Scars | ✔

Chapter 12

Clementine frantically looked around as the yelling downstairs intensified.

"Marshall? Marshall?? Marsh-"

"It's okay, Clem. I'm here, and I hear it too." Marshall said, shushing Clem as she had already started to cry a bit.

"Thank god. I just woke up, and you weren't next to me, and I heard yelling, and-"

"I know, I know, but it's okay. I'm okay, we're okay."

"Y-yeah." Clem said, wiping her own tear.

"I love you, Clem."

"I love you, back, Marshall." The two teenagers grabbed each others hand, and watched the door for a few seconds before it slammed open, and they were met with a blinding light.

"Oh my god! I need backup, there's kids up here!" A man in a blue uniform yelled, running up to the scared kids.

"Are you two alright?" The man asked as people in red, and people in blue rushed in. The two kids held each other's hands, looking at the man with worry. A few people helped grabbed the two, separating them.

"No! Please! We're good, we didn't do anything! Please!" Clem yelled, trying to grab Marshall's hand.

"Calm down. Calm down. It's okay." The man said, taking her outside of the room.

"MARSHALL!" Clem yelled, letting tears stream down her eyes. Marshall looked up, tears in his own blue eyes, and threw Clem her hat that had fallen off. She caught it and put it on her head, mouthing an 'I love you' to him.

. . .

"It's okay, Clem," Marshall told Clem, holding her hand tightly. "We're okay." Marshall finished, squeezing her hand a bit. Clem smiled at the blonde boy and sighed.

"I was worried I wouldn't see you again." Clem said, hugging him.

"Me too, Clem, me too.." Marshall muttered as Clem rested her face into the crook of his neck. Marshall pulled away and smiled.

"You forgot something." Marshall said with a smile, handing Clem her hat back.

"Thanks. This hat means about just as much to me as you do."

"I'm flattered." Both of the kids started to laugh, despite being locked up in a old, dusty room.

"I love you, Marshall."

"I love you too, Clem."

. . .

Clem slowly opened her eyes, being met with a white room.

"Thank god you're awake." A young lady in a white outfit said softly. Clem looked at her arms and freaked out, trying to pull the tubes out of it.

"No, no! Don't do that, sweetie." The lady said, restricting Clem from moving her arms. Clem struggled, but due to her fragile state, wasn't stronger than the woman.

"Where's Marshall?!" Clem asked in a yell, letting more tears fall.

"Calm down sweetheart. We don't want you to pass out again. We're just trying to help your injuries." The lady said as a man in blue walked in again.

"Any information on her?" The man asked.

"Yes! Yes, actually. We identified her as Clementine Marsh. She is 16 right now, and she went missing when she was eight, the day her parents died."

"Well, hello Clementine. My name is Jackson, and i'll be helping with your case. Is that okay?"

"Where's Marshall? I want to see him!" Clem said with worry, breathing heavily and crying.

"Marshall? Have any information on him, Elizabeth?" Jackson asked the lady.

"Marshall Barn, age 17. Does this sound familiar, Ms Marsh?" Elizabeth asked. Clem quickly nodded, had remembered Marshall's last name.

"I'm sorry, but he was emitted into a different hospital." Elizabeth said in a sigh. Clem started crying as she thought about being away from Marshall. In that strange moment, Clem wanted to be back in that room. Suffering alongside Marshall.

"It's okay, honey. We'll find you a foster family, alright? For now, you rest." Jackson stated, smiling warmly at Clem.

"Noooo.. I don't want to, I want to see Marshall! Pleaseeee.." Clem whined, tears still flowing from her eyes. Jackson stood up and glanced at Elizabeth before leaving the room, leaving Clementine in the room with Elizabeth.

. . .

"Do you mind telling us what happened?" Elizabeth asked. Clem crossed her arms.

"Please?" Jackson asked. Clem glared a him.

"If you let me and Marshall be together again." Clem told them.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart. We can't-"

"Then I can't tell you what happened."

"How about this? What do you like to eat? We can bring however much you want if you tell us." Elizabeth said with a smile, standing up from her crouching position.

"No. I won't eat until I see Marshall." Clem said stubbornly.

"Clementine. Listen. Look at me," Jackson said, using his index and thumb to make Clem look at him. Clem flinched away from the contact, biting her lower lip and eyeing his hand. "Sorry, but you want those people to be put in jail for doing those things to you, right?"

"I.. I guess." Clem stuttered, rubbing her wrist fiercely.

"Then you need to tell us what they did to you."

"I.. can I please see Marshall?"

"I'm sorry, but we can't. We can, however, reassure you that he is okay. He's doing okay, and his wounds are being treated, just as yours are."

"I want to see him.." Clem whined.

"I know you do, but we can't do that right now. We're currently in the process of finding you a family."

"I want my real family back." Clem said with tears, turning her face away from the officer.

"I know. I wish we could do that, but we can't. I can promise you, though, that we'll find you a family. A good family who will love you."

"Timothy and Tayla didn't love me."

"Oh?"

"They hurt me and Marshall a lot. We didn't eat or drink a lot, and their friends would do.. things.. with me. Things that I didn't want to do." Clem said, taking a deep breath as she recounted all the horrible things.

"They did?" Jackson asked, trying to get as much out of Clem as he could.

"Yeah. We would cry ourselves asleep most nights. We were never given blankets or pillows."

"Is that the only place you've lived?"

"No. I've lived with my parents when I was eight. They were killed in front of me, and Timothy burnt my house down. Then, he took me to a log cabin deep in the forest. TJ said something about a search party for me, and we had moved out of state.. into here." Clem said, biting her lip and playing with her wrist.

"How many people lived in the household?"

"Me, Marshall, Tayla, Timothy, Jett, Damon, Cole, Zane, Ajax, Hugo, TJ, Henry, and Hector." Jackson stood up and looked over to Elizabeth, who was doing work on the computer.

"Beth? Mind handing me my notes? I need to make sure they got everyone."

"Oh! Uh. Sure." Elizabeth got out of her rolling chair and scrambled to get Jackson's clipboard. She handed it to him and fixed her glasses with a smile.

"Thanks Beth." Jackson said, reading the names over in his head.

"We're missing one." Jackson said with a straight face, even though he was worried himself.

"Who?" Clem asked, now breathing heavily again and staring at him worriedly.

"Timothy Barn."