lovely mess

chapter 1 part 2

“Katarina Harrison? I'm Officer Peady, you're gonna have to come with me I'm taking you to a shelter in DCS.”

“Sorry what? Aren't I going to my uncles?” I didn't understand, I've been to my uncles every time this happened. Except for when he was on vacation and I went with my grandma.

“We can talk about other possible places to go once we get there but Karson said he isn't financially okay with you staying with him anymore. I'm sorry but we have to go right now.” My throat felt like it was on fire. When the guy broke into the house I was in I had to scream so loud for help, and try to convince him I wouldn't do anything wrong. Now it felt tight and heavy, dryer then my eyes as I refused to give myself pity.

I couldn't manage any words. I just sat back in the seat and went to put on a seatbelt. He kinda smiled as he told me I wasn't being arrested for anything, so I didn't have to sit in the back with bars. I didn't feel nice enough to smile but I moved to the front and set my backpack on my shoes while I waited for him to start the car.

“Am I going to my dads?” I barely spoke trying not to show any emotion. I used to have a dad. It felt foreign to use that word. Father seemed more appropriate. I used to have siblings. A brother and a sister. When I first figured out I would text them constantly. I wanted to know everything about them and if their life turned out to be shit like mine did. Turns out it didn't. I probably talked to my dad the most, and he ended up owning a computer company called Intel.

“We can definitely discuss it. You probably don't know this but your grandmas in a retirement home now, otherwise you coulda gone with her. Do you wanna call your dad?”

I shouldn't be upset about this. Countless times I've been hurt. I've even made a new name for myself. Poor Katarina. Struggling depression and loneliness following in my mothers footsteps and being alone for months, always beaten up kicked out and I'm just trying to get my life back.

“Could you? I haven't talked to him in a while, and my phones broke.”

He promised he would and we stepped into the DCS office, going straight toward the child room. There was a little girl in there crying, she probably got removed from her parents and has nowhere else to go. I have to wait here while he goes in a separate room, so I don't hear the conversation. If my dad doesn't want me, I go to a shelter till I turn 18. And if he does? I see my father, for the first time in 10 years. I don't know which scenario I'm more afraid of.

“Hey sweetheart.” I made an effort to smile at the brown eyed girl. I looked around and found a frozen themed box of tissues and squatted beside her, handing it to the girl. “Do you wanna play a game?”

She looked up and dried her eyes and nodded. “What game?” She said in a sad voice that made my throat close up for a second. I looked around the room at the games, but most were on a higher level than her. She looked about 4-5. “It's called…” I looked around again

“Jenga, do you know how to play that?” I asked and walked up to go grab it. I turned around just as she was shaking her head.

“Lemme teach you.” I sat back down and smiled pouring out the contents of the Jenga box and I could see her flinch out of the corner of my eye. She was probably taken out of her home for abuse. I started to stack them up and she helped, already stopped crying.

“Why are we here?” She said quietly and rocked back and forth on her knees.

“Um… I donno. We're here for different reasons. I think we're gonna get new, and better families that will love us even more.” I smiled . “But it's okay to be sad, I'm sad too.”

“I'm not sad cause I get a new family.” She started to tear up again. “I'm sad cause it hurts.” She quivered her lip and accidentally knocked over what we had built with the Janga wood.

I looked to her face, and there didn't seem to be any scarring or bruising. I gasped as I looked down at her arm, which was bent backwards and was definitely bruised up. Why didn't a DCS officer see this? She looked panicked, probably wondering why I gasped.

“What's your name?”

“Madigan.” She put an extra emphasis on the G.

“Can you…. You know how to set it up right honey?” She nodded and used her shoulder to wipe off some tears while I stood up. I went out into the hallway and was about to go into the room the officer was in until he came out before me.

“I was just about to come out, you're really not supposed to leave the room.”

“I-I know it was important the little girl already in the room? She's here for abuse right?” I questioned. She flinched and she had an obvious breakage or at least fracture in her arm. The cops checked up on me when they knew someone broke into the house. They thought maybe the guy got a hit on me or something, and checked for wounds or bruises. And I was just on an abandonment case. A little girl that was clearly in for abuse wasn't checked for anything?

“You know I can't-”

“No I know that but who brought her in? She flinched when I laid out the Jenga wood, I know it was abuse. Look at her wrist.” We walked into the door of the room and he looked at her while she quietly set up the wood in a long tower.

“Her dad is a drug addict, Charlie somethin. We heard he has an underground club somewhere but we don't know for sure, and we had a warrant. She told us about some weird people going in through the house and we thought it was best if we removed her, then we saw her arm. We don't know what happened to her hand but we checked it out, it's a fracture. No one's been able to convince her to let us see it because if we get anywhere near her she screams. Surprised she let you in the room actually.”

“Your dad said he could pick you up sometime in the morning, so you'll have to stay here overnight. I need to get going I'm on call but there's a lady in the front that can help you if you need it.”

“What if I can wrap up her hand? If you give me something I can do it.” I was sure I could get the little girl to let me.

“She needs medicine for it and a sling.”

“Just wait one second.” I said harsher than I should've directed at a police officer. She didn't seem hostile to me, she didn't say anything when I came in. She seemed like a very sweet little girl. I kneeled down and she looked up with a crooked smile and exclaimed she finished building the Jenga tower. After explaining to her it would feel better, she agreed to have her arm looked at.

“You will?” Officer Peady asked and she nodded. I held her hand and walked her to the nurse, and then sat by her while she got it wrapped. She said it didn't hurt at all and got a lollipop for being so brave.