Girl Who Cried Wolf

Bloody Knuckles

When Tillie woke up on Tyla's bed, she realized she must've fallen asleep while comforting Tyla. But she didn't realize something was wrong until she noticed that she was the only one in the bed.

She quickly shot up and looked around the room for her girlfriend. Hoping maybe she just went to the closet to get changed or something. But she wasn't in the room.

"Ty?" Tillie asked as she left Tyla's room. But there was no reply. It was 5 in the morning, way too early for Tyla to get up to get ready for school, or even to go out to the street. Tyla was not a morning person. She always slept in. But she wasn't sleeping in now. And that made Tillie nervous.

So when the phone rang, Tillie wasn't sure whether to be relieved or more worried.

She didn't recognize the number, and it was on Tyla's home phone so Tillie didn't want to intrude... but she was worried something had happened to Tyla, it wouldn't be the first time. So Tillie picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Hello, this is Mercy Regional Medical Center, is this Tracey or Kassandra Burton?" a woman asked, sweet and calmly.

"No... they're here, though. Do- Do you have Tyla Burton?" Tillie asked nervously, although, she wasn't sure what response she was hoping for.

"Yes we do, in the ER. Who are you?"

"I'm Tillie Newton," Tillie answered, but realized that likely meant nothing to the woman, "I'm Tyla's girlfriend."

"Oh good, Tyla's been asking for you. When can you be here?" Tillie would get there in 15 minutes if she drove, but she couldn't drive. And neither could Tracey or Kassandra. Tillie's parents were never a big fan of Uber, and thought of it as untrustworthy. But she'd have to order one. Tyla was worth it.

"About fifteen minutes, I'll be there soon, bye." Tillie hung up the phone before shouting for Tracey and Kassandra. She explained that Tyla was in the ER for reasons unknown but she had to be fine because supposively she was talking (she left out the part about asking for her) and that she'd order an Uber and they'd get to her. Tracey and Kassandra were on board.

Tyla ordered the Uber and although when Tyla and Tillie first met, Tyla told Tillie it wasn't a good idea to wait outside of the apartment or the apartment complex, Tillie, Tracey, and Kassandra did it anyway, as they waited for the Uber. It only took two minutes for them to arrive anyway, and nothing bad happened so Tillie assumed that Tyla would forgive her.

The Uber driver was strange, he rambled about his nose piercings and how he was going to fuck his wife so hard when he got back to his house. He got so descriptive, Tracey covered Kassandra's ears.

But then they were there, Tillie paid the sixteen dollars and they rushed inside.

"Hello, I'm Tillie Newton, and this is Tracey and Kassandra Burton. We're here for Tyla Burton?" Tillie rushed to the woman at the desk. She hoped it was the same woman.

"Oh yes, we moved her to a room, she's in room 201, to your left," the woman barely got out before the three of them were jogging to Tyla's room. Counting up the door numbers as they passed them.

Then there was 201. Inside it was empty, except for the stitched up crying girl, missing a chunk of her hair, and restrained to the hospital bed. Tillie stood there in shock. Who would do this to Tyla? She'd only just started to get better from the last time, and then someone goes and does it all over again ten times worse.

Tracey and Kassandra run up to Tyla, they kneel down on the ground so they can talk quietly through their tears and Tyla would still hear them. And so Tracey could hold Tyla's hand and Kassandra can brush down Tyla's hair.

Tillie slowly moved to the other side of the bed, she noticed Tyla had bloody knuckles and Tillie found herself smiling at that. Last time Tyla didn't have bloody knuckles. Tyla didn't fight back last time, but this time she did. She was getting stronger. Through all the shit she goes through, she was coming out stronger. Tillie could only hope that the same will happen this time.

Right as Tillie was about to tell Tyla something, a doctor walked in. She gave Tillie a meaningful look then went back outside the room, but waited there. So Tillie got up and followed her.

"Usually I give the status of our patients to the parents, or at least an adult. But so far you're the oldest to arrive, and there isn't anyone else in our contacts. So unless you don't want to hear it, I have the rundown of Tyla's injuries."

"No, I want to hear them," Tillie was quick to reply. The doctor flipped through the pages on her clipboard.

"Tyla had major injuries. She was stabbed in the thigh, the chest at least four times, and her back five times. She was cut in various places, and her wrists were slit. She'll have bruises and she'll have a black eye for a couple of days. Some of her hair was ripped out and her left leg is broken. It was clear that who ever did this was trying to kill her, in a slow, and painful way. But miraculously, both Tyla and the baby survived. Apparently a man found Tyla outside the back of the apartment complex, called 911 and had her brought here. This man practically save Tyla's and the baby's life. He's in the waiting room if you'd like to meet him."

Tillie smiled at her and ran to the waiting room. When she got there, it was clear who saved her girlfriend and her baby. The man was tall, with long blond hair and a fuzzy blond beard. He was wearing a golden necklace and when he saw Tillie he stood up and walked over to her, "You must be Tillie."

"How'd you know that?" Tillie asked, but shook the man's hand when he stuck it out anyway.

"Tyla was asking for you the whole ambulance ride here. She was also very worried about the expenses, tell her not to worry about it, that I got it covered."

"Thank you... Can I have your name?" Tillie asked just as the man turned to leave.

"Reggie." then he left the building. Tillie blinked then rushed back to Tyla's side. Resuming her position beside her, but found her girlfriend asleep so she dragged the three chairs around the room closer to the bed and got Tracey and Kassandra to sit down, and they waited. Their hands never leaving Tyla, as if they feared if they let go, they would be letting go of Tyla all together.