Alive and Injured

10) Bethany Hart

The first thing Bethany felt was pain. Just pain. She hoped if she opened her eyes it would go away but it didn't. The pain felt somehow worse so she closed her eyes.

"Bethany!" Bethany opened her eyes with some effort.

"How are you?" Two men stood above her. Bethany was a bit wary of men, having no father figure in her life and having a teacher who was a bully to her.

"Who are you?"

"I'm DR Jerry Foster and this is Michael Jones, my helper. You're Bethany aren't you?"

"How do you know my name?"

"It was on your school planner. How do you feel?"

"I ache everywhere..."Bethany looked down at her hurt arm and cringed when she saw her sleeve had been torn away and a bandage was wrapped around the wound.She knew they knew.

"Do you have any illnesses we should know about? Any... Conditions?" She closed her eyes. He knew everything.

"I have epilepsy. They're not sure what causes it but it's happened ever since I was younger when I got.... Had a fall."

"Okay. Are there any specific triggers we should know about?" Bethany shook her head,wincing at the movement. She moved her hand up and felt a big bump on the back of her head.

"You're okay, Bethany. You've got your deep cuts so don't remove the bandage. Then you've got a bump to the head and a few cuts and bruises here and there but you'll be just fine." Michael said, speaking for the first time.Bethany liked him but she was still wary. There was just something about him that screamed he was a kind man and wasn't going to hurt her. She wanted to trust him and trust this doctor as well but she was still scared.

"Thank you." She bowed her head, avoiding their eyes. One of them moved away, the other stayed. Bethany looked up to see it was Michael. He sat down beside her.

"Did you come with a parent? A friend?"

"No... I'm alone."She looked down at the ground, pulling up the grass shoots.

"Weren't you at school today?" Bethany hesitated before answering. She knew they had found her school planner so guessed they had checked it in order to know her details. Honesty was the best policy now.

"Supposed to be."

"Why weren't you?"His questions weren't demanding, his tone was not angry or annoyed or even scornful. He was kind, trying to understand.

"I was running away."Bethany whispered.

"Why?" She looked up at him, his eyes were sad.

"I hate my life... I just wanted to get away..." Michael reached out as if to pat her hand but moved away when she flinched.

"Would you like to talk about it?"

"No. I don't know you."

"Maybe that's what could help. Talking about it with someone who doesn't know you but will be willing to help if he can."

"You can't help..."

"You don't know that."Bethany looked at Michael, truly looked at him. His smile was sympathetic and his eyes were sad but kind. She bit her lip and the floodgates opened. It couldn't hurt...

So Bethany told Michael about the bullying that started when she was nine and her mother was diagnosed as bipolar. She had been depressed a long time before that.Her father had never been around to help her and she had no siblings.The house was never tidy unless she did it. Her mother sat in bed all day, only leaving to buy cigarettes and alcohol. This had been the way she was. Finally two months ago, Bethany had walked into the bathroom and found her mother's dead body in the bath tub. The inquest was obvious. A suicide. Custody of Bethany went to her father's brother, her uncle. Bethany shuddered at the memory.

"He... He... got...Bored of me quickly." Bethany swallowed a hard lump in her throat at the memory of her Uncle Ted.

"What do you mean?"Bethany looked up. She had been staring at the ground the whole time during this and Michael had been quiet. Now he was looking furious,disgusted.

"I think you know."She mumbled, not wanting to say anything out loud. Both of them waited. Once it was clear that Michael was not going to say anything(his fists were clenched so tightly his knuckles were turning white),Bethany continued with her story. She said about how her Uncle Ted stayed for two weeks then cleared off, leaving Bethany with a house to herself.

"You're living at home alone." Bethany nodded. Michael was speechless and didn't say a word. Bethany wasn't finished though. She explained how the bullying had started when she was ten years old with a girl called Saffron who found the simplest excuses to pick on her. It had started with just verbal abuse, name calling and swearing. Then it got to physical with Saffron and her group of bullies pushing her, grabbing her hair,punching her, biting, spitting, kicking, headbutting.

"What about your teachers?"

"They're too scared of Saffron to comment on it." Bethany sighed. It was actually very relieving for her to get it all off her shoulders. Even if it was to a stranger that she would never meet again.

"I'm so sorry Bethany... That's a whole load of crap that someone your age should never have had to put up..." Michael said softly. Bethany shrugged.

"Doesn't matter."

"Of course it does." Michael stood up and held out his hands to her. She frowned at him, confused.

 "You're no longer a Jane Doe and you have Epilepsy. We need to keep an eye on you. Come meet my family." Bethany nodded and took his hands. Michael pulled her up and put an arm around her shoulders. She tensed but allowed it. He led her to his family.