Chapter 4: Chapter 4
When Anabel finally walked into the room, the sight that greeted her made her knees buckle and her legs nearly give way beneath her. Her eyes landed on Mrs Martin, who immediately smiled brightly at her.
"Welcome!" she exclaimed.
Anabel's heart sank. She didn't look any better than before. Although her complexion looked a little healthier now, there was no light in her eyes and she still looked tired. But it wasn't the exhaustion or the stress from work that worried Anabel. No, the cause of her distress was the large bandage wrapped around her right arm.
The last time she had seen Mrs Martin, she had been lying broken on the floor at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the roof of the building. She had been dead, Anabel remembered, although she wasn't sure why she had suddenly decided to remind her of that fact. The wound had bled freely and her body had been covered in bruises and cuts, as well as blood and grime from being dragged and thrown across the dirty street. She had only ever met Mrs Martin once or twice during her previous stays in the facility, mostly because she didn't have the opportunity to leave her bed. Mrs Martin had never been around to help Anabel. Even after she woke up several days ago from what she assumed to be a coma, Mrs Martin had remained in the basement for days at a time. And while it appeared as though she was doing better physically, emotionally, and overall, she still couldn't move without help, so Anabel supposed that she was likely still hurting terribly. However, regardless of that, the woman still looked happy enough. Anabel was glad. At least someone was enjoying life, and Mrs Martin's presence provided that for her. Mrs Martin reached up to touch Anabel on her face.
"How are you feeling? You don't look too bad yourself. Still dizzy, but that's nothing new, is it?" she joked.
Anabel smiled at Mrs Martin, unsure if she truly was joking or not, but chose not to comment. Instead, she turned her attention towards the room around her as she placed the pills into the empty water bottle resting on the table. The room was relatively small compared to the other rooms she had visited, but not by much. The walls were painted a soft blue and adorned with pictures which included children from several years ago - mainly of kids of varying ages who she recognized as belonging to the foster system that she had attended at the beginning of her stay there - and a few photos of Mr Martin standing proudly with his parents on their wedding day. It must have been taken at the reception hall of one of the hotel restaurants or perhaps even earlier at one of their weddings.
"Do you know which year this was taken?" she asked the elderly lady who was still standing by her side.
Mrs Martin frowned slightly as she thought about it for a short moment. Eventually, she gave a small shake of her head.
"No. Can't say I do," she mumbled. "Must have been at least 20 years ago or so."
"Oh. That's alright, then," Anabel replied quietly.
Her gaze shifted quickly to the ceiling, where the picture was hanging directly above her head. As soon as it caught her eye, the image immediately caused all the memories of the past few months to flood back. A lump formed in her throat and tears began threatening to come forth, but she fought against them. She refused to cry. She was supposed to be stronger than this! She couldn't break down in front of everyone here...she needed to be strong. She just needed to keep reminding herself that her life hadn't ended yet; there was still hope. For her father and his family. They deserved to live in happiness and prosperity despite everything that had happened to them. She needed to make certain that everything stayed that way. Otherwise, everything her father had worked so hard for would be for nothing...
Anabel forced her breathing to steady as she took a deep breath. She focused her attention on her father as he spoke again.
"Didn't know you liked photography, Annie. What about art? Anything that interests you?"
That wasn't an unusual thing for her father to ask, Anabel realized. He had always wondered about her interests, even when she first arrived in the facility. However, it felt strange to hear him ask about such a seemingly insignificant detail about her personal life now. She shook her head slowly, keeping her eyes locked on the floor.
"I suppose you'll figure it out, eventually. Don't worry. Nothing to be ashamed of, kiddo."
"Thank you," Anabel murmured. She watched as he fiddled idly with the steering wheel for several moments before turning the wheel sharply in the direction they'd been driving in. "Where are we going now?"
"Well, first I need a shower. Then, I want us both to go see Mrs Martin," he answered.
"But dad..." she began quietly. She wanted to protest against seeing anyone that could bring up those painful memories, but before she could continue, her father added, "I'll explain everything later, okay? Just please, for me, please, Annie."
"Okay," she murmured. He looked at her with pleading eyes. He really does care...
He turned his focus back onto the road before speaking once again.
"I'm sorry about what happened to you. And the others. I wish I could have protected you better."
Anabel shrugged lightly. "It's fine. I'm fine. I'm alive, aren't I?"
"Yes, you're alive. But you're also injured. You shouldn't be walking around like that. You might hurt yourself worse."
"I won't. I promise."
"Alright."
He turned back around in his seat and stared out of the windscreen for a while without saying anything. Eventually, however, he turned toward her once more.
"What happened back there, you know. You didn't have to do that. You could have just run, instead. You're allowed to feel scared, aren't you?"
This time, it was Anabel who sighed deeply. This time, she didn't bother trying to deny it. There was no point in trying to hide it anymore. She would try anyway. She would try to make him feel guilty, but it wouldn't help anything. Not to mention the fact that he probably already knew most of what had gone on. But if she just ignored it, maybe he wouldn't question her further. She didn't know anymore, but she was desperate for him to believe that she had done something wrong. Maybe she did...but he'd have to admit it first.
"Yeah, I know," she said after a while. "I should have listened to you."
He nodded as he reached a hand out from under the dashboard, allowing it to rest against her cheek briefly as he offered her a smile. He pulled away after a minute.
"We're nearly there now. Mrs Martin is waiting for us. Are you ready to meet your new foster mother, Anabel?"
Anabel nodded. "Sure."
As soon as she heard her name uttered aloud, Mrs Martin perked up from where she lay sprawled in the chair beside Anabel's bed. When Mrs Martin saw Anabel sitting on the edge of her bed, she smiled widely, revealing a set of missing teeth as she extended her hand out for Anabel to take. Anabel hesitantly reached out for her hand, placing hers into hers and pulling her close to her chest.
"Hi," Anabel squeaked out timidly.
Mrs Martin laughed softly.
"Don't worry, little dear. I won't bite if that's what you're thinking," she assured Anabel. She then looked back and forth between Anabel and her father. "And who is this guy? I don't recognize him."
"Mom, this is my friend, Mr Cane," she explained. She paused and continued. "His name is Dr Cane."
"Dr...Cane? I think I've heard that name somewhere...a long time ago now, I guess."
"It's a long story. But you must remember me."
Mrs Martin nodded her head slowly. She looked over at her daughter.
"Annie, what did you mean when you told me you wanted to meet your 'new foster mother'? I assume you mean the woman with the green hair?"
A blush spread rapidly across Anabel's cheeks as her heart began beating faster. She tried to ignore the fact that she was blushing. She didn't want to give Mrs Martin any reason to suspect that she was lying.
"Um...yeah. That's her."
"Is she nice?"
"She's...nice."
"Does she treat you well?"
"She's...well she hasn't done anything wrong if that's what you mean. I don't think so."
"So she is nice to you."
"I think so."
"And how old is she? Is she old enough to be responsible for you?"
"I...guess? I don't really know. But she isn't bad."
Mrs Martin nodded her head again and she finally let go of Anabel's hand, returning her gaze to the photograph laying on the ground between the two beds. Her brows furrowed together slightly before she spoke again.
"Why is she living here now? Why isn't she still in jail?"
Anabel swallowed heavily. "Because the authorities found out and they made her leave. She was homeless. So they sent her to someone else and she was adopted by another family."
"Was she?"
There was a hint of fear in Mrs Martin's voice. Something that Anabel recognized very well, although she wasn't sure why. She nodded.
"Yeah. She has another family now."
Mrs Martin frowned slightly. She turned her attention back towards Anabel.
"How old is this woman exactly?"
"She's almost 27."
A frown appeared on Mrs Martin's face, but her expression softened after a moment. She sighed.
"So it seems. Well...that's unfortunate," she murmured.
"Yeah. Yeah, it really is."
They fell silent for several minutes after that. Both of them simply sat there, staring at one another. The silence lasted until Mrs Martin suddenly gasped loudly. She jumped out of the chair and ran across the room to grab the photograph that was still resting on the ground. She carefully picked it up and walked back over to Anabel, setting it gently on the hospital bed beside her.
"Who's this?" she asked softly as she gazed at the photo. It was clearly an older photograph. Anabel was still quite young compared to the other two girls who were standing beside her. But Anabel still seemed very happy. Although the other girl was much younger than her, Mrs Martin couldn't help smiling.
"This...this is your daughter, right?"
Anabel nodded.
"Her name's Anabel. Her birthday is July 5th. She's seven years old. The other girl is named Emily. They just got adopted by their real mother today."
"Wow...they look so young. Look at their faces...there's only one of each girl, and neither one looks older than four or five. You certainly don't look much older than ten yourself, Anabel."
Anabel smiled slightly.
"Thanks...you...you think so?"
"Of course!"
Mrs Martin's eyes widened slightly, as though she hadn't meant to say that. However, Anabel chose not to react. Instead, she just shifted uncomfortably in place.
"Can we see Mrs Martin now?"
Her father nodded silently and started the car. As they approached the hospital once more, Anabel watched out of the corner of her eye as the large red sign came into view. After a few moments of slow driving, they eventually stopped in front of the hospital entrance. Her father exited the vehicle first and then helped Anabel step out. He lifted Anabel's arm and slid it through his, wrapping it securely around his shoulder. Once they were both outside the car, they approached Mrs Martin. Mrs Martin stood up and leaned forward, extending a friendly smile toward them as soon as they entered.
"Hello, Anabel! How are you doing?"
"Good," replied Anabel quietly.
She took a small step toward her as her dad walked past her to greet Mrs Martin. She glanced back down at Anabel.
"You can call me mom. If you want."
"Okay..."
Mrs Martin nodded slightly, smiling even wider.
"That's great. Come along. Let's get you settled in, shall we?"
Anabel nodded and followed her mother. In just a couple of steps, she was already seated comfortably in a wheelchair as her father pushed it into the lobby. A nurse immediately came running up behind her and helped wheel her into a nearby room. Once they reached the room, they stopped. Mrs Martin let go of the wheel of the wheelchair, allowing it to stop. She looked back at her daughter.
"Okay, Annie. Just sit tight, okay?"
Anabel nodded silently, giving her a quick hug, which Mrs Martin returned enthusiastically, before turning and exiting the room herself. Once she'd left, the nurse wheeled the wheelchair inside the room as well, leaving it by the bedside table. She turned around and headed toward the door to exit the room, presumably to bring Anabel a change of clothes. Anabel waited patiently until she was alone in the room before she slowly moved to stand up. She felt a bit dizzy, but she managed to stay upright. She walked over to the window and opened it, letting some fresh air into the room. She closed the window again and turned around, looking around the room. She noticed that the walls were painted a light blue colour. She wondered whether it was supposed to be a calming colour or not. Then, once she realized it had stopped raining outside, she decided to take off her shirt. She unbuttoned her jeans and slipped out of them, kicking them aside until only she stood in just her underwear. Then, she turned around towards the door. It wasn't long until she heard the sound of someone walking up to the room. She glanced up in anticipation, only to find her father coming up the short flight of stairs. She smiled happily as he entered.
"Dad. What did you and mom do while we were gone?"
"Well, we drove here, firstly. We went to the store, as well as to visit our friends and pick up some things for dinner tonight. But when we got home, we had lunch together. Afterwards, we read a book together. Then we watched some TV. Then we all took a shower. Then we ate dinner."
"Sounds good."
"Did you have fun today?"
"Yes. I did."
He smiled.
"That's good to hear."
"But I'm tired now, Dad."
"Alright, alright. Let's go lay down and get some sleep then."
He helped her lie back onto the hospital bed and pulled the covers up to her neck. He kissed her on top of the head before he stepped away from the bed. Anabel closed her eyes. Her eyelids gradually grew heavy, and soon she drifted off to sleep.
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