Broken On The Inside

Five

"Vic Fuentes," the doctor called.

I stood up and he waved me over.

"Lydia will be fine," he said, "We've stitched her up and she should be out of the hospital in two days max."
He flipped a piece of paper on his clipboard and scribbled something on it with a pen he had in his shirt's pocket.

"Her room is this way," he said, starting to walk down the hallway.
I motioned to Danielle, and she stood and followed me down the hallway.

The doctor stopped at a room with the door closed and knocked twice.

"Come in," an voice said from inside.

And with that, he opened the door and we all walked inside.

Lydia was on a hospital bed in the middle of the room, a white blacket sprawled across her.

She was sitting upright, drinking a cup of clear liquid, which I assume was water.

I mean, what other drink was clear and isn't carbonated?

She set the drink down on a table beside her bed.
You could see that there was a bruise going all the way around her throat. It was blue and purple.
Danielle stood beside me, waiting for Lydia to notice us.
The doctor stood on another side of Lydia's bed.

"Lydia?" He said, "You have company."

Her head turned and she was looking directly at Danielle and I.

"Vic? Dani?" She asked.
Her voice was raw and hoarse, and a normal person wouldn't have been able to hear her.
But, there wasn't a peep in the room except from Lydia.

"Lydia...," Danielle said, her voice tear strained and slight.
Her sadness turned into rage at the passing of a second.
"Who did this to you? I'll kill them!" She paced at the foot of the bed, saying things that weren't audible.
"Chill, Dani," Lydia spoke.
Danielle stopped pacing and looked directly into Lydia's eyes.
"Danielle's right," I spoke up, "Who did this to you?"
Lydia shook her head, not wanting to say who.
"Please tell us," Danielle urged. Lydia shook her head.

|Lydia|

*The Previous Day*

I was sitting on the bench in the garden when I saw a dark figure move towards me in the dim light of the moon.
I stood.

"Who are you?" I demanded to the unidentified figure who was coming nearer to me by the second.

"Who. Are. You," I said through clenched teeth.

He rushed at me and grabbed me.
I struggled to get out of his grasp, but it wasn't enough.
He tied me up with some rope (I don't even know where it came from) and put duct tape over my mouth.
He picked me up and dragged me over to what I assume was his car, which was parked two blocks down the street.
He stuffed me into the trunk and started the car.
I felt the worn-out engine rumble and move.
He drove fast, which means we got to the destination quickly.

Okay, time for a check:
-This random guy came and dragged me off to who-knows-where.
And,
-I'm tied up in a trunk with no way to get out.

The trunk opened and I saw my kidnapper's face.

It was Blake, my abusive ex-boyfriend from 2 years ago.
I'm amazed he knew where to find me.
He picked me up and dragged me somewhere in what looked like a forest.

The park.

He dragged me to the park.

This isn't gonna be good.

He layed me on the ground and I struggled to get out of the rope.
He saw, and attacked.
He grabbed my neck and choked me until I was still.
Then, he took out a knife and I knew what was coming next.

|Vic|

*Present*

"Seriously, Lydia," I said to her, "Don't you want your attacker to get justice?" Lydia just shook her head.

"Why not, though?" Danielle asked.

Lydia sighed.

"It was Blake," she mumbled.

"Who's Blake?" I asked.

"Blake Thompson," she said clearer than last time, but not louder, "He's my ex-boyfriend."

There was an odd silence that graced the room and left everyone shuffling their feet uncomfortably.

Danielle broke the silence after what seemed like an eternity, "Why would he do such a thing?"

Lydia stirred for a minute.
"He used to abuse me, and one day, I had enough, so I walked out. The next day or so, I called the cops and reported him for all sorts of crimes, including abuse charges. He was supposed to get about 50 years in jail."

"Shouldn't he still be in jail then?" I asked.

She shrugged, "I have no idea if he was let out or escaped."

Danielle took out her phone and went into the hallway for a minute- at least, she said she was just gonna step out for a minute to "call a friend".

Lydia and I didn't speak until Danielle came back in the room around 2 minutes later.

"I called the cops and reported him," Danielle said, stuffing her phone back into her pants pocket.

"What!?" Lydia exclaimed, but her words came out as barely louder than a whisper.

"Ummmmm..... I called the cops and reported him?" Danielle repeated, confusion mixed into her voice.

Lydia started panicking, "What? He's gonna know it was me who ratted him out. I'm dead! What am I gonna do? He's gonna find me, and hurt me-,"

"STOP!" Danielle said abruptly. "As long as I'm here, he won't lay a finger on you."

Lydia flashed us the smallest smile, "Thanks."

A person in the background cleared their throat.

Danielle and I whipped around, thinking it could have been Blake.

To our relief, it was the doctor.

"Well, Lydia, you're doing well, so you should be released in one or two more days," the doctor explained.

"That's great," I said.

"But," the doctor said, "we need a parent or legal guardian's signature for the release."

Lydia looked at Danielle and I in a state of pure panic.

"What do we do?" I whispered to Danielle.

"I have no clue," she whispered back.

Notes

Finally! The new chapter is finished!

Sorry about the long wait. Things happened, school started, and I had a birthday.

So you know, this story is now on Wattpad (this chapter isn't up yet, but I'll get to it later).

LINK: https://www.wattpad.com/story/83083320-broken-on-the-inside

So, I've decided to ask a question at the end of every chapter. This chapter's question is:
What's one thing you really want to do?


Also, I might be going to a PTV concert in October.

As always, stay alive frens.