Wretched || H. Lecter

} CHAPTER THIRTEEN {

} CHAPTER THIRTEEN {

"Hello, I'm here to visit Abigail Hobbs," I said to the receptionist with a small smile and she nodded in understanding with a smile of her own, allowing me to head up towards the young girl's room.

Once outside her door, I knocked twice to announce myself before a soft voice called out to me from inside the room.

"Come in!" She said and I pushed open the door to reveal Abigail on her bed, a book in her hand.

"Hey, Abigail, how are you feeling?" I say softly to her as I sit beside her on the bed. She discards her book before gently placing her head on my shoulder and exhales loudly.

"Still a bit shaken up, I suppose. I didn't expect anyone to try something while we were there." She replied solemnly, a deep frown adorning her pretty face. I furrowed my eyebrows at her words, unsure what she was talking about. Had I missed something? Or had someone forgotten to tell me?

"Sweetheart, what are you talking about?" I asked cautiously, concern festering beneath my skin like rats trying to get to the surface.

"Nicholas Boyle? The man that attacked me at the house in Minnesota?" My stomach dropped at this revelation, and I sprang into a panic. My concern doubled when she didn't meet my eyes.

"What?! The copycat victim's brother? What happened? Were you hurt?" I questioned worriedly as I frantically searched her skin for any traces of injury.

"I'm okay now." She whispered as she grabbed a hold of my hand. "He believed my father murdered his sister so he planned to kill me for revenge. I-I stopped him." My heart sank at her words.

She killed him in self-defence.

She spoke calmly but I could tell it was affecting her more than he was willing to admit. I could also tell that she was hiding something from me but I wasn't going to bring it up until she was ready to talk about it.

"Oh, Abigail, that wasn't your fault. You defended yourself and there is nothing wrong with that." She looked up at me with teary eyes and just nodded at my words. "I'm so sorry I wasn't there, you shouldn't have had to do that." She throws her arms around me in a tight hug and I squeeze back.

"It's okay, it wasn't your decision. And besides, Dr Lecter looked after me." She whispered and realisation hit me as soon as the words left her lips.

He knew what she had to do and didn't even think to call me. He didn't even mention anything at our last session.

For the next hour or so we spent our time talking about anything that came to mind. It felt good to catch up but as we spoke I could see the effect Nicholas Boyle left on her already fragile mind.

As soon as I left the building, I pulled out my phone and clicked on Dr Lecter's contact, my mind still filled with anger at his lack of communication. My hands shook as I raised my phone, the dial tone ringing loudly in my ear.

"Rachel? Are you alright?" Dr Lecter's voice suddenly reached my ears and my anger surfaced.

"Alright?! I just found out someone tried to kill Abigail, alright is not a word I would use to describe how I'm feeling right now." I immediately exploded, practically shouting down the line.

"Rach-." He began but I cut him off, too frustrated by the sound of his voice to act rationally.

"No, I sat there, in your office oblivious to the fact that she could have died and instead of telling me, you kept it to yourself. She is struggling, Dr Lecter, and I wasn't there for her when I promised I always would be." My voice grew unsteady as I vented into my phone, tears streaming down my face from a mix of concern and anger.