New Identity

Chapter 8

Sitting in the waiting room was a new experience for me. Usually I was sent straight back to a room or I went to a free clinic on the other side of town that way no one would find out or recognize me. So sitting here, looking at the parents cuddling their child to their chest, family waiting on the news of the surgery on a loved one, and children with temperatures or cuts or broken bones, waiting to be seen was something new for me.

After I called Ian, he left work straight away, letting his sons know what was going on. They stayed until the end of school before they came and picked me up. Even though the situation wasn’t that drastic, Dominic said that he would feel comfortable being there after she got stitches.

All I could think about was how my father felt when I was in the hospital. It’s only been two days and I already miss my daddy, Andrew, and the guys like crazy. Andrew! God, I hoped he was really going to be okay.

I slumped in my chair, all of a sudden feeling tired. The bruises on my body didn’t hurt as bad as they once did. I closed my eyes and listened to the back ground music and the hushed conversations happening around me. Within no time, I surrendered to the sleep that my body begged for.

***

Walking out to the waiting room with my wife next to me, I was happy to see everyone there. Ricky was sitting next to a sleeping Zaphera. Dominic was sitting on the other side of the small sitting area that they claimed, texting on his phone. Dillon and Spencer were sitting next to each other, hunched over a PS3.

Ricky looked up first and walked over to us. “How are you, Mom?” he asked as he walked over to her right side.

“I’m fine, just thirteen stitches on my left arm,” she said shrugging. “I just want to get home so I can finish dinner before everyone shows up tonight.”

Ricky and I shook our heads at her. “You are not cooking tonight,” I said. “The boys and I will cook dinner with your help from the dinner table. Dominic, Dillon, Spencer, let’s go.”

They nodded as they stood up. Dominic looked over at Zaphera with a questioning look. “Dad, do you want me to wake her?” he asked pointing to her.

I looked at her sleeping there so peacefully and I thought about all that she has been through. I shook my head, “No, let her sleep. Just try and pick her up without waking her.” I turned toward the door as he walked over to her. I was just about to reach the automatic double doors when I heard a girl scream.

Turning around I saw Zaphera fighting Dominic in her sleep. “Damn,” I muttered as I raced over to them. Dominic was talking to her, trying to get her to stop and wake up, but she just fought him even more.

Everyone within hearing distance were watching the scene, trying to figure out what was going on. Once I reached them, I turned Zaphera toward me, pinning her arms to my chest and pushing her head to my shoulder.

“It’s okay Gem, calm down,” I whispered into her ear. I wrapped my arms around her, holding her closer. “Ian is here, I’m here. It’s okay, you’re safe.” She grew quieter, but she was still struggling. I tried to think of a way to calm her down and put her back to sleep, but I couldn’t think of anything. All that came to my mind was to treat her as a child. Then the scene of Louie humming to her and how she fell back asleep came to my mind.

I sat down in a chair behind me, bringing her into my lap. I started humming a lullaby that my mother sang to me when I was younger, and rocked her slightly. After a good three minutes, her fighting stopped, her breathing evened out, and her hands clung to the front of my shirt. I just sat there, looking at her. I had no idea that it went this deep. She didn’t seem to cringe whenever Ricky touched her or when I touched her. I sent out a mental curse to the bastard that did this to her. He must have done some great damage.