Charity Case (Scarlett Johansson)

15

{Unedited}

...

McKenna's POV

I rub the sleep away from my eyes as I wake up, I turn to my back and realize my mom wasn't in bed with me anymore. I glance at the clock on my bedside table only to realize that it's well into the late afternoon. I groan feeling the soreness and pain all over my body, damn, I need to take self-defense classes or something because this is not it.  

I look at my throbbing hand and see that my gauze has been soaked with blood, meaning it's time to clean and replace it. I have no strength to get out of this bed but I know if I don't, this could potentially get infected. 

So I muster up all the energy I have and move to a sitting position, biting my bottom lip to stop myself from groaning. I move from sitting up to standing up letting out a breath I didn't realize I was holding. I run my hands through my hair making sure it doesn't look like a bird's nest before walking out of my room quietly. 

I slowly walk towards the stairs and I bite my inner cheek as I take the stairs one step at a time. I hear multiple muffled voices from the living room so I make my way over there. I walk into everyone from this morning with an addition of a man and a woman I didn't know. They seem to have a very intense conversation so I turn around to walk into the kitchen but a mention of my name stops me. 

"McKenna?" Uncle Robert calls out making me turn back to face them, I give them a slight wave. "I didn't mean to interrupt," I say quietly and contrary to my mom's previous intense tone she smiles at me and says, "you're not interrupting anything at all honey. Is there anything you need? You shouldn't be out of bed yet."

I shift slightly, "Um, the bandage for my palm needs changing, it's soaked with blood. And I was just going to take some painkillers."  

"Here, let me get the first aid so we can change that," Aunt Lizzie says getting up.

"And you have to eat before you take some painkillers, honey," Mom informs me before carefully ushering me to sit on the couch. 

"Kenz, this is Mrs. Michellin and Mr. Franchone," uncle Robert introduces the two strangers who looked at me with pity. I hate it. "They're your lawyers that will be representing you against the bastard that shall not be named." 

"Wait what?" I say snapping my head to my mom who was walking back into the living room with a bowl of homemade soup. "We're pressing charges," she informs me and I shake my head vigorously. 

"No, no. No pressing charges, no way," I say frantically. That's the last thing I want and I don't care what everyone else has to say about it. 

"Baby love, he needs to pay for what he did. We're also going after the people at the adoption center you were at," auntie Lizzie sits beside me with the first aid kit and I look at her in desperation but she only gives me a sympathetic look. 

"No, that's definitely not happening. I refuse," I shake my head crossing my arms under my chest when aunt Lizzie tried grabbing the hand with the open wound. 

"McKenna what those people did to you are-" 

"Are things you will never understand. Ever." I cut my mom off, and I know it was rude but I couldn't help myself. I face the lawyers, "you need me to testify right? you need me to tell my story right? well too bad, I'm not doing it so case closed." 

"McKenna," aunt Lizzie softly scolds me. 

"That's only if they plead not guilty," Mrs. Michellin says making me scoff, "they'll never plead guilty therefore this is not happening." 

I don't miss the frustrated sigh that comes out of uncle Evans' and Robert's mouths and I know that everyone thinks I'm being difficult but I don't care. 

"McKenna please make me understand why you're so against this. You have the best lawyers to make sure everyone who had ever hurt you spend the rest of their life behind bars," mom pleads with me. 

"All of you got a glimpse of the least painful thing that I've received all my life and you think you get to decide this for me without even consulting with me? This makes you no better than them!" 

A scoff was heard but I have no idea who it came from, "are you seriously trying to say us helping you right now is the same as those people hurting you?" uncle Chris says flabbergasted. 

"Yes! Yes, I am! You're taking away my right to decide something as big as this for myself. You aren't even deciding on my behalf, you're making it without my consent. And by doing that, you're taking away my power that's been taking away from me, time and time again." Uncle Evans shifts as I keep my intense gaze on him. 

"So yes, you all are doing exactly what they did. They took away my right and they took away my power. They did shit without my consent and here y'all are. I know that what all of you are doing comes from the good of your heart but you're doing more damage to me than helping me right now. You think I'm ready to sit in a courtroom in front of everyone and in front of my abusers and tell what happened to me? Don't you realize that putting me on the stand to testify is retraumatizing me?" I see my mom bow her head from my peripheral vision. 

"I'm angry at them and I want them to pay for what they did to me as much as any of you do, but I'm not ready to and I need you all to understand that. I thought you were better than this," I say getting up, not caring that every inch of my skin is screaming at me. 

I grab the first aid kit from auntie Lizzie's lap, "I'll clean my wound myself." 

...

A/N: What do y'all think of what McKenna was saying? 

Do you agree? Do you not agree? And why?

Should McKenna finally tell Scarlett what she's been through?

What would you like to see in the future chapters?