Carlisle Cullen was sorting out the cupboards at the school that he was visiting, the school nurse had taken vacation, so the school contacted him. He had to help out, he also had a funny feeling about something as well.
He noticed a box that was labeled, he took the small black box out and read the label, 'sinful bastard.'
He opened it to find dirty needles that looked like they've been used more than once.
There was a small knock and he turned around, smiling at the child that had come for their shot.
But the child that was standing in front of him was not who he had in mind….
It was his sweet little goddaughter, Kairi. He has not seen her in the past year after she went mysteriously missing after her mother's death.
He was so overjoyed that he didn't notice how she was standing, he made a move to bring her into his arms until she flinched violently from him as if expecting someone was going to hurt her.
"Kairi?" he asked, kneeling down to her size. "It's me, Carlisle?"
Kairi didn't look up but kept her glance down to the ground. So he took her chin gently and tipped her head up so she was looking at him.
But the sight he had been expecting wasn't what he was actually seeing…
Kairi's face was covered in cuts and bruises, even her eye had a blackness around it like if someone had punched her more than once.
"Kairi, did someone hurt you?"
But she shook her head in denial, he sighed. "Are you here for your shot?"
A flash of fear flashed across her face, but she controlled her emotions and she once again shook her head at him.
But he didn't miss the tears. "Kai, sooner you get it done, the sooner it's over."
She shook her head again.
"Kairi, please, let me do this. I promise it will be quick."
This isn't like Kairi, he knew it's been a year since he last saw her but Kairi wasn't afraid of needles usually.
"Kairi….can I at least remove your coat and jumper while I tend to it?"
She nodded slowly, he moved slowly to remove the coat and the jumper. But his undead heart freezes in concern and he is now suspicious about what's going on with his little goddaughter.
Carlisle touched her shoulders as he saw the unshed tears in her eyes.
"Kairi, is someone hurting you?" he asked, trying to get her to look at him. "Tell me, sweet angel. And they will get into trouble for it."
He then notices marks around her wrists, as if someone had tied her up or something like that nor did he miss how there was a hand print around her skinny neck.
But that is another thing, why does she look so skinny and small? She looked like she was the size of a 3 year old instead of 5.
"Kai, has someone tied you up?" he asked, taking her small shoulders in his hands, giving them a reassuring squeeze. Another flash of fear came across her face and she shook her head violently, her eyes blinking at him.
He knows she's lying, but he can't force her to tell him the truth when she is scared of her abuser.
"Okay, I'll be quick, I promise." he said. He got it ready and went to kairi, who was watching his every move with her eyes full of mistrust. He puts it in her arm, which earned him a flinch, but she didn't cry or anything and he pushes the medical liquid into her.
"There we go, all done, sweet angel." he said. She nodded and put her coat back on.
He sat beside her. "Kai-"
"Can I go now? I don't want to be late."
Her voice sounded so sad, broken. A five year old child shouldn't sound like that and it broke his heart into two hearing her speak like that.
"Of course, sweet angel. I'll come to check on you later." he said.
"No, you got better things to do than to worry about a sinful bast-ard" she said and left before he could snap out of his shock at what she just told him.
If he wasn't suspicious before, he certainly is now. Was Kairi being abused? If so, how serve was it?
But more importantly, who was abusing her? He knows Kairi won't tell him who is abusing her, she was too frightened of her abuser.
He put his hands on the desk, closing his eyes in deep thoughts.
"Lauren…tell me how I should gain her trust….who did this to her?"
He sighed, he did the rest of the kids and soon enough it was lunch time. Carlisle went to the dinner hall, scanning the room for his little goddaughter and he found her sitting at a table with the little girl, Terra Brandford and Zidane Tribal.
He walked to them, listening into their conversation.
"Please, Kai. just take my rice, you know I really don't enjoy rice anyway." Terra begged Kairi.
"Yeah, Kai. Besides, if you really want to be a writer or a dancer, you gotta eat something. Dancers are strong so they can do crazy stunts, while eating is good for your mind to help you to write. You can have Tina's rice and you can have my soda." Zidane said.
Carlisle had to smile, it was nice to know she has two good friends. "He's right, Kairi."
The three children looked at him. Zidane then smiled. "See? Told ya so."
Carlisle sat beside Kairi, who was refusing eye contact with him. "They're right. Besides, you need to eat due to your condition, you know that."
"Condition? What condition?" Zidane asked, then he let out a low whistle. "If Eun-Byul or Davina were here listening to that little hidden detail, someone would be in trouble."
"They gone now, it doesn't matter any more." Kairi said in a broken voice.
Carlisle looked at her sadly, wondering what had happened to her other two friends.
'Kai, you know that Bill-butt sent Davina and her family to their own world and Eun-Byul's foster parents sent her back to korea. You know that." Zidane told her.
"Your friend is right, I'll get you something to eat." he said.
But Carlisle just wanted to bring her home to their family in Alaska, to erase her pain, but until she learned to trust him enough to tell him what's going on, there is no way he'll be able to take her.
He went and brought her some food, encouraging her to eat, she didn't eat much due to running off in tears.
Carlisle sighed, Kairi was in a bad state mentally. Has someone forbid her from eating anything? But why didn't she get something to eat to begin with?
"Kai's money gets stolen all the time." Terra said sadly. "We do what we can, but half of the time, it's never enough."
"I see, I'll go and talk to her." Carlisle said, comfortably.
Carlisle leaves the dining hall and heads to the first place in his mind, the library. Kairi always did love to read, she was only three when she started to read books like Roald Dahl.
He looked around the library and he found Kairi huddled in a corner, looking at a picture book, but she doesn't seem to be focusing on the picture or the words. She looked to be in deep thought.
He knelt down, judging on how she was tensing up, he knew she was aware that he was there.
"Kairi, what's going on, sweet angel?" he asked.
"Nothing." she said quietly.
"I think we both know that's a lie." he said, fondly. Kairi was never good at lying. She blinks too much when she does and she blushes as well.
But she didn't deny her lie, so he sat down beside her, bringing her into a gentle hug. Bit by bit, she relaxes in his hold and he plants a small kiss on top of her head.
Kairi suddenly tenses as she looks ahead and he looks to find the librarian with a teacher.
"Kairi, go to class, I will deal with you shortly." the teacher said, sweetly, that hurt his ears.
Kairi stumbled to her feet and ran out of the library, but Carlisle didn't miss the tears that were starting to fall out of her eyes.
"Was that absolutely necessary? She was being quiet." Carlisle said.
"Sin-Kairi is a very troublesome child, she needs discipline."
He wondered what she was going to call his goddaughter, whatever she was going to say, he didn't like it and Kairi was far from being a troublemaker. That girl was too gentle for her own good.
By the time it was hometime, he'd went to look for Kairi, but he saw her at the gates, was she limping? But what stopped him was that a man was there, advancing menacingly to her.
Carlisle was ready to step in between the man and his goddaughter, but something shocks him to where he stands. The man raised his hand toward the small 4 year old and backhanded her in the face. He may be speaking quietly, but Carlisle with his vampire hearing could hear what the man was saying to her.
"You stupid little slut. You were eating and that temporary doctor, what did you tell him?"
"No-nothing, I didn't tell uncle Carlilse nothing, I really didn't! I'm sorry, don't hurt me!"
"Oh-oh, I'm doing more than that, girl. I'm going to make your last punishment look like child's play." the man said in a deadly tone, he grabbed her wrist and dragged her with him.
Carlisle now has his fears confirmed, little Kairi was being abused. He didn't waste any time but to run after them, he found the house where Kairi's scent was coming from. But he also smelt blood.
No….. not Kairi. He didn't hesitate but to run in, he found the man, her adoptive father hitting her with a whip that has spikes over it, he pulled him away from him and knelt down to Kairi.
He cradles her in his arms, looking at her with grief. She was so much lighter than she should be. There were cuts, bruises, whip marks (most were new) and her lips were red, but from what he isn't sure why they look red like that.
Carlisle wasted no time but to leave the house before he ended up killing him, breaking his promise to never drink human blood.
Besides Kairi is what mattered to him at that moment and she was hurt, unconscious and who knows how bad her mental state really is.
The next few days were hard for Carlisle, he barely left Kairi's side as she slumbered peacefully in her coma. He didn't understand how any person could hurt Kairi in such a brutal way. She hadn't just been getting abused physically, but she was abused sexually and mentally.
She was going to need years of therapy. But Carlisle isn't sure if Kairi will ever recover completely from her trauma.
Suddenly, there was a groan and he looked at her to find her slowly opening her eyes.
"Kairi? Can you hear me?" he asked, taking her little hand into his cold ones.
"Can you try to open your eyes for me?"
Her blue eyes were looking at him with pain. He let out a relief and placed his hand on her head, smiling at her.
"How do you feel?"
Kairi just blinked her eyes, looking very dazed, like she wasn't completely at 100%. He just shakes her hair gently.
"Uncl…"
"Shh, it's okay, you're safe now." he said.
Kairi blinked at him in shock. "It over?"
Carlisle nodded. "It's over. He can't hurt you ever again. You're safe."
He picked up a piece of paper and he smiled. "Want to hear what this is?"
She shrugs hopelessly.
"To Kairi Hikari, your new guardians are Carlisle and Esme Cullen."
Kairi's eyes begin to water. "Me? You adopted me?"
"You do know what that means, right?"
She shook her head weakly and Carlisle smiled at her gently.
"It means Emmett is your big brother for real." he said and she let out a cry, it wasn't a cry of pain but of joy.
The next few weeks she was allowed home, Carlisle didn't want anyone at the hospital because he didn't want to overwhelm her too much.
But the long wait was finally over, he opened the car and picked her up and walked her into the house.
Emmett, of course, came running to them and took Kairi into his arms, hugging her. "Hey, there, Bambi!"
Kairi looked at him with startled eyes and she looked at Carlisle who nodded. "Just be careful with her, she still has a few stitches."
Esme stroked her hair, which Kairi gave a shy smile to, Alice and Rosalie gave her a wave, cooing at her.
Emmett put her down on the couch and he played a movie, some sort of disney movie, which had to be a nice change for Kairi.
She fell asleep in Emmett's arms, looking very peaceful. Carlisle went to pick her up, walked up the stairs and put her into bed in her new room that the girls had done for her for the past few weeks.
It is going to be a long road for her, but with the love, guidance and encouragement for their family, Carlisle just knew that she'd be all right…