“What?” she whispered against the ebony silk of his hair.
He crushed her to him. Lola felt the pounding of his heart against her own.
“
You’
re safe, Lola, I promise. I’ll keep you safe.
No matter what.
I vow it.”
“I know.” And she did.
“Do you still want me to stay?”
Forever.
“Yes.”
Another nurse came in to take her vitals. Jack sat in the chair waiting. As soon as she left, he got into the bed and pulled Lola to him, tucking her head under his chin. She fell asleep like that
; more peaceful than she had been in months.
*
**
She never came.
That was Lola’s first thought when she opened her eyes.
The second was
,
Jack’s gone
.
Lola sat in the hospital bed, blinking sleep from her eyes. Streaks of sunlight came thro
ugh the window and formed shapes
on the bedspread covering her legs.
An overbearing amount of sorrow
repeatedly
lapped
over her
like waves of heartache
, unending and paralyzing.
She
vaguely remembered waking up throughout the night, terrified and shaking, sure
Bob
was coming after her. Each time Jack murmured comforting words and held her close.
But he was gone and the
alarm
began to trickle back into her veins.
What if
Bob
had been let out of jail?
What if he was waiting to hurt her more? Or worse, someone she cared about?
Lola shoved the troubling thoughts away, telling herself it would be okay; she would be okay.
The doctor came in to
check
her over. Everything look
ed good and
he told her the release papers would be signed later that morning.
Where will I go?
Her mother
had
abandoned her.
That hurt more than anything
Bob
had done to her.
Tears, ever present
lately
, flowed from her eyes.
Lola was wiping her eyes when the door opened.
Two women walked inside; one short and plump with straight brown hair. She had a no-nonsense look to her that was slightly alarming.
“Hello, Lola, I’m Veronica Smalls and I work for Social Services.”
The alarm grew, turned to panic.
The other woman caught and held Lola’s attention.
She
hesitantly walked over to the bed, eyes trained on Lola. She looked nervous and sad. Lola frowned. She looked familiar.
“
This is Blair Murphy
.”
Murphy?
Her heartbeat picked up.
The lady was petite, slender, and
had wavy auburn hair; much like Lola’s, but kept short
er
. Rectangular eggplant toned glasses fit over a pert nose. She was pretty in a quiet way.
The woman was dressed in jeans and a green top
and smelled faintly of cinnamon
.
She had to be in her thirties or forties.
“Hello, Lola,” she said softly, coming to a stop near the window.
The sunlight played with her hair, highlighting red and gold tones.
“Lola,
your aunt
Blair is going to take care of you for a while,” Veronica informed her, stepping up to the bed.
The woman continued to talk, but none of it registered with Lola. She stared at the woman she had just been told was her aunt.
Her father’s sister.
Lo
la unconsciously touched her
nose and chin
, seeing the same feature
s
on the woman standing before her
.
She winced as the tender flesh newly stitched reacted negatively to her touch.
“Wait a minute,” Lola interrupted. “Where’s my mom?”
Veronica pursed her lips. “Your mother is signing over guardianship to your aunt
, at least temporarily
. She can’t take care of you right now.”
The room faded and flared back
in blinding white
. Lola’s ear buzzed. “What? I don’t understand.”
The brusque woman turned to Blair. “I’ll let you two get acquainted. Someone from Social Services will be in touch.”
Her aunt nodded, waited until the older woman had left, then turned to Lola.
“
This must be…odd for you.
I know a lot has happened to you.
I thought, um, maybe we could talk for a bit?” Blair tilted her head, studying Lola.
Lola didn’t say anything.
Blair cleared her throat and seemed to shake herself. “I guess I’ll go first. I live here in Morgan Creek. I have for the past eleven years.”
Two years afte
r Lola moved there.
She’
d been so close this
whole time.
“I write a column for a women’s magazine
.
I’ve never been married. I have two cats. I like funny movies and Chinese food.
Let’s see…” Blair seemed to search her brain. “My favorite color is green.”
“What are their names?”
She blinked. “What?”
“Your cats.
What are their names?”
“Oh!” Blair smiled a true smile and a dimple appeared in her left cheek.
“Piper and Larry.
Both males.”
“Why did you name them Piper and Larry?”
“Well, Larry is after an ex-boyfriend.
He had a shoe fetish
.
Particularly
my
shoes, I
should add. I caught him trying on a pair once.
He was a little…strange.
We broke up shortly after that.
”
Blair giggled
and Lola felt a small smile stretch
her lips.
It fell from her lips at the realization. It didn’t seem right to smile after the e
vents of the past night
.
“
Larry, the cat, that is,
likes to sleep with my shoes
.
He wraps his paws around them like a teddy bear and sleeps that way.
”
She shrugged. “It just fit. I honestly don’t know how I came up with the name Piper. I think I heard it on a movie or something.”
Lola looked at the blank television screen as the quiet dragged on. She had so many questions. She didn’t know where to begin.
Blair stood and pulled her shirt down. “I imagine
you’re wondering why you haven’t met me before now, living in the same town and all
.
”
“Yes.
Why didn’t you contact me sooner?
You’ve been here this whole time…” Her voice trailed off.
Lola frowned,
resentment and confusion battling inside her.
Her aunt
crossed the floor and stopped beside Lola. There
were
such varying glimpses of pain on Blair’s face Lola felt a tightening in her chest.
“
I’ll explain everything, Lola, in time.
But first,
I
want to make sure it’s okay with you that you’ll be staying with me.
I realize we don’t know each other, but I would love to be able to change that.”
Blair lifted a hand, made a fist, and let it drop to her side. “You look so much like your father,” she whispered,
brown
eyes
shimmering with tears
.
“What about my mother? Why doesn’t she want me?”
Her eyes shifted away. “It’s not that she doesn’t want you, Lola; she’s just incapable of giving you proper care
right now
.”
It felt like someone had punched a hole in her chest, ripped out her heart, and left her like that; wounded, bleeding, and beyond repair.
She’d had it all figured out in her imaginary world where wishes and hopes
and dreams
co
me true. Her mother would show up
at the hospital
. She would tell her she was sorry and they would never see
Bob
again; never have to deal with him again.
In spite of
everything
her mother had allowed
,
she was still Lola’s mother.
Lola still needed her, messed up or not.
Lana had carried her in her womb for months, brought her into the world, raised her, and, for the longest time, been a good mother to Lola.
What had happened to the mother Lola remembered from her childhood? Why had she changed? Or had Lola recreated a childhood in her mind that didn’t exist? No, that couldn’t be true.
Lola forced herself to meet her aunt’s gaze. “When can we leave?”
“I’m so sorry, Lola,” Blair said in a
voice low with regret
. “I’m
so
sorry all of this has happened to you.”
Lola shrugged, though the hole in her chest was widening with each passing minute.
“Yeah.
I keep hearing that
from people
.”
After a pause, her aunt said,
“I spoke
with the doctor
. Anytime now the papers should be signed.
I brought some things for you. They’re in my car. I’ll be right back.”
Alone, Lola let out a shuddering breath and forced herself to get up. She stood on legs that wobbled, trying to get her bearings. She couldn’t even cry, which was actually a relief. Lola was so
sick
of tears.
Her mother had abandoned her.
Lola’s chest hurt as she sucked
in
another lungful o
f air
.
She looked around the sparse, sanitized room, not really seeing it.
What now?
She didn’t want to think about it.
She
went into the small bathroom and showered
and brushed her teeth
.
That done, she sat on the bed in a hospital gown and robe and waited for her aunt.
Images of the night before
stabbed her mind
in
horrifying
flashes. Lola saw
Bob
’
s twisted face, felt his perspiring
skin. Lola inhaled and exhaled, trying to slow it down.
She felt like she was going to be sick.
Blair returned, holding
a familiar
-looking
duffel bad. “Your mother packed some things for you.
Whatever else you need I
’ll buy
for you.
”
“What…about me? Doesn’t she want to see me?”
“I’m sorry, Lola.”
The chasm in her chest widened
.
Lola silently took the bag and went into the bathroom. She changed into red pajama pant
s
and a pink long-sleeved shirt.
Lola stared at herself in the mirror.
Her cheeks were hollowed out, dark smudges under her eye
s; bruises turning yellow on her cheek and jaw
and throat
.
She raised her face and eyed the black stitches on her chin, which just completed the
freak show
that was
presently her face.
Her mother didn’t want
to see her.