Trauma of the Forest (Meadema)

~ Chapter 72: A Horrible Future? ~

She was in the hospital restaurant, in a separate cubicle, to ensure her privacy, literally 300 meters away from Beth's room, but of course she wasn't allowed to go there anymore. As she had expected, sleeping was definitely not an option for Beth, she had sent her the first text a minute after Viv had left the room that she missed her terribly. And somewhere she also knew that Beth would definitely not go to sleep until she was sure that Viv had a place to sleep where she was safe.

In the meantime they had switched to video calling, because constantly texting could be much better replaced by an actual conversation. 'Hey liefje'. It was clear from the fresh tear tracks on Beth's cheeks that she had been crying for the past half hour. Of course it wasn't easy for her to leave Viv behind, especially with the fact that leaving Viv behind was also her challenge. That this would be the first time that Beth would actually leave Viv behind for longer than an hour, even for a whole night, was a huge step.

And what made it even worse was that those men were still walking around freely somewhere, probably angrier than ever that their buddy had been arrested. So if they were to get a hold of Viv now, Beth knew for sure that the outcome would be anything but good. 'Liefie, Kim is here. Do you mind if I hang up for a moment?'.

Beth nodded, not exactly convincing that she was ready to let Viv out of her sight, but she knew that it was better. That it was actually better if she just went to sleep. 'Would you like to text me right away when you get somewhere, so I know you're safe?'. A small smile appeared on Viv's face. 'Of course I will. Goodnight liefje. Try not to worry to much about me, I'm safe with Kim'.

Viv felt a hand placed on her shoulder and turned carefully, to see Kim standing behind her. 'Hey Viv. You okay?'. A deep sigh left Viv's mouth. 'Mhhh, I don't know. It's hard to leave her like this. She is so vulnerable right now. And the fact that I am 100% sure that she is crying in her room right now, with no one to comfort her, really hurts like hell. It's just so unfair'.

Kim hugged Viv, which Viv clearly needed, because the grip Viv had on her was pretty tight. 'We'll make sure that you and your wife have a safe place to go to soon and that those men are caught. So that you can finally enjoy yourselves together when Beth is released from the hospital'.

'Thank you'. Viv released her grip on Kim and instead they walked out of the hospital together. Suddenly it felt like she was walking through the gates of hell again. Somehow that hospital felt really safe. And now? Now she was back in the outside world with that really big enemy. And now she still felt safe in Kim's presence. But what if her shift is over soon? Who will she be safe with then?

They drove back to the police station, not a word was spoken. The only words that were spoken were words through the app, between Beth and Viv. Viv knew for sure that she had never received so many heart emoticons from Beth in one night. That made it even harder for Viv not to just go back to Beth and jump into bed with her. To wrap a blanket around her and protect her from all the evil of those men. From all the stress that those men give her. From all the emotions that those men evoke in her.

Suddenly she thought further. Maybe this was the new way to reassure Beth. Instead of using words, just wrap her in a blanket. A kind of protective layer around her that can protect her from all evil. Beth is a visual thinker, so visual support might be a solution to reassure Beth, if something terrible were to happen again. But anyway, this was a concern for later, just like talking out that argument completely, now the concern was focused on finding safety.

Arriving back at the police station, the first thing Viv did was inform the parents of what had happened, who of course immediately offered that they could come to Whitby when Beth was released from the hospital. But that wasn't an option for now. First the police had to find out in detail how it was possible that those men knew exactly where Beth and Viv had been hiding. Do they have special equipment for that? Is there something else that would let them know? Until then, seeking safety with family is simply too dangerous, because once the family really gets involved, the drama only gets bigger.