Secrets

Chapter 3

Miranda's POV

I remember hearing familiar voices talking in a hushed tone before I opened my eyes. I stayed quiet and kept my eyes closed so I could listen to some of their conversation. It was hard to hear much of anything since everyone was whispering.

“… hasn’t said a word since she got here…”

“… cops need to talk to her… details…. catch this creep…”

“If I ever find this guy, I’m going to….”

“I can’t believe our baby is safe… I thought for sure…”

“… just need to be here and support her… not much we can do….”

The hushed voices silenced, and I heard a quiet knock on the door. I heard someone stand up and walk over to the door. It was quiet in the room. I couldn’t tell who had gotten up and left. I didn’t want to open my eyes since I could guarantee that everyone was watching me.

“Mrs. Calburn, my name is Detective Daniel Martin. I’m taking the lead on Miranda’s case. May I please have a word in the hall way?” It was a deep voice of a male and I didn’t recognize it. It wasn’t the officer that I had talked to before. “Miranda wrote down some of the things that happened. There isn’t much detail, but if you would like to read it, maybe you can give us and idea if you know the man responsible.” I could hear my mother take in a deep breath. I couldn’t tell if she was relieved or worried. I stayed still as her foot steps walked out of the room.

A few moments later, I heard Emily’s cheerful voice walk into the room. “How’s she doing today, sweetie?” I could hear the smile on Emily’s voice as she walked over to my bed. It sounded like she was hitting some buttons on the machines that were close.

“She hasn’t woken up yet. She hasn’t even seen Mom and Dad yet. Is there anything we can do? How can we help her?” Leena’s voice sounded distraught. I could tell that she was genuinely worried about me.

“Sweet heart, she’s been through a lot of trauma. Her body and mind are going to need some time to recover. Everyone recovers differently. I can’t imagine what she’s been through. Give her some time. She’s strong.” I could hear Emily pat Leena’s leg sympathetically. Emily stood and walked back over to my bed, adjusting my blankets and making sure that I was covered.

“Emily, I can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done. I was talking with one of the other nurses, and she told me that you check on Miranda every free moment you have. My family and I will be eternally grateful for everything that you have done.” I could hear some soft sniffles from Leena.

“There’s no need to thank me sweetie. You know Leena, she reminds me a lot of my daughter, Rosalie.” There was a moment of silence. I knew that Leena wanted to ask questions but didn’t want to invade her personal space. I heard Emily take in a deep breath. “Come sit with me for a few minutes. I’ll tell you about her.” The two women in my room walked over to the chairs and sat down. Emily took in another deep breath before continuing with her story. “She was kidnapped. A couple years ago, well, more like 10 years ago. Time goes a lot faster that you can imagine. Rosalie had just turned 21 and she went to a party with some of her friends. That night, she never came home. I thought maybe that she spent the night at a friend’s house, even though it was really unlike her to let me know. When I tried calling her phone that morning, it went straight to voice mail. I was panicked. It was really unlike her to have her phone off. I called the police that afternoon, but they said since it hadn’t been 24 hours, so there was nothing they could do.”

I heard someone get up and grab some tissues from the counter. “Emily, I had no idea…”

“I don’t think anyone does.” There was a moment of silence and I could hear Emily trying to regain her composure. “After the 24 hours, I contacted the police again. They interviewed everyone from the party that night. No one had seen anything. They were great at first, answering my questions, organizing search parties and keeping me in the loop. After a while, the case went cold and they didn’t have any other leads. They told me there wasn’t anything else that they could do. That I should do what I needed to grieve and move on with my life. I was shattered. My daughter was my life. I didn’t have any family around to comfort me or help me through this. I was on my own. I never knew what happened to her and I probably never will.”

The room was silent again. I could feel my heart break. I decided to peek my eye open and see what was going on. Both their backs were turned towards me. I sat up and cleared my throat and they both jumped and turned around. Leena jumped up and was immediately by my side. She grabbed my hand and I gave her hand a squeeze. Emily stood up slowly, walked over to me and smiled. I don’t know if she was worried if I had heard everything, but her smile never faltered.

“Good to see you awake sweetie!” Emily’s voice was cheerful, and I could tell that she was genuinely happy to see me awake. She walked over to me and gave me a hug. “Are you hungry? They served lunch a little while ago, but I’m sure that I could get you something if you’d like.” She smiled at me and looked over to Leena.

“Yea Randa, what would you like?” She c****d her and smiled at me. I could still see the fear in her eyes, but she was really excited to see me awake. I knew that they were both trying to get me to talk, but I wasn’t quite ready for that. I just shrugged my shoulders. I felt really guilty as both of their faces fell at my lack of words.

“Not a problem sweetie. I’ll grab you a couple different things. You can have what you’d like. Leena, why don’t you stay here. Your mom and dad should be back at any time.” Emily smiled and headed out of the room.

“Thank you, Emily. For everything.” Leena smiled. Emily just nodded and continued on her way. Leena turned her attention back towards me, telling me about things I missed. I can’t believe how much person could miss in two years.

Someone came running in the room and before I could see who it was, I was being gathered into a big hug. “My baby! I’m so glad that you’re safe! I can’t tell you how much we’ve missed you!” My mother was crying, almost hysterical. She let go of her grip around me and held me by the shoulders. She was taking in all my injuries, scrapes and bruises. She sighed. I knew she felt guilty, but there was nothing she could have done. I just pulled her in for another hug and kissed her on the cheek. I finally felt like I was safe, just like the first time I moved in with them. They were my family.