her tear-stained cheeks upwards as she strained her ears. "You may not be able to have children, your uterus was damaged in an attack..."
That was what did it, it was strange as she was only 12 after all. But hearing that she could never be a mother to anything, but her Pokemon, just broke her and she let out a wail of pain. All this resulted in May gripping hold of her in attempt to calm the crying girl down, even though she too was quite shocked at this information. After all, Misty had said that she was her age. 12 years old. Being told you might not be able to have any children of your own, when loads of children love playing house or pretending to be each other's parents as a hidden wish of wanting to raise children of their own. To have that responsibility. In a second, she felt rage build up. Whoever had caused this had better get what was coming to them, though she didn't let this wish verbalize.
After her tear-ducts had dried up, Misty just kept herself latched onto May for any semblance of comfort. Even though she would regret it later, she needed something, anything, right now. Noticing this, the doctor brought herself to continue. "However, on a more positive note, you will be able to leave the hospital in the morning. Provided that you have somewhere to go," this little statement had caused May to freeze a little, to what Misty noticed. However she didn't care, she just wanted this nightmare to be over. For everything to be over...
Well, ain't that grim. Heh...Don't worry, following next chapter. We should be into a less dark territory.