The Trap

Marks

"Mrs. Willbert, Dr. Beveridge."

When Dr. Stevens left the room, both Shannon and Olivia stood up from their sits ready to end the agony that they were feeling for more than three and a half hours.

"I'm sorry for the wait. In these kind of cases there is a huge bureaucracy involved and we need to follow a series of obligations that the law imposes, that's why it took us so long. The good news is that Cari is stable now, we are still waiting for some test results and she's still unconscious, but her body is responding positively at the medication and we believe she will be physically fine very soon, she's a tough one that girl, she put up with a lot these three days, but she needs to rest for a moment."

Both of them let out a sigh of relief. The waiting and the lack of news were worse than torture. Shannon tried to get some information from the people she knew from the hospital but all they told her was that they were still examinating her. She had to dig deep inside to find the patience and to resist the will to go through that door and see what was going on and why it was taking so long by herself.

"But we are only talking about her physical health for now. Unfortunately, the aggressor may have left deeper marks on her. I am sorry to say that, but some tests have proven that she was abused a few times and the marks on her body reinforce it."

Shannon felt the world falling underneath her feet. The word abused echoed inside of her head like a scream in the middle of nowhere. What she feared the most was a reality. He abused her, left marks on her, tortured her for days. She knew that the chances of that happening were high, but she still had hopes that maybe, somehow, it didn't.

"I am telling you this so you can be prepared for the moment she wakes up. When she returns and is able to talk about it, we will have a better vision of the situation and the way she will react to what she has been through. For now, there's nothing more that we can do but wait. You can go see her now, but don't forget that she just came out of a difficult situation and that her body went through a lot, she will be better soon, okay?"

"Okay, thank you Dr. Stevens."

Olivia was crying again after the doctor confirmed their suspicions. Shannon felt her own eyes get watery too. Now that it was real, a bunch of images were going through her mind: all of the struggle Cari went through, the pain, Reid touching her and she trying to make him stop while there was nobody there to help her. Now that it was real, her main purpose in life was to make sure Reid would rot in jail for the rest of his life.

She took a deep breath and followed Olivia inside the room. Cari was there, sleeping peacefully with the familiar wires that connected her to the machines that were keeping her monitored and the drugs that were helping her recovery. The tears that she was trying to keep from falling didn't take long to run down her face. Cari looked so weak and tired. Her uncovered arms were full of dark purple and red marks, just like her neck and her chest. Her wrists were wrapped in bandages and, the moment Shannon saw them, she knew exactly why they were necessary, making her stomach hurt by the thought of her tied against something while Reid abused her over and over again. Her bones exceled from her skin and in that moment she noticed she had lost a lot of weight and that the deep and dark circles around her eyes contrasted the pale lips and the skin of her face. If the heart rate monitor wasn't there, she would say she was dead, because her chest barely moved as the air slowly filled her lungs.

When she realized that she didn't lose Cari forever by a thread, she sat on the side of the stretcher, held her immobile hand, and let all the fear and stress come out of her body with the tears, thanking the universe for the fact that she was still there. The worst thing that could happen to a woman had happened to the person she loved the most and she was having a hard time processing that. All the trauma, the memories, the fear, it can haunt someone for the rest of their lives and change them forever and she was terrified by the way Cari was going to react to that terrible experience, but she would do anything to make it as easy and fast as possible for her to recover and be her Cari again.

-

"What?? Reid got away? You're kidding, right? You've got to be kidding." Five hours later, when they thought that the nightmare was over, Detective Rodriguez gave her the worst news she could give: they had lost Reid.

"I know this is hard to hear Shannon, but, unfortunately, the answer is no. Reid is still out there."

"Why? How did that happen?" Shannon was losing the rest of sanity left in her mind. The detective was really telling her that the monster that almost killed Cari was still free and not paying for the horrible things he did? That couldn't be true.

"After following him and finding the cabin, the two cops that traced him kept a look at every move he made until we planned the rescue and got ready to act, but Reid left before we could get there and, as soon as he noticed he was being followed, he managed to outwit the cops and, I don't know how, disappear."

"This can't be happening, this nightmare never ends!"

"I'm sorry Shannon, I know this is the worst news I could've given you, but we're looking for him and we won't rest until we find him."

"Look, I know you're doing the best you can, but I can't keep my arms crossed anymore. Have you seen her? Have you seen all the bruises, the marks, how skinny and weak she looks? He almost killed her! And he's still out there probably laughing at us! I can't accept that, I have to do something."

"Shannon, I can't stop you from doing what you wanna do, but please be careful. He's psychologically unstable now, what turns him into an unpredictable man who's capable of anything. I'm putting all the security I can to protect all of you outside the hospital, but if you can do something to help, my advice is for you to do it."

"I will."

"I'm sorry again, I hope she recovers quickly."

"Thank you detective. Thank you for saving her. Sorry for my reaction before, but I'm so tired of this, I just want it to be over."

 "I know, don't worry. Try to rest a little. We will find him, I promise."

-

Hello everyone, how you doing?

I'm a little overwhelmed right now for the news from the girls and the whole (ex) thing so maybe the updates will take a little longer to be posted because it's a little hard to find the inspiration to write.
I'll try to keep doing it weekly but I can't promise...

How y'all feeling about the news?
I have a theory that they are telling a past experience that happened last year and will end up telling us that they got back together as the tapes are released, but who knows, anything can happen...

Hope you're all doing ok. Sending you love and good energies to handle the rest of this terrible year. xx