Page 66 of Saint
I give in; I’m exhausted. I’ve had enough of fighting and being frightened. I want to get clean and go to sleep. I don’t even care if I have to go back to the Watsons. Kip’s office is neat and tidy. There’s a sofa against the wall opposite his desk, and I’m relieved when he eases me down onto it. The room is spinning. I think I’m going to throw up and try to lie down, but the room goes black.
I wake up with the smell of disinfectant in my nose. My hand feels too heavy when I try to lift it up to my nose. I try opening my eyes, but it’s too hard. Slowly, I blink a couple of times, and even that is difficult. When I can finally focus, all I can see is the mottled ceiling tiles and curtains around me. A beeping gets louder as I panic.
“Steady, Royal. You’re okay.” The voice seems familiar, but I’m not sure who it belongs to.
“No, no, no. I need to get out of here.” I try to sit up, but I don’t have the strength. “What’s going on? Why am I here?”
“You collapsed in my office last night. Do you remember what happened?”
“You’re Kip. I was in your gym after Ben chased me.” Why is he still here?
“Yes, that’s right. The stone he threw caused quite a blow to your head. You were wobbling a lot before. I’m sorry I didn’t recognise the concussion earlier.”
“Can I go home? I hate hospitals.” I bite on my lip, and my chin wobbles when I remember that I probably don’t have a home to go to. “What’s going to happen to me? I can’t go back there.”
“No, it’s all been sorted. You can stay with me and Robin if you still want to.”
I nod my head but wince when it makes it throb. “My head hurts.”
“You’re going to have a horrible headache for a couple of days. The doctor will be in later, and the police want to talk to you. They had to get involved, the 999 call was enough to set the wheels in motion. I believe they have already reprimanded the ones that attacked you, but I don’t know anymore. Your social worker will be able to help you through it all.”
“I don’t want to see him again. He knew and did nothing. The police should be talking to him too.”
“I agree, and you have been appointed a new one. I think you’ll like her; she’s looking after the kids we have. She’ll be in to meet you soon.”
“What time is it?”
“About four-thirty. In the morning, that is.”
“Why are you here?”
“I wasn’t going to leave you alone here. I knew you would panic when you worked out where you were. You’ll learn quickly enough that when it comes to my kids, I’ll go to the moon and back to make them happy and safe.”
Tears pour freely down my face again, and it only gets worse when Kip wipes them away for me. “Thank you.”
“Go back to sleep. You’ll feel much better in the morning.”
Kip was right: when the morning comes, I’m feeling much better and will be allowed to go home once my social worker gets here. That’s any minute now; I’m waiting on the edge of my bed, wearing clothes Kip brought in for me. They aren’t mine, but they’re new, and he says I can keep them.
A woman pops her head around the curtain, her curly red hair seeming to escape from a plait, her smile looks genuine, and her eyes sparkle. “Hey, Royal, right?”
“Um yeah, that’s me.”
“Good, I’m Ella, your new social worker, but I’d rather we didn’t put too many labels on us. I’d much rather be friends. I have a couple of things we need to run through before I can set you free from here. Are you feeling well enough to go through some paperwork?”
I nod and let her get it over with. She talks about what is happening with the Watsons and about my belongings. We are going to go and collect them together, then she talks about Kip and his household. “Are you happy to be placed with them?”
“I’d rather them than some people I don’t know. They next lot could be just as bad as the Watsons.”
“I’m sorry you had such a dreadful time and that you weren’t listened to and taken seriously. You’ve been let down. I promise that won’t happen with me.”
Kip shows up just as we finish. “Is someone ready to break free?” he chuckles. His demeanour doesn’t match his bodybuilder physique. He’s so friendly and open; I have a good feeling about him and what will happen next.
There is only Mrs Watson at the house, and she won’t even look at me. All she does is open the door to let us in and then slam it firmly shut when we leave.
“Good riddance to her.” Kip pats my back gently as he takes the large holdall from me.
We drive across the town together. Ella is going to meet us at the house. “Robin is looking forward to meeting you. He’s a hugger, but I’ve warned him to be gentle with you. I’m not sure if he’ll remember though.”
