Never again (Hanna series #1) {COMPLETED}

Chapter 21

Karina's POV

I sat as usual at the kitchen table with my coffee and my newspaper. Hanna wasn't home, Oliver had called me and told me she would sleep over with him again. It made me happy, happy to know that she was among people who cared about her and did not try to exploit her. Although I knew about this, something in me whispered that something was wrong. I couldn't put my finger on what it was. Hanna had been acting weird for weeks now. Every time I tried to talk to her about it, she just stopped herself even more and did not say anything. Therefore, I have distanced myself, hoping that she will tell me what is wrong. It hasn't happened yet. I continue to live on the hope that she will talk to me. My little princess, strong and beautiful. There was nothing I would not do for her sake, my dear little child, how I loved her. The feeling that something was wrong continued to gnaw in me for several weeks. Until one day I got a call from Oliver.

"Hey, Oliver! What can I do for you?"

"Karina, you have to come home now."

"What happened?" I ask anxiously.

"It's Hanna" he says with a broken voice.

I didn't even care to end the conversation properly or to give my boss an explanation as to why I had to go. It did not matter if I lost my job, Hanna needs me! I throw myself in the car and drive like a fool all the way home.

What I see when I step into the kitchen makes my heart break into thousands of pieces. Hanna's sitting in front of me. She has a large wound on her forehead and bruises all over her body. I run up to her with a scream and take her in my arms.

"Hanna" I repeat again and again.

What happened to my beloved little Hanna? She looks so small and fragile, not at all my strong girl anymore. Someone has broken her down and I intend to extract blood when I find out who! I don't care about anything but that my Hanna is in my arms, safe and loved. 

I help her up and lead her to the bathroom. I'll help her get rid of her clothes. Terrified of leaving her alone, I sit down on the toilet bowl. She's not crying. Not a single tear has she let go since I got home. Her body looks like a chessboard with all the different bruises. She steps out of the shower and I'm quickly arriving with a towel that I wrap around her. Her hair I wipe with another towel, just like when she was little.

When we get back to the kitchen, Oliver are in full swing making coffee and sandwiches. Hanna just sits down on a kitchen chair and stares into the wall. We try to make her want to eat something, without reaching out to her. She just sits there with an empty look and I can feel that something inside her has died.

"Hanna, please. Can't you try to eat something?" Oliver tries.

She's not responding. Not at all. Her eyes are red and tired. I decide to help her into her bedroom. Once in there, I pull down the curtain and tuck her into bed. Oliver had told me that he had given her a sedative and that she would certainly fall asleep right away. So did she. She fell asleep before her head hit the pillow. With one last glance at my little girl, I gently closed the door and went back down to the kitchen.

"What happened to her?" I ask, terrified of the answer.

He moves anxiously with his hands, he does not want to be the one who tells me what I already know. A mother knows her child.

"She was raped."

It's the worst pain I've ever felt in my life, the pictures I get up in my head about everything that she had to endure the night before.

I now know about everything that has happened in the last few weeks and now I also feel empty. Oliver told me everything in detail that he knew and heard from Hanna. He didn't say it was Kevin who raped her, but he suspected it and couldn't imagine who else it would be. He had tried to get her to call the police and file a complaint, she had refused. When he asked her why not, she'd just say no one would believe her. My job as a parent is to protect my child from dangers, in that I have failed. She has to report! I won't let that bastard go free! It's only a matter of time until he goes after someone else. I have to call a psychologist on Monday and ask how to proceed. I won't allow her to go through this alone, not again. My little heart needs help and no one can stop me!

Over the weekend, Hanna has mostly been in her bed in her room. I have managed to get her to eat a little and she has gradually started talking to me. Now I've heard the story from her own mouth with her own words. It made it even more evil to hear it from her. I can't afford to cry. I have to stay strong for Hanna.

"You need to talk to a psychologist Hanna, that's all I'm asking of you. That you're talking to someone."

"OK…"

I look at her amazingly.

"Really?"

If you want me to do it, then I do it" she says and smiles gently to me.

I get up and walk up to her to give her a hug. I was worried that she would not cope with body contact after the incident, instead she amazes me with the biggest hug like never before.