The Difference Between You and Me

Chapter 6

GOD STILL HEALS. HE HEALS US SPIRITUALLY, PHYSICALLY AND EMOTIONALLY. GIVE HIM EVERY HURT, PAIN, BROKEN HEART. HE WILL MEND THEM ALL

Annie stared at the words on the plaque hung on the wall beside her bathroom door. She read it over and over as tears flowed out her eyes like a fountain of sorrow and pain. She had officially reached her breaking point where she could no longer pretend or try to be strong. She needed this, she needed to cry. Getting up from the sitting position she had been in front of her bed, she knelt on her knee and began to pray. Annie prayed about the escalating situation, asking God to heal her and end her emotional and physical scars, to restore her soul and give her peace and happiness once again.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Someone started knocking on the door and she decided to ignore it and continued with her prayer.

"Annie Brians open up this door before I knock it down myself", Annie heard Trina's stern voice coming from the other side of the door. But Annie stayed on her knees and prayed, further ignoring the countless knocks that came after.

"Amen", finishing her prayer, Annie stood up to open the door, "sorry I was pray..." Wham!

Annie felt the impact of her stepmother's hand on her cheek cutting her off. She squeezed her eyes tight shut, begging the tears not to fall as she tried to soothe her stinging cheek.

"Why did I have to be out here for almost an hour before you opened the door ?!" Mrs. Brians shouted before slapping Annie a couple more times. Annie fell to the floor in pain holding both her cheeks which now felt as if they were on fire, tears rolling down her face by this time.

"Do you think you own this house? Who the hell do you think you are, huh? " Mrs Brians shouted at Annie as she hovered over her, lending her a few more slaps across her face.

Annie didn't try to protect herself from the blows, she just laid there taking each slap as they came. She figured they'd hurt bad enough to numb her to the rest that was to come should she live through this one. Life, she had to admit, had become pretty bleak over the past few weeks.

"You little bi..."

It was the last thing she heard her stepmother utter before darkness took over and she went unconscious.

---

Annie opened her eyes and immediately closed them, hissing in the process as the bright light burned her eyes. She reopened them, this time very slowly trying to adjust to the brightly lit room. She looked around in confusion and noticed that it wasn't her bedroom. Suddenly the door clicked open and in came a lady dressed in a nurse's uniform.

"Hello", she smiled, "I see you're awake"

"Hi... umm... miss? Where am I? " Annie asked. Her obvious confusion.

"And there goes the famous question asked by almost every patient that wakes up in here", the nurse said still smiling. "You're at the hospital my dear. You were unconscious and was brought here in a cab yesterday afternoon. But the strange thing is even though you've only been here one day, no one has come to visit you or called to ask about your wellbeing. " The nurse thought for a moment before she started scribbling something on her notepad.

Annie was not surprised at this, after all that has been happening it was obvious she had no family left except for her mother and sister in Washington, and Ashton. Her father whom she thought was on her side has become emotionally distant for the past year, allowing his wife to control him and his decisions as he often sided with her. TJ and Karl has been ignoring her too for some strange reason. No one here seemed to care about her anymore, all are caught up with their own agenda. And well Mrs. Brians appear to be bent on sucking her father dry of his wealth.

Annie thought back to what had happened before she got here, what exactly landed her in the hospital and all she could remember was Trina hovering over her, shouting and slapping her over and over across the face, one after the other. She remembered wanting to scream but somehow no sound was able to leave her mouth. Tears began to well up in her eyes and before she could stop them, spilled out and rolled down her cheeks at the memory.

"Okay, I'm going to ask you a few questions so as to acquire a profile on you. Is that good? " the nurse spoke, looking up from her clipboard. Annie quickly wiped away the tears, hoping the nurse didn't notice.

"That's okay," she replied with a closed-mouth smile.

"Let us begin then," the nurse piped up, the smile never leaving her face. "What's your full name?"

"Annie Zakiah Brians"

"That's a nice name," the nurse complimented

"Thank you," Annie blushed slightly

"So that's ZAKIA?"

"ZAKIAH," Annie corrected

"Oh, my bad," the nurse smiled apologetically

"That's okay"

"How old are you?"

"Seventeen years"

"Who do you live with?"

Annie paused for a second as the memory of the home she lives in flashed across her mind, "my, uh, father, stepmother and three brothers.

"Hmm, younger or older?"

"Younger"

"What's your father and stepmother's name?"

"Marlon Brians and Trina Brians"

"Okay, thanks, that's it for now. How are you feeling Annie? The nurse asked

"My head hurts," Annie replied smiling

"I don't know how you manage to smile despite that, but you are a strong girl is all I'll say. I'll go get the doctor now, so he'll be here in a minute. " And, with that the nurse left and closed the door behind her.

A few minutes had passed since the nurse left and Annie only stared at the ceiling in those passing minutes not thinking about anything in particular, just being at peace and grateful to be away from all the chaos despite where she was.

She heard someone enter the room and focus her attention towards the door to see who it was. A man in glasses, sporting a white button-down shirt and black pants, topped off with a white lab coat with a nametag that read 'Dr. Henriqué 'entered the room.

"Hi Miss Brians," the gentleman Annie presumed to be the doctor assigned to her, greeted .. She gave a weak smile in response and proceeded to sit up on the bed.

Dr. Henriqué took a seat at the edge of the bed and handed her a mirror which she didn't notice he had before. Annie looked down at the mirror in his hand and back up at him questioningly. The doctor nodded as if giving her permission to take it from him and requested her too look into it. She complied, taking the mirror and looked into it. He watched as Annie's eyed widened in shock at her reflection and her hand reflexively shot up to her swollen, scarred and red face, checking the reality of what she was looking at in the mirror.

"Why Annie?" the doctor began, "why is your face in this state?

What happened?

Why has anyone come to visit you as yet?

Why did you arrive here in taxi? "

The doctor waited for his questions to be answered, but in vain he waited as Annie continued staring at her reflection, watching the tears stream down her swollen, bruised cheeks once again.