*Four Years Earlier...*
The hospital doors burst open, the EMT's rushing in with a female patient around the age of eighteen to twenty one lying on the gurney. Doctors rushed to her side, listening attentively as the diagnosis was given. One doctor checked her pulse while nurses rushed around following their strict orders.
"Jane Doe, found lying in an alleyway, beaten and-
_It was their last day as college students. They were at their favourite cafe and the atmosphere was both sad and joyful. It was an end but also a new beginning.
The sound of female giggles filled the air as she approached her friends. They had been waiting for her she could see but, seeing as they were all regulars, their orders were already on their way.
"Fiyah!" they cried simultaneously, the short red-head standing up to greet her.
A few hugs and waves later she sat down and took an appreciative sip of her virgin piná colada. It had been a long day.
"How are my favourite sparring partners doing today?" she asked, her voice filled with happiness at seeing them.
The air filled with chatter as each recounted their stories, turning to her for assurance that yes, they were being listened to. She was like that. Someone whom people turned towards when they needed someone to talk to._
"–most possibly sexaully assaulted. Definite concussion, broken ribs-
_They giggled as their waiter brought them their food, winking at them as he left.
"Ah, if only," the girl next to her sighed.
Fiyah nudged her with her elbow and raised an eyebrow. "What about Talha, huh Aaliyah?"
The girl shrugged. "He says that he's going to propose. We'll see."
The girls didn't believe her nonchalant attitude for half a sec.
"Propose?" the girls squealed, almost vibrating in their chairs.
"Well, it's about darn time," Fiyah said, smiling despite her grouchy tone.
"Yeah yeah," Aaliyah said, smiling at her friend for her to know that she was not being mean. "We all know about your morals."
"I'm just saying," Fiyah said, shrugging, "that if he's not playing around, he should make it official. We don't have time to ruin our reputations."
"Get with the times, Fiyah," the red-head said. "It's the twenty-first century and this is Chicago. Everyone is dating. Even the Muslims."
She rolled her eyes. "Raz, just because everyone's doing it, doesn't make it right by us."
Razina stuck her tongue out but kept silent. Raz knew that Fiyah was right, obviously._
"Looks like she fought a great deal. There are defensive wounds here and here but we won't be able to say much until she wakes up. Thanks doc. We'll leave her in your hands now."
_The evening ended in eventual tears and long hugs. It was the end of an era. Their college life was over and now it was time to be an adult. A real adult in the real world. It was time to go home._
"No cell phone or identification was found on her but it doesn't look like a mugging. Her watch and jewellery are all still present. Looks like the gangs are striking again."
"Don't look so shocked, Marge. They do it to initiate their new pledges all the time. Rape young innocent girls. Sometimes worse. It's disgusting. She's lucky that they didn't kill her."
_The four girls stood up, adjusting their hijaabs, the red-head slipping a bit of her fringe out in the process. Fiyah looked at her in exasperated amusement but didn't comment.
She hugged Raz and Aaliyah goodbye, turning towards the remaining girl.
"So how about it, Nabz? One last walk home?"
Nabiha shrugged and smiled wistfully. "I'm really going to miss everyone. We all live so far from each other. What are we going to do?"
Fiyah pulled the girl into a hug, whispered, "We are going to be fine. We are going to do our best to stay friends and if we don't manage that, it's okay. Because life does move on and this was a great stage."
The slim girl nodded and hugged her back before saying, "I'm going to miss your mothering the most."
Fiyah swatted her friend on the back and laughed. "That's all anyone will ever miss. Come on. Let's go before it gets too late."_
They had patched her up and she was in recovery. However, due to the girl's severe concussion, she had slipped into a coma. They had run their tests on her and the horrifying results were that yes, she had been assaulted.
The doctors were in a tizz. No matter how many times it happened, every new innocent life that was ruined like this was a horror on its own.
_Halfway home, Fiyah realised the reason that she felt so weird.
"Oh no, Nabz! I forgot my bag at the cafe!"
Nabiha swore, ignoring the reproachful look on her friend's face. "We have to go back. It has your keys and phone and everything."
Fiyah shook her head. "No, they lock your dorms in fifteen minutes. You will never make it. I'll go back."
"It's too dangerous, you dimwit. Something could happen."
"I'll call you as soon as I get my cell and I'll splurge on an Uber, okay? Just go."
They argued for a few more minutes but Nabiha knew that her friend was right so she bid her good luck and insisted on her friend calling as soon as she got a hold of her phone.
"Be careful, please."
"Pray for me. And you should be careful too. Now hurry home."
The two separated and Fiyah started her journey back to the cafe._
"Detective Abbot from CPD just called. A girl has just been reported missing. Fits the description of our Jane Doe in recovery. Goes by the name Lutfiyah Abbas. Here on a student visa from the UK. Twenty-one years old. Been missing for a couple of hours since she left her friend Nabiha Bahri to go and fetch her handbag that she had left at the Squeezers cafe and never called as promised."
"Yes, this was no mugging. Okay, did they get in contact with her parents?"
The nurse nodded. "They had just arrived a few days ago to do a little touring before intending to return with their daughter back to the UK. They're on their way. They..."
Noticing the young nurse's hesitation, the doctor lifted a brow. "What is it, Miss Erin?"
"They don't know what has happened to her."
The doctor nodded in understanding. The nurse was young and not yet experienced with the horrors that came with working on Saturday nights in the Emergency and Trauma ward.
"It will be okay. I will talk to them."
The nurse nodded and went back to work but not before the doctor saw the tears shining in her eyes.
_Fiyah shivered as a chilly breeze blew across the street and she regretted not bringing her cardigan with her. The weather was ridiculously hot during the day but sometimes during the nights, despite the heat of summer, there would be a chill in the air.
And she hadn't expected to be out until so late.
She mentally groaned as she bemoaned her carelessness. Despite everyone calling her the mothering friend, she was the most careless of them, leaving behind shopping bags at malls, forgetting her watch at the sink when making her ablutions, leaving her bag in cafes...
She felt a sliver of unease go down her spine and she walked faster, wishing that she had just remembered to check herself before leaving the cafe. But in all the rush and tears and goodbyes, it had completely slipped her mind.
Turning a corner, she realized that the man, whom she had noticed two blocks away, was still behind her, following her every move. Her heart accelerated and she began to jog, a scream threatening to slip out of her mouth. She didn't even have her phone to call for help and there was no one around. Turning her head she saw that he was still behind her and despite her jogging, he was still the same distance away from her that he had been before.
She turned another corner and in a state of horror realised that she had taken a wrong turn. Terror sluiced through her as she turned back and found the man standing behind her.
He motioned with his hand and four more men joined him out of nowhere.
Then she screamed._
"You must be Mr and Mrs Abbas."
The Indian couple nodded, their dark eyes filled with worry. The doctor motioned them forward and bid them to sit.
"I'm sorry, Mr and Mrs Abbas. I'm afraid that I have some bad news regarding your daughter."
Not realizing what his words could be taken as, the mother started to shake her head.
"No no. My daughter can't be gone. No."
The doctor's eyes widened in horror. "Oh dear lord, no. That is to say. She is alive."
Relief flickered on her parents' faces before worry replaced it again.
"Then what happened to her?"
_She backed away, but two men ran forward, grabbing her arms even as she struggled, kicking out and biting and screaming.
"Shut up, you bitch. And this might be a little easier for you."
Tears streamed down her cheeks and she looked at the men around her. She had to memorize their faces.
Seeming to understand what she was doing, the man stepped forward and slapped her once, twice and by the third time, her ears were ringing and she could taste the blood in her mouth. She opened her mouth to speak and her breath was knocked out of her chest as he punched her in her stomach.
She would have doubled over if not for the two men holding her, snickering as the one on her right said, "I like the feisty ones. Makes it all the more fun. Come on, pup. We've got the gal for you. Just gotta do the deed."
She struggled again, refusing to give up. If they were going to kill her, it would not be said that she went quietly. The man kicked her then, causing the men to drop her. She tried to stand up, tried to get away but that only brought more kicks and she heard a scream. The next kick made her realize that the scream had been from her.
Through her blurry vision, she saw someone step out from behind the two remaining men. He was younger than the others, younger than her if she took a good guess. She started to sob.
"Please. Let me go, please." She spoke, she knew she had, but all the air had been long knocked out of her so all that came out were pained gasps.
The first man kicked again and she doubled over this time, retching blood and saliva.
"Reggie, man I don't know," she heard the younger man saying, the hesitation and fear in the his causing her to tear more.
"Shut the f*%k up, pup. You wanna join us, you know the rules."
"Here. Have some more of this. Maybe it'll give you some courage."
She glanced up and she saw that the younger boy, because a boy was what he was, had come closer. She could feel her vision fading, black and white spots dancing in front of her eyes.
She saw a flash of grim eyes and hands reaching out to her before she blacked out._
"Your daughter is over the age of consent but due to her being in a coma, we have to inform you that the Plan B pill is usually taken orally. Until she wakes up, there is not much we can do for her."
The doctor watched as confused looks crossed the couples' faces and he sighed. "It's to prevent pregnancy. Sexual assault causes many harms to a family, besides just the emotional and physical ones. The Plan B pill or the morning-after pill as it is commonly known as, if taken in the first few hours after the assault and upto five days after, can prevent the pregnancy from occurring. We can wait to see if your daughter will come out of her coma or with your permission we can try and administer it to her now."
Her father shook his head. "We will wait."
The doctor gave the man a dubious look but nodded nonetheless.
They would have to just wait and see.
She woke up with a start, her heart racing as a dream slipped from her mind. She glanced around and saw white walls. The soft beep in the background, tubes in her arms and the medicinal smell gave proof to her thoughts that she was in a medical facility.
Frowning, she tried to remember what had happened. She tried to sit up and pain shot up her body making her gasp. Slowly moving her left hand she lifted her blanket and saw that her ribs had been tightly bandaged.
_The man kicked again, and she doubled over this time, retching blood and saliva._
She looked up as someone walked in and saw her mother's eyes widen.
"Doctor, doctor! She's awake."
"Amma." Her voice was hoarse and her throat felt like sandpaper. "What happened to me, Amma?"
Her mother's eyes filled with tears and she knew that the worse that could've happened had. Her mouth opened in a silent scream.