A Hidden Truth

Emergency

[3rd person]

    Teddy pressed the hand towel against Juniper’s stomach as he waited for Gary to come help carry her to the truck. He didn’t understand how she could’ve hurt herself so badly and not woken up. Amber was clinging onto Tammy and Kelly was frantically looking around.

    “What happened?” He asked.

    “She started saying stop. It woke me up. Then she started clawing at her stomach while crying and saying that something hurt. It turned into screaming and woke everyone else. It took everything we had to keep her arms down. Once we managed to get her to stop fighting, she said she was sorry she was a bad girl and she would be good. Then she asked not to be punished anymore. Some of those cuts are real bad. That was why I sent Amber.” Tammy explained tearfully.

    She hated crying, but she couldn’t seem to stop. Juniper had never sounded like that before. Like she was completely broken. One of the things Tammy loved about Juniper was her strength and she couldn’t handle the weakness in the way she begged to not be punished.

    Gary entered the room and took Juniper from Teddy. He carried her out to the truck and put her in the backseat. Teddy went to put on some clothes, other than the shorts he was wearing. He stopped by the door and turned to the girls, who were in the living room now.

    “Stay here until mornin’ if you like. We’ll bring her back as soon as we can. I know how you worry, but havin’ too many people will only cause trouble. We’re headin’ out.” Teddy told them.

    “We’ll get her bedding washed and changed. I’m not going anywhere until I see her again.” Tammy said.

    He nodded briefly and left. Amber clung to Tammy and shook. Kelly didn’t seem to know what to do with herself.

    “Kelly, can you deal with blood?” Tammy asked calmly.

    She shook her head.

    “Amber, go sit with Kelly. I’ll go take care of the room. You two take care of each other.” Tammy whispered to her girlfriend.

    Amber squeezed her once and went to curl up with Kelly on the couch. Tammy went into the room and started stripping the bedding. She hadn’t realized the nightmares could be that bad. It seemed to surprise Teddy, too. This wasn’t healthy. Juniper needed professional help.

*** 

    Gary drove Teddy and Juniper to the county hospital. He carried her into the emergency room entrance and to the triage station. Teddy followed speaking to the nurse and filling out paperwork while someone brought a gurney out for Gary to put Juniper down on.

    She was still unconscious, but hadn’t made any sounds or said anything. He hoped it was the dreamless type and she wasn’t trapped in whatever went on in her head at night. They followed her back to a room.

    The doctor came in to examine her and they told him about her nightmares. He said it looked like she was trying to claw something out of her stomach. Most of the wounds were shallow, but two were deep enough to need stitches. He put in about ten stitches and gave them wound care instructions.

    Juniper woke up shortly after the doctor finished her stitches and seemed more tired than when she’d gone to bed. The doctor wanted to keep her until someone could come down for a consultation from psych. She agreed, leaving wouldn’t help.

    Teddy kept looking at her like he wanted to talk, but it wasn’t safe if they were going to keep her secret. Gary stood by him and stroked his hair. The curtain of the room was pulled back suddenly, revealing Hank and Marie-Rose.

    “She still had us listed as emergency contacts.” Marie-Rose said softly. “What happened?”

    “She has nightmares. Real bad ones.” Teddy answered with a glare at Hank. “Her friends weren’t able to stop her when she started trying to scratch up her stomach. She needed stitches.”

    Hank covered his mouth with his hand to conceal the small smirk he felt tugging at his lips. She deserved it for what she did to him. Her defiance, her cowardice, the way she acted like she didn’t need him, was how she’d earned it all. 

    He bet Jaxon wouldn’t be able to handle it for very long. Soon, even Teddy would start pushing her away if it was this bad. Everyone knew how selfish and self-involved Teddy could be.

    “Hi, Juni. Are you okay? Feelin’ better now the doctor stitched you up?” Marie-Rose asked.

    “Yes, mama. Are we goin’ home?” Juniper murmured. She’d started drifting and lost her grip on what was happening.

    “We can take you home.” Hank said softly. “If that’s what you want.”

    He wanted to have her within reach again. She wouldn’t fight as much with stitches in. She’d punished herself, he’d only have to let her know she was forgiven as long as she never did it again. Marie-Rose would back down soon. They wouldn’t leave him and he could have both women for his own. Hank loved the idea.

    “When the doctor discharges her, we’ll be takin’ her home. You don’t gotta stick around. We’ll see you on Sunday.” Teddy said in clipped tones.

    “If she wants to come home with us, then she’ll come home with us.” Hank responded.

    “You can’t come on the property where her home is, Hank. We’ll take her home.” Teddy replied.

    “She can stay in her old room until she’s healed up. Then her mama can bring her back to your house. If she wants to go back.” Hank smiled. “We have Kelsey and your mama has nothin’ to do all day. This way, someone can take care of her.”

    “I don’t have a job yet. I’m free to take care of her during the day. Jaxon will come stay with us and he can keep an eye on her at night. I’m sure you don’t want to pay Kelsey overtime or have to sleep alone in your bed while your wife stays with her daughter on the other side of the house.” Gary returned his smile.

    They stood and watched each other carefully. Hank wondered how much Gary and Teddy knew. In the past, Teddy caught him punishing Juniper a few times, but he was sure he didn’t have an idea of everything else. 

    She wouldn’t have told anyone back when it was happening because of their deal, and if he found out now, he would’ve done something or threatened something. Marie-Rose said Teddy told her he’d heard Hank intimidate her before.

    A man came in behind them. He was dressed in a suit and had a badge identifying him as a doctor. He was a little shorter than Hank and looked like a fatherly sort of figure. His salt and pepper hair was styled short and he had warm brown eyes.

    “I’m Dr. Tilley. Who are all of you?” He asked in a polite tone.

    “I’m Hank Merritt, this is my wife Marie-Rose. She’s Juniper’s mama. Sittin’ there is Juniper’s brother, Teddy Fordyce, and standin’ next to him is his boyfriend Gary.” Hank said. “When can she go home?”

    “I’m here to talk with her about her nightmares. After I’ve given my assessment, we’ll decide if she should be admitted to my service for a few days or not. I’ll need you all to leave so I can talk to her alone.” Dr. Tilley told them.

    Gary and Teddy patted Juniper’s arm before following Hank and Marie-Rose out to the waiting room. They didn’t like leaving her. If she was out of it enough to ask to go home with her stepfather, then she might let something slip she’d wanted kept quiet.

    “Hello, Juniper. I’m Dr. Tilley. You can call me Mark. I was hoping you could tell me about your dream.” He started as he sat in the chair next to her bed.

    “What do you want to know?” She asked softly.

    “Would you start from the beginning? Just tell me the whole thing.”

    “I was standing on the balcony of my old bedroom at my stepfather’s house. Something attacked. A snake grabbed me from behind and spun me so my face was against the glass doors. It started hurting me. My boyfriend was in the bedroom with his friend, Kenny. I tried yelling and pounding on the glass but… they didn’t hear me. It hurt so bad. I tried to get the snake off, but nothing worked.” Juniper murmured.

    “That sounds pretty scary. How was the snake hurting you?” He questioned.

    “It had huge fangs and was biting me really hard, over and over.” Tears started welling up in her eyes.

    This room wasn’t secure enough for her to tell him the truth. Even though she knew he couldn’t say anything because of doctor/patient privilege, someone else could hear and soon rumors would spread and people would start connecting the dots. She wanted Hank in prison, not dead.

    “Have you had a lot of bad dreams like this?”

    “Not like this. I’ve never hurt myself. But I’ve had nightmares for a few years.” Juniper admitted.

    “Is the snake always in the nightmares?” He asked.

    “Yes. Ever since the first one.”

    “Did something happen before the first one? Something traumatic or life changing?”

    She stared at him. He sensed the answer was yes, but he wondered if she would say something. Juniper seemed to be thinking. Mark was hopeful he would get an honest answer. If he didn’t, then he wanted to admit her. The life changes the nurse had told him about were enough that he was certain something like this would happen again.

    “I don’t feel comfortable talking about it in a room without walls. The answer is yes, though. I can tell you that much. It’s why I changed my focus in life. I got new friends and started working on my education more.” She responded.

    An experience that makes a kid cut everything off and make drastic life changes was significant. It was some sort of abuse. He remembered the conversation he’d heard from outside the room. It seemed her family was fighting over who would take her home, to different homes.

    “Is it something you can show me?” He asked gently.

    She nodded and sat up in the bed with a wince. Juniper motioned him over and pulled the back of the gown open. Mark got up and walked over. In the light of the emergency room, he could see the scars crossing her back. He saw the scarred bite marks and the branding.

    “I see. Do you need help?” He whispered in her ear.

    Juniper shook her head.

    “Your stepfather is Hank Merritt. The brand says ‘HM’. Did he do this?”

    She nodded.

    “Have you told anyone?”

    “The sheriff knows. He’s working on it, but Hank can’t know. Please, don’t let him take me to his house. I wasn’t all the way awake when I asked if they were taking me home. I live with my brother and his boyfriend. I’m eighteen.” She implored gripping his shoulder tightly in an urgent whisper.

    “Don’t worry. Was there actually a snake in the dream or did you make it up?”

    “It was Hank. He was stabbing me while making me watch my boyfriend have s*x with his friend Kendra. It was my punishment for moving out with Teddy. I was trying to get his arm off me so I could run away.”

    “Are you safe with your brother?”

    “Yes. Hank can’t come on the property because he threatened the son of the man who owns it. He isn’t allowed at my school for the same reason. Garrett or my boyfriend Jaxon drive me around and keep me safe. I can’t avoid seeing him. My mother and little brother live with him.”

    “Is your little brother safe? Or your mom?”

    “Remy is Hank’s. He won’t hurt him. Mama is a very obedient wife. He’s never hurt her. Just me.” She leaned back. Sitting up hurt.

     “Seems like you have some bad dreams, kiddo. I’m going to recommend a sedative and some gloves for sleeping so you don’t hurt yourself like this again. I’m also going to recommend you come see me once a week to talk.” Dr. Tilley told her, speaking a little louder. He hoped she would come see him.

    “Thank you, doctor. Can I go home soon?” Juniper asked.

    “I’ll go consult with the other doctor. He’ll come let you know.” He waved and left the room.

    Juniper worried. Telling someone outside of their circle or the Cleaners could be dangerous, but she knew he wouldn’t have believed anything else. She knew she could use the help of a professional anyway. Her mind wasn’t working like it should. She wondered how Jaxon knew she was having nightmares when no one else had picked up on it.

    She wondered where he was. Shouldn’t her boyfriend be there? Hadn’t anyone called him? Juniper knew her adrenaline addled, sleep deprived mind had said he was going to leave her, but now she was sure it wasn’t as bad as she thought. He loved her.