chapter 5
After a couple of nights of refusing to leave their spots against either side of the wall, the nurses caved and moved Van's and Tai’s beds to be up against that wall so at least they could be comfortable despite their stubbornness. Taissa was still terrified about sleepwalking, but knowing Van was there and hearing their knock every time one needed reassurance was enough to alleviate her worry.
Van had overheard that their families had arrived, but she seriously doubted that her mom was here. Unless Vicky Palmer had a complete personality change in the time she had been gone, she suspected that her mom probably couldn't be bothered to come or was too drunk to anyway.
She worried about Jason, though. He was only 14 when she left and he had begged her not to leave him alone with their mom. She had reassured him that it would only be for a week, but how wrong she had been. He was just a few months shy of 16 now, and she could only imagine how hard it had all been on him.
She also didn't want to scare him as she knew her scars were bad, and she had seen the way the nurse looked at them in passing. She just wanted to hug her baby brother and feel safe in her girlfriend’s arms again, but the staff were still adamant that they were not allowed to see each other yet.
Her doctor, Dr. Shepherd, said that they would be able to see their families today, though, which would be great news if she thought her family would show up. He had also reassured her that she would be able to see Tai soon, but he wouldn't say exactly when, so the pessimistic side of her chose not to believe him at all.
Dr shepherd opened the door and walked over to Van calmly. She noticed that he had left the door open as another person entered the room after him.
Jason.
She jumped up and out of bed and threw her arms around her baby brother as tears began to fall from both of the siblings' eyes. Jason looked scruffy and didn't smell great, but Van could imagine she didn't look her best right now, either.
“Is mom here? What happened to you?” Van rushed out, stumbling over the words with a slight sob leaving her throat.
Jason shook his head to answer her first question, to which Van was sad but not surprised.
“What do you mean? What happened to me? What happened to you?” Jason shot back in that angsty, aggressive voice all teenage boys possess.
“I'm fine. I'm just glad to be home.”
“Bullshit what happened to your face?” his tone carried more worry this time as he eyed the scars cautiously.
“I was attacked by wolves, but I'm fine. It was like a year ago now,” Van said, not wanting to sugarcoat it but trying to make him not worry too much.
“Uhm, wow, okay. Are you sure you're really okay?” Jason said, the shock evident in his words. His jaw hung open as he gaped at Van, wide-eyed.
“Yes, I’m sure, but what happened to you? How did you get here on your own?” she replied, grabbing his shoulders and walking him over to the bed as Dr. Shepherd slipped out of the room.
“I couldn't deal with mom any longer, so I left, and I've been staying at friends' houses and on the street.” A tear slipped from Van’s eyes at the confession, and she pulled him into another crushing hug, and that’s how they stayed for the next couple of hours, just holding each other and whispering words of comfort as they both cried.
When Shauna woke, the first thing she noticed was the crushing weight pressed against her chest and a hot breath landing on her neck. Jackie shifted in Shauna’s arms, mumbling something unintelligible. Shauna's heart swelled at the sight of Jackie curled up under the covers, basically laying on top of Shauna.
Shauna looked up as the door opened, taking her attention away from Jackie for the first time since she had gotten her back. Dr. Torres and Dr. Robbins both walk into the room, only to be shortly followed by 4 figures entering the room behind them.
Shauna locked eyes with her mother as she sped across the room to hug her daughter as Shauna attempted to sit up without jostling Jackie too much. Her mother's embrace was warm and comforting (not quite as comforting as a hug from Jackie, but nothing could compare to that).
Shauna pulled out of Deb's grasp and looked towards the Taylors. Mr. Taylor looked concerned and like he was 10 seconds away from grabbing Jackie and never letting go. To his right, Mrs. Taylor looked as stone-faced as ever, and finally, her eyes fell on Hayden, who had tears welling up in his eyes.
Hayden had always been somewhat of a brother to her, and she always felt protective over him just as she did his sister, and if it wasn't for his aforementioned sister, she would run up and hug him.
Shauna’s hand fell to the sleeping girl's back and slowly shook her out of her slumber. Jackie's head shot up almost comically fast as she looked at Shauna in misplaced concern. Her head twisted to see her family standing there as both doctors retreated from the room to give the families privacy to reunite.
Jackie stumbled out of bed and fell into her brother's arms rather ungracefully. Shauna let out a slight giggle at the sight of it before steadily pulling herself out of bed to hug Hayden herself while Jackie hugged her father.
Finally, Jackie turned to Marilyn, who placed her hand on her daughter's shoulders as she inspected her face. Everyone in the room knew what was about to happen.
“Oh my god, what on earth happened to your face? How did you get all these scars?” Marilyn rushed out, overwhelming her daughter, who simply responded, “Snow.” The girl was met with nothing but confused glances, but she couldn't think of the words to describe what had happened. All of this was happening so fast, and she was starting to panic.
Shauna noticed and pulled Jackie into her side, laying her girlfriend's head on her in an attempt to comfort her. “Frostbite and hypothermia.” Shauna supplied to ease their confused looks before elaborating, “She slept outside, and that night was the first fall of snow, and we only just got her inside in time to save her, but we had to amputate her finger and ear due to the frostbite.” shauna desperately tried to keep her voice from cracking at the painful memory of how scared she had been.
“WHAT!” Marilyn's shrill voice broke through the silence as she moved Jackie's hair to inspect her ear. Jackie tensed, bracing herself for the scrutiny. They were going to be in for a long day.