Run

Chapter 3

When we get to the emergency room, Jessa and Mrs. Brooke take a seat and I get handed a piece of paper to fill out. looking at the paper, I can kind of see how crazy my life has been. On paper, at least.

Name: Chelsea Gabrielle Manarico

Date of Birth: August 9, 1999

Parent/ Guardian Name: Esperanza Rodriguez and Joseph Manarico III

Gender: Female

Ethnicity: Hispanic/Italian

Age: 16

Tattoos, piercings: Nose piercing left side, tongue piercing, no tattoos

Hair Color: Red

Marital Status: single

Telephone Number: 123-778-9108

Address: 177 Rosebank Ave. Atlanta, Georgia

Previous States lived in: California, Texas, Seattle, Florida, New York, Oregon, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Georgia

Is the patient a addict/ abuser: No

Allergies: None

Is the patient a parent: No

Are the patient's parent's divorced?: Yes

Does the patient have any estranged immediate family members?: Yes. Haven't seen dad since 6 months old. No contact.

Is the patient suicidal?: No

Does the patient have any disorders?: No

Is the patients mental health intact?: Yes

Does the patient have health coverage?: No

I felt a lot of these were ridiculous. We sat in the waiting room in silence for a while, until Jessa broke the silence and asked Mrs. Brooke if she had anything to eat. She said no, so Jessa and I went to go find some vending machines. As we walk through the hallway, Jessa says "Why didn't you tell me?" and I say "Because I couldn't." And she says "Why not?" and I say "Because it isn't easy saying my mom hits me and isn't even sober half of the time she's awake." That shut her up for a while. We decide to head back when Mrs. Brooke calls Jessa and says they're ready for me.

***

I sit on the examining table for about ten minutes while I wait for a doctor. The room has Winnie the pooh stickers everywhere. my mind wanders to that place again. I try to avoid going to this place because it just makes me sad. but I cannot control it this time. I begin to think about my childhood. I remember going to the park with Esperanza when I was three and four. I remember baking cakes with Esperanza when I was five and six. I even remember going on vacation with Esperanza when I was seven and eight. around the time when I was nine and ten, it was no longer Chelsea and Esperanza, Mommy and Daughter. it was Esperanza and Santos. Esperanza became distant from me, more and more each day. She became closer to Santos, her boyfriend, and far away from herself. After all, she loved him. She loved him more than she loved me. he had this affect on her. it was as if he was controlling her every move, every thought. one day, he introduced her to his "friend" who was there for him whenever he was down, whenever he needed help, and whenever he needed money. he thought his "friend" would help Esperanza. and mommy new better, she did. but she went along with it and decided to meet Santos's "friend" because, just as Esperanza said, "any friend of Santos is a friend of mine." Santos brought his friend to meet Esperanza one day while I was at Jessa's house. I remember coming home from Jessa's and seeing Esperanza passed out on the floor. I never liked Santos, but I knew that he was the one Esperanza would want me to call. So I did. I said "Santos, Santos! Help! Mommy's lying on the floor and she won't get up!" and Santos said "Relax, Kid. She's just tired. She'll be up in an hour or two." and he hung up. Jessa and I Sat next to Esperanza, not saying a word until she woke up.  I wish I'd known that when she woke up, nothing would be the same.

***

The doctor pulls me back into reality when he walks into the room. "So, my name is Doctor Tsao and I will be stitching you up today. Let me take a look at your eye." I can tell that English is his second language, Chinese his first. I look up at him and he shines a flashlight in my right eye. "Can you see the light?" he asks, his brow furrowed. "No." I respond. my voice coming out shaky. "How did this happen?" he asks as he puts information into the computer. "Uh... I uh..." I say nervously, eyeing Jessa. That's when Mrs. Brooke steps in and covers for me. "She was taking a shower and slipped. When she slipped, she hit her head on the glass cup we use to rinse our hair. And that's why there's glass in the wound." Thankfully, Mrs. Brooke sounded like she was telling the truth. "And who are you?" Asks Doctor Tsao, sounding annoyed that she spoke for me. "I'm Kate Brooke. Jessa's mom." She says offering her hand out to shake Doctor Tsao's. She gestures toward Jessa. Doctor Tsao does not shake Mrs. Brooke's hand. He just glares at her for a few seconds. I think he knows something's up.  "Are you sure that this is the story you would like to give me, Miss Manarico?" Doctor Tsao asks, turning in my direction. "Well, it's uh what happened." I say. "Are you sure? Usually glass does not get stuck in one's eye like it is in yours unless there was a force behind the glass." Darn. This is when Jessa steps in. "Look, Doctor Tsao, Chelsea is my best friend and I can assure you that this is in fact what happened. Chelsea is a tough girl. She doesn't take anything from anybody. So for you to be questioning whether or not she was hit with something by someone, is completely and utterly ridiculous." Wow. I wish what Jessa was saying about me was true. I wish that I didn't take anything from anybody an that I didn't let my mom hit me. But I love her. No matter what she does to me, I'll always love her. She's my mom. I don't want to feel like this. I really don't. I don't want to love her. But  there's just this part of me that feels so much love for her, despite the feelings of abandonment and hatred that I feel for her, I just love her. After a few minutes, Doctor Tsao said okay and began to stitch my wound together. Jessa held my hand while he stitched me up and removed the shards of glass from my eye. before we left, he said "Chelsea, you need to come back in three days for a check up. Wee need to see if your vision has improved."" Mrs. Brooke replied by saying "Will she make a full recovery?"  And Doctor Tsao said "Well, for now all you need to worry about is resting, not putting too much strain on your eye, and filling this prescription for pain medication. You may never see again."