Mike pov
I really needed to find a new trainee soon- or better up, a new care- worker. Since Shawn had ended up in hospital, one of us always had to be there, at the same time as someone needed to be here. Rob would come into Elm Tree House from eight to four today, give me some hours off, to go home, and just rest for a while- and then he´d do the same tomorrow for Gina to have some rest.
It was just over seven in the morning. I had after multiple hours awake finally gotten up, and now sat leaned backward in the desk- chair, with my feet on the desk, glasses on my nose, and papers I my lap- half- sleeping. I woke up with a start when the phone started ringing, and after some drowsy fumbling with the phone I put it to my ear.
"Mhm, Elm Tree House Mike."
"Is this Michael Milligan- owner of Elm Tree House?" A woman asked me in the phone.
"Mhm." I said drowsy, at the same time as I fumbled with getting out some papers from the floor.
"I´m Dr. Allison Walters," gosh, if she wanted to talk about Shawn, why didn´t she just talk to Gina? "I´m from Freeman hospital." Apparently not about Shawn, he was at another hospital.
"Mhm," I was still so drowsy I couldn´t think clear.
"Tonight, a girl who claims to be from Elm Tree House came in with an ambulance- her name´s Sophia Atkins." Right away- I was fully awake.
"What?"
"Some gang beat her up pretty badly, so we´d like you or another care- worker to come here as soon as possible," now, I was so awake I was making knots in the phone- cord, while trying to find the car-keys and cellphone.
"I´m on my way." I said, then hung up, and ran out to the living room, where George was sleeping in the so- actually- he had fallen out of the sofa and now laid on the floor. I shook his shoulder.
"George, George."
"Mhm."
"They called from Freeman, Sophia´s been brought in with ambulance- she got beat up by some gang. I´m going there, Rob´s coming in less than an hour- children shouldn´t be up before he gets here, but I need you to be awake and keep an eye on everything until he gets here."
"Yes, of course, say hi to her from me." George wasn´t completely awake yet, while I ran down the hall and to the car, and star… tried to start it, and I tried again, and again, and again.
"Come on… Come on old Betty please, I know I´ve been waiting too long to give you service but please NOT TODAY. I tried once again. "Come on old Betty, come on, I´ll give you service… PLEASE" The last words I shouted before I hit the steering wheel and opened the door to the car and ran inside.
"Car broke down." I said to George while looking for the keys for the bus.
"Take mine," I turned around, just to catch the keys for George´s car.
"Thank you." I breathed and then ran outside and to George´s car. There only was one problem- the steering system in George´s car was not what I was used to- and after accidently doing three hag peaks- without getting two meters, I hit the steering wheel and swore again, I walked inside- threw George his keys and walked to the office to get the keys for the bus.
"Mike?" I heard a voice behind me, I counted to ten not to lose it.
"Yes Molli?"
"Are you going somewhere?"
"Yes, they called from a hospital- Sophia´s there, and I need to go there to see if she´s all right."
"I wanna come with you."
"No Molli, maybe next time. But first I gotta go there myself. Maybe this afternoon okay?"
"Can you bring something for her?"
"Okay. What do you want me to bring?"
"Wait here," I heard Molli ran up the stairs, and into Sophia´s room, then I heard her come running down again, and when she came she held a plastic bag. Molli reached it to me. I thanked her for it and then ran out to the bus. I threw the bag at the passenger seat and then hit the gas. For about five, ten minutes I drove as fast as I could towards Freeman, well… until.
"Oh come on." I hit my head in the steering wheel and slowed down. Car- queue? Now of all times? Here? I hit the steering wheel and swore to myself. To have something to do. I got the bag Molli had given me and looked in it. It held professional materials for drawing, things I knew Sophia never could afford. Had Sophia been stealing? How had Molli gotten these things? I´d have to ask Sophia about these. I threw the bag at the seat again, and looked out, when I saw a police man outside the window. I rolled down the window.
"Hey, officer. Please, I need to get past this, please."
"If you´re late for work the answer´s no." The police man said without even looking at me.
"I work in a care home- one of my residents was brought in tonight with an ambulance, she´s at Freeman, I´ve already been delayed." Now- at least the man was looking at me.
"Please." I said.
"Wait here."
"I´m not going anywhere." I leaned back, waited no more than a couple of minutes before the same police man came back.
"My colleague is going to escort you to freeman´s. Good morning sir." I rolled the window up again and followed a police car for not more than five minutes until I rolled into the parking lot at Freeman´s. I got out of the bus, and walked into the hospital- only to turn around in the lobby because I´d forgotten the bag. When I´d finally got into the lobby having it all, the receptionist told me that Sophia was five stairs up, right, through a corridor, left, through another corridor and then right to go through a half corridor to find room number sixteen fifty six, I memorized it all and fifteen minutes later- after getting lost in Freeman´s endless corridors at least five times, I was finally outside the right room.
I slowly opened the door to the room, Sophia was alone in the room, she sat up in a bed, breakfast tray untouched in front of her. She turned her head when I came in, there were bruises- dark- blue, purple, almost black spots in her face and on her arms. I´d guess I couldn´t see them all.
"Sophia." I breathed. Then I walked over to the bed, I lifted my hand and stroke away some hair- tresses that had as usual fell down and gotten in Sophia´s eyes, but Sophia herself barely moved.
"What have they done to you?"
"Nothing broken, so guess they were going quite easy on me." I made a failed attempt to smile.
"Mike?"
"Yes?"
"Are you gonna kick me out from TDG now?"
"No…. of course not."
"But I almost killed Shawn."
"Sophia, listen to me…"
"No, you listen to me. I was the one hanging that snare in the cupboard, I don´t deserve to be there. I don´t deserve to be here at all. Maybe it would… just be the best for everybody if I was sent…. Back."
"No Soph, listen to me. Accidents happen- you never meant for anybody to hang themselves in it. It was an accident and you will under no circumstances be kicked out, not from Elm Tree House, not from England." Sophia didn´t answer me.
"Mike?" She almost whispered after a couple of minutes of silence.
"Mhm."
"Can you just hold me?"
"Of course kiddo." Sophia moved so I could sit down on the bed too, I sat and then laid my arms around Sophia´s shoulders and pulled her close to me. It was like something just broke then, almost from nothing, the girl was shaking out of violent sobs.
"Hey, hey." I rocked her. "It´s all right. I´m not letting anyone hurt you. It´s okay. Sch." I comforted her, I don´t know for how long we sat like that, but what happened next was that Sophia- simply fell asleep.
"She´s been awake all night." A nurse that came into the room. I nodded.
"I know." Sophia would always have nightmares- throw herself back and forth in her sleep- but not right now, as I held her, and listened to her slow breathing.
Okay… Swedish time, 1:06 A.M. Really need to get some sleep now. I so need someone like Mike now, I so need a hug, to cry, and someone to just- be there. Okay, ´nuff with the complaining. See ya next time.