The Silent Girl

21.

'Jim Brood'

I rush through the hospital shouting I was panicking about my daughter. All I know is that Ella banged her head and she was laying in a hospital bed. I only heard a voicemail from Micky.

So many people tried to talk to be as I run and rush around. But my mind was in one place. Ella Brood.

I finally found the right room, looking through the window. My beautiful daughter was laying against a few pillows. Her head was wrapped up with pure white bandages, she had a oxygen mask over her mouth and nose, her eyes were closed.

The room was pretty big, Luke, Noah and Micky were sat around her on chairs and Miss and Mr Stone were sat on a sofa that could be changed to a pull out bed.

I hear a voice from behind me, "Hi, are you Mr Brood?", I suddenly turn when I hear my name.

"Yeah yeah, that's me" I smile slightly. The man was in about his 50s, wearing a white lab coat, a stethoscope around his neck and a clipboard in his hand. "I'm doctor Anderson, I'm one of the doctors looking after your daughter" He explains slowly, watching me closely.

"Ok, what happened to her?" I ask, wanting to just get in there and hope that she is ok, I want to know who did this.

"I think I'll let them tell you what happened but in terms of medical. She has a concession from where she hit her head and she has minor hypothermia as she fell into a pond with freezing cold water. She has an IV in at the moment, she hasn't woken up and she's been in her for 2 hours so far. I want to keep her in here for another night just to keep a close eyes then I will prescribe her with a weeks excuse from school" He tells me, quickly. My head was spinning and I was sure that the information he was telling me went in one ear and out the other.

"Ok" I mumble, looking to the floor.

"I've got to run along but go see her" Doctor Anderson smiles slightly before heading off down the hall.

I slowly open the door into the room Ella was in. Suddenly, everyone looked to me, except Ella of course, who was asleep.

"Hi" My voice was uneven and worried sounding. Miss Bright and Mr Stone say a short hello before saying that they needed to head back to school and they'll get in touch soon. "What happened?" I ask slowly, walking towards the bed that my daughter was laying in. I step to her head and stroke a loose piece of hair from her cheek.

"Amber, Roxy and Emma were with her in the sensory garden, it's like pretty, flowers a clear water featured thingy in the middle. Ells hasn't woken so we don't know the whole story but we think that she fell or got pushed into the pond, explaining the hypothermia. In the middle of the small pond, there is concrete squares that we think she hit the back of her head on" Luke explains slowly, watching peaceful Ella sleeping, the oxygen mask steaming up as she breathes slowly.

"Why was she in the sensory garden?" I ask, looking down at her, with a small smile on my lips.

"Those girls were making comments and she ran there and we lost her. We looked for her but these girls reached her before we did, I think" Noah says, slowly. His hand in hers gently.

"Oh Ells" I whisper, stroking her cheek gently. "I'm going to get you some private tutors, get you anyway from school, get you outside of school therapy and counselling. But I'm not going to do all of that if you're happy at your school with these amazing boys who I know take so care of you." I gently lean down and place my lips to her bandages on her forehead. "It's going to be ok, my love"

"Jim" I hear Micky say gently, before I can reply he speaks again. "We will look after Ella, we try but sometimes it just isn't enough." He pauses gently, about to talk again but Noah cuts in.

"I don't think taking her out of school will help her mental health, she needs socialising" Noah says in a small whisper, trying to not wake Ella.

"I know" I whisper, standing up to my full height. "Just running to the loo" I say quickly before leaving the room.

'Noah' 

A few minutes after Jim left, I feel a hand tighten in mine. Ella.

"Guys" I tell them in a small mumble, making all of their eyes shoot up to meet Ella's, who was blinking slowly, the oxygen mask steaming with her now faster breathing. "Hey" I gently move closer and pull the oxygen mask down to see her full face looking at me.

"W-what happened?" She stutters slightly, moving her head up to her forehead, Luke takes her hand before she could touch the bandages. Her eyes flicker between the three of us.

"You don't remember?" Micky asks worriedly, sat by her knees on the bed.

"No"

"What is the last thing you remember?" I ask her slowly, hoping to get a recent thing.

"Amber, Roxy and Emma shouting at me in the corridors and running to the sensory garden." She tells us, before all three of us let a relief exhale out.

"Ok, well Ells, you fell or got pushed into the pond in the sensory garden, giving you minor hypothermia and you hit your head on a concrete square giving you a massive gash to the back of you head and a concussion" Luke explains slowly, her looking between us. She grabs hold of my hand tightly, need of comfort.

A few moments of silence pass and before any of us can talk, she does. "Pushed, I remember" She tears up, one trickling down her cheek. "I remember everything now"

"Ok, what do you remember?" I push her slightly, rubbing my thumb over her knuckle.

"I ran to the sensory garden because I was having a panic attack and needed to calm down. It's so secret and I didn't think they know where it was. I sat by the pond, thinking for a few minutes then Amber, Roxy and Emma came and they were talking to me-"

"What did they say?" Luke asks.

"They said like, 'She's alone now' and 'Cry baby'" She mumbles, looking down at her blanket covered lap. "Then I got up and tried to walk past but they tripped me up, Amber crouched down and whispered something to me-" She stops and looks down.

"What did she whisper?" Micky asks gently, rubbing his palm over her knee.

"She said 'Mummy is missing you by the way'" She crocks, looking up at the ceiling above her.

"What? How does she know your mum?" I mumble. "What happened after that?"

"I can't remember" She cries, putting her hands to her face.

All three of us, comfort her but we all had the same question on our minds.

How did Amber know Ella's mother?

'end of 21.'

:(

Posted: 18.4.22