Keeping promises

Chapter 3:Healing

(Now I can’t go on, I can’t even start, I’ve got nothing left, just an empty heart…)

(Sound the bugle- Bryan Adams)

“To be frank, Mr and Mrs. Dalton, Finn is just barely alive.” I knew my wife was crying as our wolves both howled in sorrow. “It is clear that she no longer wants to live, she has stopped fighting.” I looked back at the door where my daughter lay. “From the bruises and wounds on her body it is clear that she struggled and tried to defend herself. However it is also apparent the assailant had help.” I took a deep breath as I struggled to contain my rage. “There were bruises on her wrist showing her arms were held above her head and there was also a handprint on her right ankle. The left was clearly tied to something and whatever it was dug into her skin as she tried to break free.” I felt Donna’s hand squeeze mine as her anger intensified. “There were at least three people involved.” I swallowed hard as I tried to catch my breath.

“I also want you to know that my team discovered that Finn has an infection in her groin, it looks like she tried cleaning herself out after it happened.” I nodded along as I remembered how long it took for her to shower that night. “She is also malnourished and dehydrated which I’m sure you are aware of.”

“Yes.” My mate whispered.

“She will be kept here for observation for a few days before she will be brought to her room.”

“Will you restrain her?”

“No.” Doctor Danvers joined as she came toward us. “We are here to help, not hinder.” I nodded and thanked her and she sent us a small nod. “I will however ask that she be moved to the observation room.” Doctor Quinn nodded and headed back toward the room Finn was in. “Now the observation room is almost like this one, except there is a bulletproof glass window instead of a wall. We will be able to see Miss Dalton and speak with her and she will be able to see us without being in the same space.”

“Okay.” I replied. “Is there anything we can do?”

“Yes.” She nodded. “If there is an item that she has used for comfort in the past it would be helpful if it were here when she wakes up.”

“She came in with my hoodie on.” I said as I tried to think.

“I packed up that wolf plushie she used to carry around the house.” Donna told her. “It’s in the suitcase we brought for her.”

“Both are good.” She nodded. “Once your sweater is dry we’ll leave it in the room for her and we’ll get that wolf in there too.”

“Mom.” Tanner called as she walked out of the room with Paige. Her face was still wet with tears and she rushed into her mother’s embrace. I heard a whimper come from behind them and I felt myself rush past everyone to get to my baby. She was trembling and crying even though her eyes were still closed.

“Oh sweetheart.” I heard myself coo, stopping a step away from the bed. “You’re alright.”

“No……stop..” She began thrashing weakly and her heart rate began to speed up.

“Mr. Dalton, please leave Finn to us.” Doctor Quinn said as he walked over and put something in her IV. I felt myself get queasy when he lifted her arm, the hand-shaped bruises on her wrist were dark purple. I hadn’t even seen them on the white sheets.

“It’s time for us to go.” I heard Paige say as Finn started to stop struggling.

I nodded and took my baby’s hand and a small kiss on it before wiping her tears away. She recoiled even in her state. I felt hot tears begin rolling down my face again before I set her hand down gently.

“I love you sweetheart. You can come home whenever you’re ready, we’ll be waiting.”

“I love you Finn.” Tanner sobbed from beside me. “Please come home soon.”

“Oh sweet girl.” Donna cooed as she wrapped her pinky around Finn’s pointer finger. “I know you’re strong enough to push through this, I just wish you didn’t have too. I love you baby.” I sniffled as Paige led us out after saying good-bye. It was the first time I noticed her eyes were red from the tears she had been trying to hold back the entire time.

“Thank you Paige.” She looked at me and I pulled her into a hug, which is when she started to cry. “For being strong when we couldn’t be.” Donna and Tanner came up and joined us as Paige let everything out she had been holding in for us the past few days.

“I’m sorry.” I heard my mate say to her sister. “Thank you.” We stood there for a while before we could finally leave. Watching the hospital fade into the rearview was the last thing I wanted to see but I knew my baby girl needed help, and it killed me knowing it was something I couldn’t do

………Finn POV……..

Over and over again, I was trapped in the same never ending cycle of abuse and fear. I wanted it to be over, I didn’t want to keep reliving the same nightmare over and over and over again. However even with all of my begging and pleading, it didn’t stop. He was there, always…I couldn’t break free. I couldn’t stop it no matter how many times I tried. After I don’t know how long the weight on my eyes began to lift. The heaviness on my chest dispersed and I prayed the goddess was finally taking me away.

I opened my eyes only to shut them seeing as the light was too blinding. I tried moving the weights that were my arms only to find they were too heavy. I began panicking, a loud beeping kept getting faster as panic consumed me.

“Miss Dalton.” I heard a soft feminine voice call. I felt my face get hot as tears pricked at my eyes. “You’re in a hospital room.” I heard the beeping slow just a bit once the woman told me where I was. “I am behind the glass wall that you are facing.” I opened my eyes and waited for them to adjust. Once they did I could clearly see a woman with dark skin and silver hair looking at me from behind the glass. “I understand you are scared, and rightfully so, but please refrain from speaking, screaming, or fussing.” I sniffled and nodded while I looked around. There was a small stainless steel table at the side of the bed that had my dad’s hoodie folded on it with Tanner’s stuffed wolf.

“Those are the items your parents believed would comfort you the most while you are here.” The woman said. “My name is Doctor Harley Danvers, I am an acquaintance of your aunt Paige.” I looked back at her, and she looked down at the clipboard she was holding. “I’m sure you are going to have many questions and concerns and I will try to answer them as best I can. For now I want you to know you should have the ability to lift your arms and legs again in just a bit. You were given a sedative so you didn’t wake up while we examined and documented your injuries.”

I felt my face burn as I realized someone had changed me, they had taken off my clothes and violated me.

“This is nurse Masters.” I looked back and saw a petite woman walk over to her from behind the wall. “She completed your exam and put you in the outfit you’re in now. We would have liked to keep you in your clothes, but they were drenched and it could have made you even more ill.”

“Hello Miss Dalton, I will be in charge of taking care of your needs while Doctor Danvers is unavailable,” Nurse Masters said, her voice calm and somehow soothing. “I’m sorry for changing you without permission, but it was imperative to do so.” I gave them a slight nod and swallowed the saliva that was building up in my mouth. The motion caused a painful reaction in my throat, it felt like it had been scraped with barbed wire.

“Due to the inflammation and damage to your throat the next few days you will be on a liquid diet.” I sighed and felt my stomach rumble at the mention of food. “Speaking of…” Doctor Danvers said lightly. “Do you think you are able to walk?” I tried moving my leg, to no avail.” I shook my head. “I know this is going to be very uncomfortable for you, however you need nutrients.” I began shaking my head and Doctor Danvers told me to breathe so she could explain.

It took a minute but I finally calmed myself down.

“We also need to hand you a tablet so you can ask us your questions and give us proper responses to our questions.” I eyed her warily as she continued to speak. “Either myself or nurse Masters would need to come in and place the tablet on the table by your bed along with the smoothie. We would only drop them off and leave. Once you are able to use your arms you can drink by yourself.” I rested my head back and began crying, knowing she was right. I felt so helpless and defeated. I tried moving my legs again, but they wouldn’t work. I was able to move my arm onto the table and grab the hoodie and the wolf. I looked back at the window where both women were watching me. “Do you have a preference on who comes in?” I pointed at Nurse Masters who was smaller and looked easier to escape from if I needed to.

“Alright Miss Dalton. I am going to talk the whole time okay, if you need me to stop moving for a moment put your hand up and I’ll wait until you are ready for me to move again okay?” I nodded at her as she grabbed a tray with wheels and walked toward the door. She placed a tablet and a white cup with a straw on the tray and walked right up to the door.

“I’m going to come in now.” I nodded and kept my eyes in her direction. I heard the door handle turn, I was surprised that there wasn’t the sound of the lock.

“Our intention is not to trap you here Miss Dalton.” I heard Doctor Danvers say as nurse Masters entered the room behind the wheely cart. “I also told your family we wont be using restraints unless you actively try and kill your self when you are unsupervised.” I nodded when Nurse Masters paused after closing the door.

“If you are feeling overwhelmed once your legs are back under your control you can lock the door yourself. Doctor Danvers and I will have a key if we see you attempting to harm yourself.” Nurse Masters said as she demonstrated locking the door. It looked like the typical bathroom door lock at supermarkets and school bathrooms. A simple button that gets pushed in to lock, and just push down on the handle to unlock.

“I read the ingredients in your smoothie, I’m going to read them out loud okay.” Nurse Masters said as she took a single slow step forward. I nodded and she took another. “There is some mango.” another slow step. “Strawberries.” Another step. “Grapefriut juice.” I held my hand up as the heart monitor beside me began to speed up. “Let’s see what else.” She said while she looked from the paper on her table to me and then back as she stopped her advance. “There is also a bit of yogurt and vanilla protein powder.” I nodded as I took a deep breath and she took only a single small step. “There is also a dash of spinach, carrot and beet root.” I nodded and she took another small step.

“My name is Megan, you can call me that instead of Nurse Masters whenever you have a question for me okay.” I nodded and she took another small step. After another five or so minutes she was finally close enough to put the objects on the table. After she set them down, Megan slowly wheeled herself out of the room, pressing the lock so it would lock behind her.

I grabbed the tablet and placed it in my lap. The screen opened to a blank word document, which confused me a bit.

“We are both logged into the same account so whatever you type I will see and vice versa.” Doctor Danvers explained, when she saw my look of confusion. I pulled the cup down with my shaky hands and held it on my sternum while I took a few sips.

(What hospital am I in?) I typed onto the tablet.

“You’re at Ocean blues treatment center.”

(Treatment center?)

“We are an operation that focuses on treating the mind and the body. We specialize in cases of abuse and assault.” Doctor Danvers paused for a moment before continuing. “Our research shows that people who learn to overcome their trauma live longer, more fulfilling lives than those who don’t.”

(I can’t tell you who it was)

“That’s fine.” I must have looked shocked because she sent me a reassuring smile. “Our goal is to make sure you can function in society again. We would love to aid you in catching your assailant. However, we understand there are some circumstances that won't allow it.” I let out a sigh of relief then took another sip of my smoothie. It didn’t taste that good but I couldn’t stop drinking it either.

“Once you’re discharged from here we will begin phase one of our program. It is going to be very hard. You are going to want to give up, you may even want to take your own life.” I shivered and caught her eyes again. “In phase you and I will work together to process what happened. Once I feel that you are in a decent state, we will begin group therapy. You will be processing your trauma with other people with similar experiences. Once you are able to handle a small group we will work on large groups. Eventually we will have intergender groups.” I felt my eyes sting at the thought of even seeing a man.

“Like I said we are not here to push you into getting details about what happened. Everything you tell me will be strictly confidential unless you ask me to release it.” I nodded. “At phase two is where you will begin to see progress with yourself and your healing journey. You will be learning self defense and we will try and find alternative ways for you to process your experiences.” I nodded, feeling lighter knowing that I would get some type of defense training.

“Phase three is more of a transition, you will tell us when you feel you are ready to go home and we will do a final examination and decide if you truly are ready. You will also be taught how to enforce the boundaries you put in place over your own body.” I let out a small sob as my mind processed everything I was being told.

(Can my parents come and visit?)

“When you are ready to see them, yes. However, due to your circumstances in general, I would like to wait until at least phase two.”

(What does that mean?)

“I can tell that your father loves you very much.” She said calmly. “However I get the sense he may be a bit enthusiastic if you ask them to come here before you are completely ready to deal with the male gender.” I nodded, knowing she hit the nail on the head. “I would hate for your father to be the one to create such setbacks. I placed the now empty cup on the tray beside me and yawned as fatigue washed over me.

“I am going to let you rest now alright.” I nodded weakly as I rested my head. “Page me when she wakes up.”

“Yes ma’am.”

………….5 months later……….

Doctor Danvers was right, I want to give up. Everyday I walk with her for hours about what happened to me, and everyday I break down before I can finish telling her what happened. She always listened calmly and handed me tissues and gave me things to work on, things to tell myself. It had taken five months before she felt I was finally stable enough to pair with another person. She paired me with a girl my age named Rose, her hair was deep red and her eyes a shimmering green. I could see the same fear and brokenness in her that I saw every day in the mirror. We both had on light blue scrubs, the color not really suiting either of us. From what I had come to learn, the colors each represented something. I started off with white scrubs and was given blue at month three. When I asked why I got blue, Doctor Danvers told me that I was no longer at risk for self harm. I asked how she knew, and she told me that I didn't show any of the signs of someone who was in that mental state.

Rose and I got along pretty well. It was nice to talk to someone who truly understood what I had gone through. To her, I wasn't just another patient. We were both survivors of something tragic and unforgivable. We frequently had meetings with Doctor Danvers, she listened to both of us explain why we thought we got along and how we were using each other to rebuild the trust that had been ripped away from us.

“Tell me ladies, what have you talked about so far?” Doctor Danvers asked as we sat down in her office.

“How much we wished we never met the people who assaulted us.” Rose said with a sigh.

“We know why each other is here, even if we don’t know the full details.” I responded with my hands in my lap.

“I want to tell you what I’ve observed. Is that alright?”

“Yeah.” Rose said as I nodded.

“I have noticed that you, Rose, have stopped picking at your fingernails and shaking your leg whenever someone enters the room.” Rose looked down at her cuticles that were actually healing.

“Finn, you have been expressing yourself more, be it running your hand through your hair in frustration or crossing your arms over your chest when you feel annoyed or discomfort.”

She sent me a small smile and then looked at Rose before continuing. “In a week’s time I would like you to have a sleep-over.” I felt my eyes water and I heard Rose suck in a hissing breath. “It’ll be like the observation room you were in when you first came here, Finn.” I tried calming myself down by doing the breathing exercises I was taught. “Rose you will be on the far right side of the room and Finn you will be on the left. You will each have your own door and bathroom.” I felt myself calming down even if just a little knowing I would have my own door.

“Seeing as you have both stopped having nightmares and sleepwalking, it should be safe. However, we will have people assigned to watch the cameras. If you start having nightmares again and sleepwalking, we will push it back by another week.”

I looked over at Rose and her at me, she reached her hand out, and I took it hesitantly. “We’ll try.” She said lightly.

“I’m pleased to hear it.”

………..Another POV………..

It’s been months since anyone has seen Finn, everyone in the pack knows something happened, they just don’t know what. Fay has been snapping at everyone and Donna cries at every pack meeting. Tanner has shut out everyone, it’s like the trust she had for her own friends was broken.

I can remember that week like it was yesterday, Finn had been fine leaving on Wednesday, however neither her or Tanner were at school for the rest of the week. Sunday evening Alpha Jacob called a pack meeting. It was hard to notice the Dalton family wasn’t there seeing as Finn would usually stand next to Christian, but this time it was Brooke.

“I’m sure some of you have heard the news that Finn Dalton is missing.” I noticed the way Christian’s head snapped toward his father like it was this first time he had heard the news. “We have found her today, unfortunately she is most likely going to pass.” There were gasps from all around us as we all absorbed the news.

“I must ask for your help.” Alpha Jacob continued. “It was discovered that Finn was sexually assaulted.” I felt bile rise up in my throat as I understood the gravity of this situation. “As you know Finn is only fourteen. She hasn’t even met her wolf spirit yet.” I heard someone vomit and I turned to see the future Gamma Dylan hacking his guts up on the lawn outside of the packhouse.

My eyes wandered back over to Christian who was paler than a vampire, Brooke, beside him, looked like she may faint. “I am asking you to help me catch the monster who did this before he can harm another child.” Luna Laura took a small step forward, tears highlighting the burning fury in her eyes.

“This is not something that can be swept under the rug, if you know something, say something. If not in the crowd, come to me privately.” The pack dispersed and went home, all of us feeling the crushing weight of the day’s revelation.