I ignore her the rest of the time they were there with me. They show me the images of my injuries and explain that the nurses took them for me in case I wanted to press charges against whoever had done that to me. They were right, "I want to press charges against my parents, and I want a copy of all those photos." I say pointing towards the photos they have in their hands and wait for their reaction. "We understand what you want but before we can arrest them, we need you to understand that we need more evidence or a witness." They explain.
I laugh bitterly, I expected that, and it is never going to happen. No one will ever stand against my father; they fear him. After everything I have gone through, I can't get a break. The doctor called child protective services when she noticed I didn't want and can't stand to be next to my parents. She wants me to be safe when I get discharged and she knows I'm not if I leave with my parents. I think she believes me when I said they are responsible for me landing here but it is hard to tell.
My parents are a convincing duo, they wouldn't be together if they didn't work well together. They kept coming every day and trying to barge into my room against my wishes. I can see them losing patience every single time they are escorted out by security. Every time they come back it pisses me off more and the angrier, I got. It was starting to get harder to hold myself back, something in me thirsted for their blood as much as I did. I can't and don't want to be anywhere near them.
Two weeks pass quicker than I want it to, and it marks the time for the feeding tube to be surgically taken out. After three weeks and every exam coming back clean, there was no reason for me to stay here so they discharged me. I didn't own anything in here, everything I had-was provided by the hospital, so I left it. The social worker assigned to me had signed all the necessary documents for me to be discharged. I was going to be taken to an orphanage until I emancipate myself.
"I need to go by my parents place to get some things and clothes. Can you take me, please?" I ask Sandra the social worker. She smiles warmly and nods her head. I have heard stories of some social workers, from some of the kids that were in the system. They talk bad about the ones they were stuck with. I'm thankful that the one assigned to me is great. I stare out the window as the scenery became familiar. I sigh silently as I feel my anger start to simmer.
I have a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach, I hate this place with a passion, I can't wait to be out of here. She parks her car and turns the engine off. She stays with me inside the car waiting for me to make the first move. We are right outside my parents building. I open my door and close it behind me, Sandra does the same. "I can't leave you. I need to speak to your parents anyway, so while you pack, I will do that." She says as she walks beside me.
We both climb the stairs and enter the apartment that already had the door open. My parents and Stephen are having a heated conversation that immediately stops when we enter. I shake my head annoyed and walk towards my bedroom at the end of the hall. Sandra walks towards my parents and Stephen, the look on their faces make me stop on my track and I frown at them in suspicion. I know that look, they have something planned.
"Go pack Analiah, while I speak to your parents." Sandra says urging me towards my bedroom, they mask their expressions. I have a bad feeling about this, I hurry towards my bedroom and quickly start packing what little belongings I have. I run into my closet and pull out my suitcase. I throw all my clothes in it along with my toiletries bag and school backpack. I pull my extra cellphone, charger, my wallet and important papers from a hidden nook inside my closet.
The cellphone was dead but that was to be expected since I have not been home in a long time, so I will need to charge it as soon as I get to the orphanage. Everything I will need to go to court is in the cloud and I need to access it to be able to print it. "You know… you can't get rid of me that easily." I squeal in fright and turn around, holding my chest and take a step back away from him. How the heck did he sneak up on me without me noticing or sensing him?
I watch his every move, for each step he took towards me I took two back. "What are you doing in here?" I ask masking my fear. He smirks at me predatorily making me feel like a gazelle when hunted by a jaguar. "I came to help you and see you off." He answers but his eyes and tone sang another story. I took another step back and felt the wall behind me. I'm trapped, my fight or flight instinct kick in overdrive and I make a run for the door.
He grabs ahold of my hair as I run pass him making me groan in pain, my hands automatically try to pry his hands off my hair. He pushes me against the wall and traps me with his body. His legs are between mine making me feel exposed and vulnerable, each arm on either side of me blocking any way of escape. I hiss in pain when he pulls my hair roughly to the side to expose my neck to him unwillingly.