Page 57 of Salvation

Jess and I dive into the boxes and set up a small makeshift clinic in about half an hour.

Once she’s set up, the room is filled with women and children. She asks, “Who’s first?” Maia, who left the room to grab Michele from the daycare, walks in, and when no one else volunteers, she steps up to Jess. “I’ll go. Though there’s no way I’m pregnant.” She blushes and Davey looks away and his cheeks and tattooed neck pinken.

Ah, they’re taking it slow.

My respect for him raises a notch.

Maia takes the cup and excuses herself to go pee. Jess pats the seat next to her and calls to Michele, “Hey buddy. Can Doctor Jess check your muscles and look at your tongue?”

He obliges and she looks him over. She checks his vitals, weighs him, gets his height, and then does a quick check up. When she’s done, she directs him to the treasure box and tells him to get his prize. He grins and digs through the box before pulling out a small Captain America figure.

Grinning, Jess says, “Excellent choice. I’m a big Captain America fan, too.”

Shaking my head and laughing, I say, “Captain America or Chris Evans?”

Smirking, she winks and retorts under her breath, “I wouldn’t kick either one out of my bed.”

We both laugh as Michele runs off with Maia and they play with his new toy. A few more women step up and I assist Jess when it’s needed. She gives all a pregnancy test and after running them, all come back negative. She asks if they’d like birth control and most take her up on it.

After a few hours, there’s only one young girl left. She’s only eighteen and has been here about three weeks. When she showed up, she was beaten to a pulp. We brought her to the hospital as soon as she arrived. She was in horrible condition. Her swelling has mostly receded, though her inner wounds will take much longer, and she’s finally starting to come out of her shell now, but she’s standing in the corner and not coming over to take her exam.

I desperately want her to take it and she did sign the contract with the shelter stating she would, but she looks terrified.

Jess looks at me and I nod. Walking over, I speak softly, “Hey, Andrea. You’re the last one. Are you ready?”

She shakes her head and I see the fear in her eyes. She’s terrified.

I understand why. Her ex beat and raped her before passing her off to his friends and watching while they all took turns raping her, too. As a way to assert his dominance over her, she told me that he would often tie her to the bed and allow his friends to take turns while he watched. The night she came here, she had climbed out of the window after they all passed out from partying and made her way here. She’d been beaten and raped by four men that night. The hospital did a rape kit and ran a pregnancy test. The pregnancy test was negative then, but it could be positive now.

I softly say, “I know you’re scared. But we need to know, Andrea. It’s better if you know.”

Her tears flow down her cheeks and she begins shaking. Her arms wrap around herself while she sways and sobs. All eyes in the room are focused on her with sympathy and understanding. Sadly, her story is not at all uncommon here.

She shakes her head as her tears flow like a river overrunning the banks after a storm. “I don’t want to know… what if I am? What if all of that evil created a baby, Miss Hope?”

Tears form in my own eyes as my chest tightens at the pain and fear within her broken voice. I gently take her hand. “If it did… then we need to know, and you’ll need to make some hard choices. If you are, that innocent will also be part of you, not all evil. But I’ll be right here. I’ll stay with you.”

Another body appears at her other side; I look up. Maia takes her other hand and rubs it softly, offering her support and understanding. “I’m right here, Andrea. I won’t leave you. I’ll be right here.

“I’ve been where you are. You aren’t alone.”

Andrea looks from me to Maia and then at Jess, who is looking at her with compassion as well. She gently nods at Andrea, saying softly, “It’s better to know, sweetie.”

Andrea’s hand tightens on mine, and I squeeze back. Leading her across the room, the three of us, Andrea, Maia, and I, approach Jess. She hands a cup and an alcohol wipe to Andrea. Andrea hesitates and I hold my hand out to Jess. “Give me one, too.” I smile at Andrea in reassurance. Jess nods in understanding as she hands me my own wipe and cup. Taking ahold of Andrea’s arm, I say, “Come on, we’ll do it together. You and me.”

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