Flower

I woke up with a start, quickly opening my eyes to be able to see where I was, to see if there was any way for me to get away. I was sitting upright, in a car? I was covered by a blanket, with my shoes and purse in my lap. And the car was taking me somewhere? And who was driving me?

A calm, deep voice started talking, telling me that everything was ok, that he was getting me away from Josh. There was something familiar about his voice, and the way he was talking, mixing soothing words and facts about what had happened when I was unconscious.

I started taking deep breaths to try to calm my speeding heart, finding it ironic that I was using a technique taught by Josh to overcome what was supposed to be Josh's final lesson. Pushing back the hysterical laughter that tickled the back of my throat, I continued breathing, loosening the tight pressure across my chest and preparing myself to confront my... savior?

I turned my face slightly to the left and let my eyes run up a darkly clad arm, pausing as I realized that the person sitting next to me was dressed in a very distinct police uniform. I felt the confusing pieces of that particular puzzle click in place and I wasn't surprised when I recognized the person sitting next to me; it was the angry police officer.

"You...?" I whispered.

"Yes, me," he said "and it figures that you would recognize me. I sat here hoping you wouldn't, so I wouldn't have to say I'm sorry, because I'm really not that good at it. But here it goes... I'm sorry I let my previous experiences color the way I treated you. I'm sorry I didn't help you properly then. But I've been thinking that perhaps I got this chance for a do-over, so that I'd be able to do it right this second time. And now I'm babbling, and I'm sorry about that too..."

His voice trailed off into silence as he watched the road in front of him and bit his lip, perhaps to keep himself from talking. I studied his face, finding him just as attractive as the last short time I had seen him. He seemed calm, not worried, upset or angry; just perfectly calm, perhaps with just a hint of embarrassment. But he wasn't smiling, which somehow felt reassuring to me, and I wondered if I would see Josh's face every time I met someone who greeted me with a smile. I felt a shudder run through my body as I faced that frightening possibility; I sincerely hoped that wouldn't be the case.

"Where are you taking me?" I asked, keeping my voice low.

"I'm taking you to the hospital" he answered, still keeping his eyes on the road.

"Hospital? I can't go to the hospital!" I almost squeaked, shaking my head quickly from side to side, making my head hurt just that little bit more.

"That's exactly where we're going, I wouldn't be able to look my aunt or uncle in the eyes ever again if I didn't make sure that you were taken care of."

He stopped the car and I realized we were already there, parked a few rows of cars away from the hospital entrance. He turned towards me and scanned my face, his face still calm, but his eyes both warm and sad.

"I'm sorry, but this one time I'm going to have to insist that you do as I say. I've called ahead and we will be greeted just inside those doors, and I will be there to make sure you're taken care of, that you're treated in the best way possible."

I could tell by the stubborn set of his mouth and jaw that he meant what he was saying, and I realized there was no way to prevent what was going to happen. A trip to the local hospital would almost certainly show up on my husband's radar, making escape impossible. I felt that sick, dizzy feeling again and had to fight to keep myself from fainting.

"Hey," he said before jumping out of the car "don't go fainting on me again!"

He opened my door, bent down to put my shoes on my feet and then helped me out of the car. He made sure that the blanket was wrapped tightly around my body, perhaps to hide the state of my clothes, before he locked the car, took my arm and started guiding me towards those dreaded hospital doors.

I felt darkness creeping in on me, and my field of vision got smaller and smaller until I saw only a tiny brightly lit square in front of me. I saw the doors opening and the even brighter light from the hospital reception area. I heard a shocked exclamation from someone standing just inside the doors and looked up to find Susan standing there, staring at me with wide eyes in her obviously bruised and battered face. She called out to me, but I just shook my head and let myself be led further into the hospital.

We were met by a young dark-haired woman, who greeted us with a wide smile, then led us further and further into the labyrinth of the hospital until she finally stopped and guided us into a small, empty waiting room. She told us she'd be right back, then left us with quick steps. The police officer guided me to a chair and sat down beside me, an arm still wrapped around my shoulders, probably to make sure I stayed upright.

"I don't want to be here..." I whispered.

"I've realized that," the police officer answered "but now when I've finally understood who you are, I think it's for the best that you stay."

"What do you mean?" I whispered, my breaths too shallow, my pulse too high and my tunnel-vision still present.

"With a little help from the smiling sleazebag who attacked you, I now know your name, and since that's a name I've already heard a couple of times this week..." he said, annoyingly stopping mid-sentence.

"Still not helped by what you're saying!" I told him, anger rising at the irritating way he was avoiding the main issue, refusing to tell me the whole story as quickly as possible. Anger that evened out my breaths and made my hands stop trembling.

"I happen to be Edward Connery's closest living relative, his beloved nephew to be precise. I used to share my name with the not entirely unknown Sean Connery, but I've gone by the name of Sean Perez for many, many years now."

His self-deprecating smile as he said his name was replaced by a serious expression as he continued.

"Edward, who happens to own a cute little dog named Alfred and who also happens to be your closest neighbor has told me about your situation and I know that you don't want to be here and why. Elena that met and guided us here will make sure that the doctors and nurses you meet are only her most trusted friends, people that she can guarantee aren't corrupt or in any way bought by your husband's family. And your name and medical documentation will be protected in every way possible. It's time to do something about your situation, right now!"

I was shocked by what he was saying and stared at him for a long time, processing his words and trying to see any likeness to Edward. Perhaps there was something about his eyes and the sound of his voice that was familiar? I was startled out of my contemplations by Sean laughing softly.

"We don't look much alike," he said "but we're quite definitely related. I can show you a heart shaped birthmark that we both have in common if you want me to?"

Elena, the nurse, came walking back into the room and waved her finger at Sean.

"If it's the birthmark on your right butt cheek you're talking about, Sean, then I'm sure none of us want to see it!" she said with laughing conviction "Now, get out of here and let us girls talk for a while!"

Sean walked down the hall, but stayed close enough for him to see, but not hear, us.

"Sean said he didn't think you'd been raped, but it's not always something that can be easily seen and I wanted to know if I should prepare for that type of medical examination. I'm sorry if I'm being too direct, but I just wanted to be sure..."

"No he didn't make it that far." I answered and shook my head slightly, thinking that I had indeed been lucky.

"Did he hurt you in any other way? Do you think you can tell me about your injuries so I can write them down?" she asked, looking at me calmly, but with a tiny worry-wrinkle between her eyebrows.

"I..." I started slowly, actively searching my body for painful spots "I hit my head when he threw me down on the floor, I have bruises on my shoulders and arms from where he held me down. And I have other bruises... and cuts... on my upper body, from... from before."

"You have other bruises," Elena asked, her eyebrows lifting as she looked at me "from your husband?"

I hesitated for a short while before I nodded and answered "yes, from my husband" with a whisper.

Elena nodded with a grim look around her mouth, made notes about what I had said and then stood up and waved to Sean to let him know he could get back into the room. When he entered the room, she took a hold of his hands, looked them over, shook her head and walked out of there muttering something in Spanish.

As he walked up to me I looked at his hand and saw a discoloration on the knuckles of his right hand, and when I turned my eyes up to scan his face, I thought I saw a slightly guilty expression on it before it turned back to its usual calmness.

"Smiley-sleazy back there made a comment that made me more than angry, and sometimes I act before I think. I'm not really sorry about adjusting his nose some, but I don't want you to think that I walk around hitting people all the time. I'm usually better at keeping my anger at bay..." he said, his face revealing that he thought he had said too much "And god... now you're going to think I'm dangerous... I'm just going to shut up now."

Elena came walking back into the room again and probably heard the last part of what he was saying, because she laughed at him before she sat down, took Sean's hand and starting cleaning it up and putting some sort of lotion on the knuckles.

"Sean has always had difficulties thinking and talking around beautiful women. And sometimes walking too, to tell the truth..." she said, full of laughter.

"And you still haven't learned that you can't save the world with your fists, have you?" she continued, her words both warm and teasing.

When Elena left again, Sean looked at me with a small, embarrassed smile on his face.

"We were brought up together, and yes, getting teased and told off by someone who is basically your kid sister is always... fun..." he said.

I gave him a small smile and closed my eyes. It must be nice to have a sister or a brother to tease like that. I used to think that the relationship I had to my friends was almost as close as being sisters. But perhaps being sisters meant telling each other everything, or at least being a bit more open than I had been. I thought about Susan, wondering what had happened to her, hoping her bruised face wasn't something that I had caused.

I sat up with a start, realizing that Susan had seen me walking into the hospital. And if Susan had seen me, then that probably meant that Sarah and Mary would soon be informed. And if they talked about it and started asking questions, then there was still a chance that my husband would hear about it.

I rose and started walking back and forth in the small room, six steps one way and six steps back. Perhaps if I called them and told them not to worry? But no, that wouldn't work, Mary would still try to find out everything that had happened.

A hand on my shoulder made me jump slightly, and twitch to try to get away from it. The warm hand didn't move, but stayed where it was, heavy but gentle and after a few moments more soothing than frightening. I took a deep breath and turned towards Sean, once again looking up at him, to read his emotions. He didn't have either an exclusively cold and angry face or an entirely happy and smiling face, but a more complicated one holding a combination of different emotions. He had warm, brown eyes, that seemed to be twinkling with laughter most of the time, a forehead that was covered with wrinkles, as if he was used to worrying about things, and a mouth and chin that seemed to reveal whatever he was thinking at any particular moment. Right then, his mouth was no longer smiling, but his lips were tight and tilted slightly downwards. He looked worried and decided in equal amounts.

"Please sit down," he asked me softly "if you feel uncomfortable with me in the room, I can go wait further down the hall. But please sit, because I don't want you to get hurt again!"

I shook my head and walked back to the chairs we had abandoned.

"I'm not afraid of you nor uncomfortable with you in the room," I told him "so please stay."

"You were worrying about something," he said "is there anything I can do to make you worry a little less?"

"The woman we met in the entrance," I answered quickly, before I could change my mind about telling him "she's one of my best friends. I'm afraid that she will call my other friends and that my hospital visit won't be that much of a secret anymore."

"And these friends, are they real friends or just acquaintances? Are they just concerned about your safety or gossipy busy bodies?" he calmly asked.

"They're real, concerned friends. But at least one of them is very good at finding out things about everyone, and I'm afraid she'll go digging to get to the truth about why I'm here..." I answered, thinking about Mary's almost magical way of seeing and knowing everything.

"... and you're afraid that your husband will find out?" he finished my sentence.

I nodded and looked down at my hands, still not sure about the best way to stop my friends from worrying, and to stop Mary from taking matters into her own hands. Perhaps there was nothing that could be done? And perhaps there was no use worrying about things that I couldn't possibly control?

"Don't worry," Sean said softly "I'm here to make sure that nothing bad happens to you!"

I felt him tensing beside me and looked up to see Elena walking in with a darkly clad, very familiar shape. I stood up and couldn't really believe what I was seeing.

"Rose," Mary said as she walked up to me "what's happened to you?"

Sean was also standing up, with a confused expression on his face.

"Mary," he said "do you know Rose? Elena, what is Mary doing here?"

Mary pulled me down into my chair again, sat down beside me and waved for Sean to do the same.

"I called everyone I knew at the hospital to find out about Rose, and read between the lines when I talked to Elena here. She's not very good at lying, you know..." Mary said with a teasing smile.

"Mary is the friend I told you about, you know the one that's good at digging out secrets..." I told Sean, with a small smile as I looked at Mary.

"We both know that Mary is one of the good guys," Elena said, looking a bit shame-faced "and she had to talk for a good long while before I let her in here... and she promised she would go if she wasn't wanted or needed. Rose, I haven't told Mary anything, and you're free to decide if she's to go or if she can stay. Think about it, and I'll be back shortly to see if I'll have the privilege to escort her out!"

She walked away, once again muttering, this time in a mix of English and Spanish, and I thought I heard something about "stubborn" and "pain in the ass".

Mary laughed her usual loud but warm laughter, took my hand in hers and looked at my face with those big green eyes of hers. She didn't move her eyes up and down, scanning me for injuries, as everyone else had recently started doing, but she usually seemed to need only one look to take in everything around her, and I suspected she had already seen the way I was dressed, the way I sat, that my hands were trembling slightly and a whole lot of other things I hadn't even noticed myself.

"Someone's hurt you," Mary said, her voice low "who?"

"Most recently," Sean said, his voice annoyed, as if he didn't like that Mary was there "a sleazy meditation teacher by the name of Josh Walden."

Mary turned her eyes on Sean, and I wondered what she saw and could read about him. Probably that he had his stubborn face on, because that mouth still revealed what he was thinking and feeling.

"Calm down Sean," Mary said with a low voice and a teasing smile "I'm not here to tell you how to do your job... not this time..."

It seemed they had a history together and I wondered what secrets Mary kept behind her smart mouth and full laughter. Mary turned her eyes on me again, biting her lip in a distinctly un-Mary-like fashion. Anxious behavior somehow didn't fit with the general impression I had of my friend.

"If I read between the lines, which wasn't very hard this time, Mr. Obvious, someone else has been hurting you before?" Mary said slowly "who?"

I shook my head, and looked down at my hands. I heard Mary stand up and walk back and forth in the room, as I had just recently done; I heard her heavy steps and calmly noted that the room was still just six steps long. She didn't walk for very long, and when she sat down beside me again, I heard her exhale heavily.

"Rose... I think you are more aware of my little, shall we call it "condition", than any of the rest of our friends. You know that I see, hear and feel things a little bit sharper than other people. You don't walk around thinking "however did she know that?", you know that it's all about perception, don't you?" Mary asked with a strangely sad voice.

I nodded, but kept staring at my hands.

"And you probably know I've been noticing things connected to you these past two months?" she kept going, her voice still sad "Things that haven't really made sense, which has made me worry about you."

I nodded once more. She probably had seen more than I would have wanted her to, but perhaps not as much as she might think, after all, I had made sure to keep away from her whenever I was in pain.

"And, even though you probably don't want me to know what's wrong," she continued "Sean sitting here looking all tense and angry, Elena not wanting to let me in to see you, and finally you sitting here looking pale and shaken, not wanting to talk about it, has already told me everything."

I looked up at her anguished face, read the truth on her face and nodded. She put a shaking hand over her mouth as if to try to stop all of her emotions, and I saw a tear fall down her cheek.

"How long?" she whispered "How long has your husband been hurting you?"

"Since day one..." I whispered back.

"Thirteen years," she cried "oh Rose, why didn't you tell me? And why didn't I see it?"

"He told me that the day you found out, he'd make sure you were all destroyed," I answered, my heart filled both with relief and regret "and I didn't want that to happen."

Mary pulled me into her arms and held me close as she cried silent tears against my shoulder. And I sat there holding her, my eyes surprisingly dry. It was a strange feeling, comforting my always smiling friend, and the fact that she now knew about my life made things feel absolutely surreal, like a weird dream.

Elena walked into the room again, quietly taking in the scene. She pointed at Mary and then pointed towards the exit and I shook my head slightly. I needed to talk to Mary, to get her to see she had to talk to Susan and Sarah, to make sure they all went far away.

"Today was the day I decided I couldn't stay any longer," I whispered "because I knew that it was just a matter of time before he killed me."

Mary heard me and sat up straight to be able to see my face as I spoke.

"And I went to a friend for help, but it turned out he only wanted to help me if it would help him, and I ended up having to run from him too." I continued whispering "And I finally ran straight into Sean's arms, and here we all are..."

"But they're exceptional arms, so I quite understand your choice," Mary whispered with a wicked smile "but all joking aside, what made you decide that today was the day?"

"He started showing violent films with blonde women who were all killed in the end; and he was in those movies, he did those things to those poor girls, and he told me all about it, so I would know just what he would do to me..." I whispered, my words going from quick to quicker until I ended my speech with something between a scream and a sob.