Cherished

3

"This one is your room," Miles said, holding the door open for Pierce.

Eva glanced around. The room was incredible. It was large and extremely bright because of the small balcony. The bed was large and had a beautiful quilt on it. There was a lady in the room waiting for them with a cart of supplies.

Eva had a horrible, dreadful feeling when she saw the contents of the cart, having been tortured with needles and the like all too many times before. Her heart was pounding painfully in her chest.

"This is Dr. Lawley. She's going to get your back all cleaned up," Pierce told her, laying her on her stomach on the plush bed.

"Thanks guys," Dr. Lawley said. "Why don't you step out for a few moments? I'll call you if I need you."

Miles and Pierce left, leaving Eva alone with the doctor.

"Eva, right?" she asked. "Let's see what we have going on here. I'm going to cut away your shirt, but I have another one here for you when I'm done, okay?"

Eva didn't answer; she just laid compliant on the bed. What could she do? This was her life.

Dr. Lawley took great care and time to clean her back. She was surprisingly gentle and always gave her a warning about what was coming next.

"Honey, your skin is pretty raw, so you want to keep off of it as much as possible. I'll tell one of the girls to help you clean it every morning. There are a few stitches, but I don't imagine that they will stay in place very long. If they pop, have them call me and I'll come check on them, alrighty?"

Eva said nothing to her, unsure if she was allowed to speak to her or not.

Dr. Lawley helped her sit up, slipping an incredibly soft t-shirt over her head.

"You should get some rest. I'll talk to the others, and tell them what I told you," she said, rolling her cart out of the room.

This couldn't possibly be true. There had to be something that they wanted her to do.

She was scared out of her mind.

---

Dr. Lawley knocked on the office door located on the bottom floor of the house. That's where Miles, Pierce, and Graham were located.

"How is she?" Miles asked.

Dr. Lawley sighed, taking a seat in front of Graham's desk.

"She's covered in scarring of all sorts and definitely malnourished. Her back is all mangled, probably from a belt or whip. I think the worst part is the fact that she didn't move or react to me stitching her up."

"Thank you for coming out here on such short notice," Graham said, standing up.

"Of course. You know I always love what you do here and in the community, Graham," Dr. Lawley said. "I don't think her stitches will last long. It's such an awful spot for them, but call me first thing if she has trouble with them."

Dr. Lawley shook Graham's hand, exiting the office.

"This is fucking awful," Pierce mumbled. "You should see her, Graham. She's just-"

"Not there," Miles finished. "She's worlds away."

Graham hummed. "Keep your distance. I want Kenzie and Bri to be the ones that she interacts with for now."

Miles nodded.

"We'll get her some clothes, and maybe some decorations for her room," Graham added. "Try to make her as comfortable as possible."

It was quiet for a moment, until Miles gave a soft laugh. Graham gave him a curious look.

"I played some awful music in the car to keep her awake. I think Pierce was going to strangle me if he had to listen to any more of it."

Pierce rolled his eyes.

"I thought falling asleep if you lost a lot of blood was bad for you," Miles added.

"That was thoughtful of you, Miles. Some say that the body might slip into a coma; others say it's because the body's functions slow down too much for it to be able to produce the right amount of oxygen. I'm not sure if it was dire in this case or not," Graham responded. He moved back to his desk, pulling out the paperwork he was working on.

Miles stuck his tongue out at Pierce childishly, leaving the room.

Graham looked up at Pierce, who was stone still. He was normally like that.

"What is it?" Graham asked softly.

"It's nothing," Pierce admitted. "It just brings up a lot of bad memories."