Page 152 of Shattered

“I remember he kept saying ‘mine’ over and over again. And then I didn’t have on my clothes, and I tried to pull the blanket over me, and…” she paused, taking a steadying breath, “I think there was a fight. I remember yelling and something shattered in the background.” Her voice was trembling as she whispered the truth to what had happened to her. She couldn’t say it any louder. If she did, it would make it more real.

She frantically looked between the group.

“What happened?” her voice broke as she repeated the question.

It was Officer Palotte that filled in the rest of the story.

“A woman named Amanda went upstairs to find you. She said Christian’s door was locked, but she heard you screaming from inside. Her boyfriend and another guy busted down the door. They called 911 and held Christian down until we could get there. She said there was no way you were drunk, because she had seen you walking in the house twenty minutes prior and you were completely sober then.”

Sam was shaking.

And then she was vomiting once more.

Connor held onto her as the bouts of dry heaving took over. Then he wiped off her tear-stained eyes when she finished.

For a split second, when she first awoke, she’d been confused as to how she had gotten so drunk that she was sent to the hospital. She would never have let that happen. Now she realized she didn’t feel drunk at all. She didn’t even feel like she had a hangover. She just felt confused and as if she was missing an entire portion of her life. She felt dirty, and angry, and she wanted nothing more than for Callum to be in that room.

“Where’s Callum?” She looked at Connor for the answer.

“Is it okay if I bring him in? It’s him, Micah, and Kristin.”

Sam frantically nodded her head as the sobs took over.

She looked around to find the room had all but emptied except for the nurse while she’d heaved over the side of the bed.

At Sam’s request, Bella had brought over a mirror when Connor left the room.

The sight looking back at her was nothing like she had ever seen.

It was only then that she realized she wasn’t wearing her clothes from earlier, but was sitting in a hospital gown. Her hair was a mess. There was a bruise forming on her left cheek and her upper lip was split open with one suture keeping it closed. There was what she believed to be a handprint on the bottom of her neck and a bite mark on her shoulder.

“There are some other bruises on your hips, and then on the insides of your thighs,” Bella said gently as she reached out to take the mirror back.

Sam just nodded. She didn’t want to see those bruises yet. She hoped she never would.

She steeled her face, not sure whether grief or anger or hate was about to take over. The silent tears continued down her face as if a river had burst through a previously unmovable dam.

It was only seconds after the nurse walked out before she heard running and the curtain being yanked back. She had turned over and was facing the wall, but she knew it was him. She didn’t hear him move, but she was sure he was looking at the apparent bruises on the back of her arms. She knew she looked like a mess, but she couldn’t bring herself to care at the moment.

She heard his footsteps inch closer. She thought for a moment that she may have still been experiencing the effects of the drugs because, when he finally came into view, she swore it looked as if he’d been crying. His eyes were bloodshot. His face was tear-stained.

He really did need a haircut. This was the longest she’d ever seen it, and he had to push it back away from his face. That’s when she could really focus on his features. He reached out to touch her arm, and she involuntarily jerked away. She didn’t mean to, it just happened.

“It’s just me. I’m not going to hurt you.” His voice was so low it came as barely more than a whisper. He bent down so they were eye level. He slowly placed his hand on her cheek, and she reached up to grab it. He must have thought she was flinching again, because he quickly started to pull back.

“No, come back.” Sam still didn’t recognize her voice. She was barely audible.

As he replaced his hand, he leaned over so their foreheads touched.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn't have–”

“Sam, stop. Please. I’m so sorry. Don’t blame yourself for this, okay? Don’t do that.”

She heard more footsteps and Kristin’s audible gasp as she and Micah made their way into her room.

This didn’t feel real.

It was as if she was watching everything happening from the outside. Like she was floating outside her own reality and Callum was the only thing anchoring her to the world. She would wake up in a few minutes and all of this would be a bad dream. She closed her eyes and tightened her hold around her middle, willing herself to wake.

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