No Pain No Gain: But this isn't a Game

Chapter 3

Shimmering amber eyes hid behind fluttering long lashes. Those eyes, full of life, belonged to a girl. A girl who knew she was alive. If she was dead, then the crippling pain in her side would have been gone.

She held her eyes shut against the fluorescent lights. Her fingers traveled along the course sheets she lie on. No one had explained what happened the night before. She somewhat remembered an ambulance, but not anything after that.

Hana heard the squeak of a door and then the noisy hall. Then she heard the door shut and the click clack of heels approaching her side, followed by a creak as someone sat in a chair beside her. Hana opened her eyes and took in the woman beside her.

Pressed suit, pumps, short shiny straight hair, and holding a clipboard, the woman looked very professional. She cleared her throat and glanced at Hana. "Hi, I am Lee Mina." She gave Hana a comforting smile and stuck out her hand. Hana followed suit, but winced at the pain in her side and retracted her hand. Mina noticed this. "I need to ask you a few questions. Is that okay? I can always come back later when you're up for it."

Hana's father always told her to ignore people if they asked why she was bruised. Just lie about it. Hana knew exactly what the woman wanted to ask about .She looked at her side and held her breath. If she let the woman question her, would she slip up? Would she tell the truth? If she told the truth, would they make her go back? Would her parents take her back? Would they be too mad to take her back?

...

"Now is fine... What do you want to know?"

The first few questions were generic; name, birthday, prefecture. Those were easy. The questions after that got personal.

Did she get hurt often? Yes.

What was she doing out late the night before? Following instructions.

Who's instructions was she following? Hana's parents.

Then, the looming question was asked. "Hana, how did you get the wound in your side? Did someone give it to you?" It took a solid 60 seconds for Hana to respond.

"A beer bottle was thrown at me. First, it broke in half against the wall, then he picked it up and hit his mark."

"Who threw the bottle at you Hana?"

"... My father." Mina stayed silent." My mother was there too. She didn't touch me, just yelled... and laughed."

Mina frowned in sympathy. It wasn't real enough. "Was this the first time your father has hurt you?"

"No. My father is a heavy drinker, and when he gets home after work and gets drunk... He'll do things. Usually my mother will find something that is disappointing about me, which angers my father. He will throw things, push me... pull me... hit me." Hana took a shaky breath. "If he goes to a bar instead of coming home, then my mother will take things into her own hands. Usually verbal threats and insults. Sometimes she will push or slap..."

Mina noted what Hana was saying on her clipboard. "How long has this been going on?".

"Since my brother moved out and cut contact. He didn't decide to go to college, and my parents didn't like that. He wasn't living up to their standards, and that made them mad. They had great expectations for him. We all used to be generally happy but my parents and brother began fighting over those expectations, and things would get more heated the longer he stayed, so he left. He told me if he left then we would all be happier, but that was a lie."

"How long ago did he move out, and do you have any other siblings?"

"A little more than a year and a half. I don't have any other siblings."

Mina nodded. "I only have a few more questions. Have you ever told anyone about how your parents treat you?"

"I tried once, when it started. One night I snuck away with my mom's phone and called the police. I had barely begun to tell them when my father came out of nowhere and swiped the phone away. Telling the operator it was a prank call and apologizing. When he hung up he... told me to stay quiet... and he... wanted to get his point across, so... yeah... I had bruises..."

"That must have been awful for you." Mina said, writing more on the paper."Now for my last question. What is your address?"

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Hana knew that her parents would have a rude awakening She imagined what her mother would do when she answered the door and came nose to nose with the police.

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That night, Mina told Hana that the doctor would clear her to leave the hospital soon. What would happen when they released her? Did she have to go back to an empty house and would she be alone? Would she go home to her parents? Mina wouldn't let that happen after what Hana told her. Would she?