Meanwhile...
Bronx State...
"But I don't understand..."
"Mum calm down. We have to respect her decision. When she's ready, she'll surely come around," Lana assured her mother, Veronica, as they unpacked her stuff.
"Tell me what really happened the last time she was here. What really happened with her mum?" Veronica insisted on knowing. She really loved Andrea like she was her very own daughter. She and her husband adopted her at age 12 and has ever since, lived under their protection and in the comfort of their arms. Never did they make Andrea feel like a stranger, at least on purpose. However, it wasn't easy getting her to open up or feel at ease. She was always scared to walk outside at all. At day, she feared meeting her mother and at night, she feared robbers and other bad people.
11 years ago...
One night, Lana's dad, Martin Perkins, decided to take a walk with his two children, Lana, 13 years of age, and Jake, 6 years. On their way, they saw a woman screaming at a girl to step away from her, saying that she was scaring her kids and customers. The girl seemed to be trying to speak but not a word she said was audible compared to the yells of the woman. The girl struggled to stand on her own and was leaning on a wall for support. She asked of the girl's parents but got no reply. Feeling overwhelmed, she decided to call the police and said, "They'll be able to get you home." Those words triggered something in the girl. She looked up at the woman with her teary eyes and all that could be seen was anything but joy in them. It was intense fear. She didn't want to go home. The weak pale girl in the black dress with a dirty white jacket and a black pair of flat shoes began struggling to run as though her life was in danger. People had paused to watch the scene before them. She rushed weakly passed them but couldn't get far when her body gave up. She passed out.
Fortunately for her, before her head could hit the coarse hard ground, Martin stepped in and held her weak body.
"Daddy, is she okay?" Lana asked looking like she was about to cry. Martin moved the little girl's hair away from her face to have a better look. She was pale and had bags under her eyes. Being a doctor himself, he checked her pulse and realized it wasn't the best but it didn't say she was at the point of death. He immediately hailed a cab and requested that it takes them to the hospital as soon as possible. He asked that the owner of the shop followed to help gather as much information about the little girl as possible. The woman, however, refused without budding an eye. She didn't know the girl and wanted to have nothing to do with her.
Once in the hospital, he took responsibility over the girl and had a treated. Martin realized that she had not eaten or had any rest for approximately two days. He had called his wife Veronica to come pick up the kids at the hospital because of the emergency. She arrived half an hour after their arrival with a neighbour of theirs, Victor Rays, a police officer. Martin explained the entire situation to him and he assured them that once she was discharged, she would be taken to an orphanage to be taken care of while they investigated into the matter.
Hours later, when the little girl woke up. Frightened was but an understatement of how she felt. She had a fever and had been crying "mummy" in her sleep.
Veronica and Lana, being the ones in the room at the time tried to calm her down but she wouldn't stop crying. She seemed afraid seeing anyone and kept begging that she doesn't want to go home. Lana rushed out to call her dad while Veronica stayed by her side.
"Calm down sweetie. I won't let anyone take you if you don't want to go, okay?" she assured her softly and brushed her fingers on the now calm little girl's face. The girl simply stared at her. For a while, Veronica couldn't tell what was going on in the girl's mind but she felt it was the best chance she could get to close the gap between them. She sat by her side on the bed and asked her for her name. Fresh tears formed in her eyes and that melted Veronica.
"M-My name i-is Andrea," she stuttered between sobs. Veronica struggled to hold back her tears. Andrea had no doubt experienced more than what a little child like her should be able to bare and that broke her heart.
"Don't cry Andrea. Now, you have me, okay?" She smiled to the little girl in her arm. Andrea looked at her, quite stunned but shortly after, hugged her tight and cried a little less.
Martin, Lana, and Victor, who was caring sleeping Jake in his arms, came in. They looked stunned at how Andrea was sobbing softly in Veronica's arms and traces of tears on Veronica's face. Martin got closer to try and talk to the girl but she tried to hide behind the woman giving her comfort and started to sob harder. Veronica explained to her that that was a husband, the one who brought her there and was the doctor taking care of her. Andrea, however, still seemed reluctant. Lana then stepped in and sat on the bed facing Andrea. She introduced herself and asked her for her name which Veronica responded to on her behalf, seeing Andrea wasn't ready to speak. She informed her that Lana is her daughter and her first born. At the sound of that, Andrea let go off Veronica, looking somewhat embarrassed. Lana chuckled at her shyness and assured her that it was fine. She introduced everyone in the room to Andrea, "This is mummy, daddy, Uncle Victor..." Once she focused on Victor who happened to be in his uniform, Andrea turned paler.
"He's going to take me away," she cried and hugged Veronica tight. "You said you wouldn't let anyone take me away. I don't want to go back there."
Everyone panicked seeing how scared she was.
"What on Earth could make her hate her very home? Domestic violence?" Victor whispered to Martin who had backed away from the bed due to her outburst.
"I don't know but one thing is for sure. She can't go back there," he said with certainty, still looking at the pitiful child stuck to his wife.
"Daddy," Lana said moving over to his side. "Don't send her away. She's scared and she doesn't want to go back home."
"Don't worry Lana. I'll make sure she's taken to an orphanage and taken care of...." His words managed to reach Andrea. Her cries slowly died down. It hadn't really crossed her mind that she could at that very point be considered an orphan. She stared at Victor who gave her a reassuring smile. Once again, fresh tears formed in her eyes but this time, she sobbed softly.
"Would you like that, Andrea? To stay in an orphanage?"
Andrea hugged her and sobbed a little more. Veronica and Lana looked at Martin meaningfully, almost in tears.
Victor added, "After that, I'll see what I can find about her home. If anyone needs to be dealt with for what she's going through, I'll make sure that's done. She'll...."
"Hello," a nurse spoke from the door. She was allowed in and followed by another doctor.
"I'd like to check on the patient if you don't mind," the doctor, a pediatrician of the hospital said. He came with a toy and a costume, hoping the traumatized little girl would feel calm. Unfortunately, that didn't do much. The pediatrician, Aaron, then asked that they all stepped out so he could check on her. He suggested that hoping with the room less crowded, she wouldn't be so tensed. However, Andrea refused to let go off Veronica. Victor and the kids stepped out, leaving Martin and his wife.
"When was the last time you ate, little princess?" Aaron asked. The poor thing didn't respond. As a matter of fact, she was stunned. Veronica asked again, hoping to get a response for them.
"I-I don't remember, m-maybe four days ago," she whispered, sniffling.
Everyone in the room was stunned. Veronica mentioned a few meals she could have instantly so they could get her something to eat. Per her responses, Martin stepped out immediately to ask Victor to get the selected foods. It was already dawn.
They ran a quick check up on her. She was very low on nutrients. The nurse attempted to feed her but she refused to eat. Veronica took over and even she had a hard time getting her to eat anything. Aaron insisted she be kept under observation for a few more days while they ran some tests.
Andrea had run away from home and was on her own in the streets for two days. She had walked quite a distance just to get away and ended up about two towns away. It was a wonder how such a smallish young girl could go so long without food and make such a journey on her own. That just explained her determination to get away from her past.
Everyone stared as she munched down the food, thinking to themselves, "What on Earth really happened?"
Two days went by and Andrea still hadn't said anything about her home. After countless attempts to convince her to give them information and assuring her that she'll be fine, she finally spoke up but her words were a shock to their very souls.