❝oh, all that i did to try to undo it
all of my pain and all your excuses
i was a kid but i wasn't clueless
someone who loves you wouldn't do this❞-family line, conan gray
✸
chapter seventeen, THE HOSPITALIZED KOOK
Blinding lights are all Talia Anderson sees when the girl begins to open her eyes. Her pounding head and ringing ears coming soon after. Each of her senses bombarded and overwhelmed as she tried to come to.
"Sweetie? Can you please grab Laurel, her daughter's waking up" Sheriff Peterkin's words cut through the noise in Talia's head and a small smile threatened her lips, the girl's body visibly relaxing at the woman's presence.
"Tal, sweetie, can you hear me?" Susan's hand rested on the girl's shoulder, lightly squeezing the arm that didn't have the splint. Talia tried to answer but her dry throat halted her words, a grumble coming out instead.
"It's okay, I'll get you some water" Susan stood, grabbing Talia's hands away from her neck. When she turned back around with the water the teenager was trying to sit up. "hey, take it easy kid" She let out, trying to keep the girl from straining herself.
"do you remember what happened?" It was a loaded question and Talia shook her head. The girl had no memory of what happened. No clue as to why she was held up in a hospital room. She was freaked out, her heartbeat starting to race as she wracked her brain for a reason.
"It's okay, it's okay" Susan reassured her, trying to calm the panicked girl. "it's okay, take a sip of your water- there you go" The woman's motherly tone settled Talia.
"you fell from the Hawks Nest, do you remember why you were up there or who you were up there with?" Talia shook her head and loud footsteps echoed outside the room.
"Good, you're awake" Laurel's words met her daughter's ears and she took a breath in. Susan stood, she and Laurel going out into the hall a moment later. Talia leaned her head back, ignoring the pain it caused as she tried to go over everything in her mind.
Little by little, small fragments of the night before flashed in her mind. And then suddenly, like a damn being destroyed, it all came flooding back in. Sarah, the plat map, John B, Topper, Topper trying to fight John B, Topper shoving her, her on the ground, John B's voice coming in and out as she struggled to keep her eyes open, Sarah's cries, the pogues yelling. Her head felt like it would burst open in recollection of the events.
She watched her mother and Susan in the hallway, their hushed whispers never breaking the doorway. The two women stealing glances in the room and at the girl.
A thought dawned on Talia that the sheriff wasn't only there because she cared about her. The woman returned to her original line of questioning before Laurel showed up. "so you can't remember anything?"
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