Caroline|COMPLETED(L.T)

E P I L O G UE

6 Months Later..

*****

"How long has she been mute?" Nathaniel asked the doctor, genuinely concerned for his friend. "Haven't you guys done anything for her? At all?"

"We have," the doctor sighed, peering into the window of Caroline's room. "We tried getting her to talk, but we can't force her to talk. We've given her all of the space she desires...but I don't know how she truly needs."

"So what?" Raya scoffed. "It's your job to make sure she expresses herself! If she bottles it in -"

"Pardon... my interruption, but I don't think you guys understand the trauma your friend has endured this last year," the doctor stated, eyeing her friends firmly but sincerely. "Caroline has been beaten...raped, nearly murdered, and she has attempted suicide more than enough times for her to be placed in this room. She has seen things that we can't possibly imagine, and that alone could be driving her crazy. We can't risk forcing what went down out of her because she might not be ready; her mind might not be ready. It could break her. I know you want your friend back...but there's no telling when she'll be back."

Slowly, Raya sank deeper and deeper into her seat, burying her face in her hands as she began to cry. Caroline was her best friend...the last time she saw her was the day she disappeared...now she's not even her anymore.

"What the fuck did they do to you, Caroline?" Raya sobbed, looking back up at her friend's window. She stood straight, staring into the room to see if she was even awake; surprisingly, she was.

Caroline was sitting on her bed, leaning against the wall with her knees pulled to her chest tightly. She had dark bags under her eyes and dried tear stains could be seen running along her cheeks and her temples. Her skin was dry and pale, completely in contrast to the warm tan color it used to hold. Her eyes were focused on one thing, but who's to say what that even was. Her hair was unkempt and tossed over her shoulder and she had scratch marks flowing up and down her arms, indicating that she'd been trying to harm herself.

Nathaniel came up behind Raya, embracing her in a hug as he looked at his friend as well. "How's her health?"

The doctor sighed. "Not too good. We have to force her to eat, and... we have to sedate her to get her to sleep. She doesn't fight, though...it's like she's given up on trying to."

The doctor could feel herself tearing up a little bit and she composed herself, turning toward Raya and Nathaniel with a welcoming smile. "I'm so sorry about you friend. Trust that we are doing everything we can to help her...but we can only help her as much as she helps us."

Ivy nodded and Nathaniel looked down at his feet, shaking his head. He should've been there when she was walking home... maybe he could have protected her. Maybe he could have taken the hit for her and this all could have been avoided.

"Thank you," Raya cried, wiping her eyes, though more tears began to fall. "When can we come back?"

"Honestly," the doctor responded. "You're not supposed to come too often because it could affect the mind state of our patient. Although...I want to excuse you guys. You two have been the only people that call and check on her to make sure she's still even alive. You guys could spend the night here and I wouldn't care because she doesn't have anyone else like you."

Larry...

"Thank you so much," Nathaniel smiled halfheartedly, looking down at Raya. "Are you ready to go?"

Ivy nodded and she thanked the doctor one last time before they left the hospital. The doctor turned back to Caroline's room, sighing in defeat because she felt like there was no hope for her. Caroline was too far gone; with all the test they've ran and all the psychiatric evaluations... they're surprised she hasn't succeeded in killing herself. The doctor still wanted to do what she could for that girl, so she refused to give up on her.

"You're strong, Caroline," she whispered, placing her hand on the door. "I need you to see it."

"Doctor Ambrose?"

The doctor whipped around, wiping her face when she realized she started crying. "Yes, what do you need Emma?"

Emma hesitated for a moment, wanting to ask why she was crying but not wanting to pester. "It's time for your lunch break. Everyone thought you took it, but we realized you've been standing here a while. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Doctor Ambrose replied. "I'm fine, I promise. I'll go now, alright?"

Emma nodded and she smiled sweetly before she wandered off to another part of the hospital. Before Doctor Ambrose went on her break, she looked back at Caroline, placing a hand over her heart.

"Keep fighting," she whispered. "I'm not giving up on you yet."

*****

Yallll i never thought i'd see the day but we have reached the end of Caroline. Whew this story was definitely a roller coaster of emotions and I no longer know what to say about it cus WHAT THE FUCK LAURENT?! I was thinking of doing a sequel to this but i honestly think it's good where I left it. Unless you guys have some ideas for a sequel, i'll definitely consider them ofc !!! I really hope you enjoyed this book as much as I did writing it and thank you for taking this trip with me ❤️ x Rose