Adapted

Jane Doe

Ewan picked me up from the police station, not mum like I'd hoped. Mum might've been proud of me for saving the life of some random girl, like Detective Martin told Ewan he should be of me. But of course, Ewan was a twat, thus my heroic actions were demoted to "being in the wrong place at the wrong time." Which made absolutely no sense. It was my garden, I was out there to do his dirty work! What the illiterate brute clearly meant was 'SHE was in the wrong place at the wrong time." But that would mean putting the blame on someone or something that wasn't me, right?

Ewan wasn't just ignorant of what I'd done, he was a downright prick about it. Even going so far as to tell me I could've done more harm than good and spending a solid twenty minutes of the car drive home growling at me for worrying "his wife." A phrase he used a lot to push me out of HIS family picture, a picture I just didn't fit into.

"Your mother was worried sick and downright furious when she saw you'd not done a damn inch of work on the garden! Then she couldn't find you- I knew it was gonna be that damn tree house that distracted you and I was right of course. I thought you might be a little brighter not to go into a collapsing building without an adult!

"I am an adult!" I snapped. I was sick of listening to him and even though I never usually stood up to Ewan he was doing my tits in this time. I had enough on my mind without him weighing on me.

"You're seventeen so you aren't! Charlie. Do you know what would've happened if that damned tree house had broke? You could've been seriously hurt! Huh? Does an 'adult' go into a hazardous area?"

"That girl would have died if it wasn't for me." I said whilst scowling out the window. I couldn't raise my voice much louder than a mutter. I couldn't even look at him, I was beyond furious. I had more to think about than Ewan's concerns. He always was a selfish prick.

"Yes, and hopefully she's damn grateful. But you still don't go risking your own life for someone else's."

"Just because I'm not an athlete or a soldier doesn't mean I'm incapable of helping people, Ewan."

The sky outside was still black and starless and in the reflection of the window I saw my face. My tired eyes, greasy black hair, the blood on my cheek and forehead from where I'd swiped at the sweat and tears with my blood covered hands. Her blood. The girl who's name I didn't even know, no one did, they'd given her the pseudonym Jane Doe and that's all I knew about her.

The reflection also showed Ewan's eyes trained on me. His brow was furrowed and I'd like to believe it was concern but the way his mouth was opening and closing like a fish, I knew he was really just wanting to berate me again and then thinking better of it. Ewan was an asshole but he didn't like arguments anymore than I did. One factor that kept our relationship relatively peaceful.

My mind kept going over what had happened at the hospital, trying to make sense of it. The police wouldn't tell me anything, but they asked me everything. They wouldn't even tell me or Ewan whether we should be worried or not about a potential killer being out there. All we got was a 'well, you can never be too careful but I wouldn't worry so much.'

I asked if I could see her again at some point, when she was better. The detective didn't look at me when he told me no, it didn't occur to me until then that she may not get better. I'd just assumed that we were here now, we were safe. I didn't ask anymore questions after that, I didn't want anyone to see me blubbering.

The car drive felt like a lifetime, I was too exhausted and I couldn't relax with Ewan around. My mind was a jumbled mess between the girl, the questions and my family. When I finally got inside the house mum just smiled lightly towards me, rubbed my shoulder, kissed my forehead and told me we'd talk after school.