Hands grabbed at her, pulling her forward and she almost fell. "Oh you poor pet, you're still on your leash, that's what happens to naughty girls who don't do as they're told, or break the rules."
More jeers and unsavory comments followed this announcement. In the commotion she had been separated from Luke. Now there was a determined trio of footballers between them, the look in their eyes a mix of excitement, retribution and malice. She was pulled to a sudden stop.
"Don't worry we'll have you free shortly, but first." There was the sound of a lock being turned, the heavy weight around her ankle was gone, but before she could fully appreciate this freedom she was pushed against a cold wall.
The hands that had taken away the chain now moving up, up, up her leg to somewhere no other person had ever touched.
"Stop. Please." She hated having to beg, to have to lower herself even further, but if it prevented any further violations then she would keep pleading. Someone grabbed her throat, restricting her airways.
"You are going to do everything that you are told, without complaint. You won't try to speak to anyone, and you will not try to escape. If you hurt any of us it will be returned, just not to you. We have everyone you love, and they will pay the price for your sins."
She was gasping for breath at this point, between the lack of air moving to her lungs and her sheer terror, and she had no idea how she was still standing.
"Nod your head if you understand." She was quick to obey, not daring to test the boys. "Good girl." The words were spoken with such condescension, that ordinarily she would have rolled her eyes.
"Now there has been a slight delay so let's see if you can keep us entertained." As a way of coping Grace imagined that she was somewhere else, on a beach. The sand soft between her toes, the sun warm on her skin.
It worked up to a point and the next thing she knew, she was being led to the sidelines of the school's football field. There was a buzz of chatter from the stands.
"Just remember your manners Grace." Her head was moved so that she could see where Mimi sat, an extremely displeased look on her face, Dylan and his father either side of her. The threat was clear and she bit her lip so as not to let a whimper of fear slip out.
Blinking away tears, the pale yellow of her hospital room again came into focus. She noted that her heart rate was elevated; no doubt a sign of how her trip down memory lane had affected her physically, and sure enough there was one of the nurses who had been looking after her since her admission.
Gloria was small in stature, but always went out of her way to make sure that Grace had everything that she needed. Just now she was checking some of the numbers the machines were showing, making notes, the slightest of frowns on her face.
"Oh you're awake Grace," the nurse's voice was gentle. "Any pain?" She shook her head, not trusting her voice just then. "I see you've had some morphine about an hour ago, did it help?"
"I think so," Grace hated how unsure she sounded.
"I'm going to set up some antibiotics and fluids, so shall we get you freshened up first?" Again the question was gently asked, and she accepted the offer.
It was still a little embarrassing to need help with personal care, but not one of the nurses made her feel uncomfortable. None made any comments about the number of cuts and grazes she had or the bruises that were healing much too slowly for her peace of mind.
Back in her bed, Grace was exhausted and frustrated by the amount of energy and effort it took to do such simple things.
She was grateful to whoever had taken the time to place fresh linen on her bed, noting that once again what was being used was not standard hospital issue, the thread count was too high, and the range of colors a dead giveaway. She was not complaining, at least not after it had been confirmed who was providing this little bit of comfort.
"Your guardian, Jack right?" Gloria asked, a smile on her face. "He finally took our offer of using the staff facilities to shower and change." The heart monitor started to beep louder. "Grace you are never alone, even if you are sleeping and he needs to step out and take calls, one of us is always with you. Not to mention there are extra security measures in place."
"I'm sorry for overreacting." Her voice felt weak, but hopefully conveyed her feelings of regret.
"We all understand. Now lets get your medication sorted and then maybe we can find you some hot chocolate?" The offer was kind and it was not the first time it had been made or accepted.
"Once Jack returns I'll grab you some snacks to go with your drink. Anything in particular you'd like?"
Gloria kept up a steady, one sided conversation as she set up the IVs, checked Grace's temperature and other things, all of which were now becoming routine. She was glad that none of the nurses pushed her to talk, but always answered her questions. Some had been difficult to ask, especially in light of bruises in intimate locations.
There was also the knowledge that these, along with her other injuries, had been documented while she had been sedated in the recovery room. There had been other exams, ones that Jack had given permission for, and while she hated that he'd had to make those decisions, selfishly she was happy to have been sedated when they were taking place.
She was fairly certain that although they were necessary to ensure the correct treatment was given and that evidence could be collected, had she been awake at the time it would have been too invasive for her to handle. It would have been fresh trauma on top of what she had already been through.
"Grace, you doing okay? Your heart rate spiked." There was concern in the nurse's voice. She couldn't have missed the fresh tears that were falling, but she made no comment, just gave Grace time to collect herself again.
"There are people who will listen if you ever need to talk." This was not the first time that counseling had been mentioned, but it was still too soon. In fact she wasn't sure if there would ever be a time that she would be ready to speak in detail about her experience with those monsters.
The nurses never pushed her, their reminders were always kindly made and then the subject was changed. For that she was most grateful.
There was a knock on the door and she heard Jack quietly call Gloria's name. Before answering the nurse got confirmation that Grace was feeling up to a visit, another thing that she appreciated. Not that she didn't want to see Jack, couldn't ever imagine refusing to see him, still she just liked that those looking after her didn't make assumptions.
"Hey Kiddo, you're looking a bit brighter today."
"I've been promised some chocolaty goodness so I'm on my best behavior." He smiled but she noticed straight away that it didn't quite reach his eyes.
"What is it, what's wrong? Is it Mimi? Or Nate?" Even though her grandmother had sent her a number of care packages, she had yet to visit Grace.
Jack had told her that his mother was helping investigators with their inquires. That her extensive knowledge of the history of Silver Glade, as well as what Sinclair had been planning made her invaluable to them and the cases that they were building.
Nate had also been kept away for similar reasons, but they had been able to have some phone calls and video chats. They had kept their conversations as light as possible and she was looking forward to seeing him in person, preferably when she was no longer connected to so many monitors.
"So here's the thing Grace, there are some people who need to talk to you. I've put them off this long but," he trailed off.
"What happens if I don't talk with them?" She whispered.
"Without an official complaint, certain charges can't be made."
"So I have to go on record about what they did?"
"I'm so sorry Grace. I wish there was some way that this could be avoided."
"I knew this had to happen, and I'd like to delay it longer if I could, but I'm confused. Why can I not see or even speak to Mimi?" She watched Jack, saw the emotions on his face.
"You would tell me if she was hurt wouldn't you?" The tho
ught of Mimi in a hospital bed made her feel ill.
"It's nothing like that Grace. It's a legal thing that none of us are happy about."
"So after, when I've spoken to the investigators, then can I see her?"
"Yes." She heard the uncertainty in Jack's voice, but rather than push him, she instead asked him how soon someone could be there to speak with her. Again she noted the bashful look on his face. "They're already here aren't they?"
"If there was any way, anything that I could do." She held up her hand to stop him saying another word. She knew Jack, knew how he would do whatever he needed to, to keep her safe, just like Mimi would.
"Can you be in the room. And Gloria?" She looked to the nurse, who had always been so caring, glad when the other woman nodded her head in agreement, before speaking.
"There's twenty minutes left on Grace's antibiotic and then her fluids are on a slower rate. So if you want to bring the visitors now I'll be able to switch the IVs as necessary without disturbing anyone."
Jack thanked the nurse, then spoke to Grace again, "Any time you want to stop just say and it will be over."
"Let's just get this done." She hoped that her voice sounded steady. Gloria kept her distracted when Jack left the room, helping her to sit up, to tidy her hair and to pull a dressing gown around her shoulders so that she felt as ready as she ever would be when the knock came at the door.
There were two new faces, an older man, mid fifties, who introduced himself as Agent Oliver, and a young woman, in her early thirties, who was a member of a specialist unit, named Helen. She would ask all the questions and she assured Grace that they could take a break or stop at any time.
"We are here to help Grace. There are no wrong answers." Helen had a lilting quality to her voice, which put her at ease. There were some basic questions, did she know when or by whom she was taken, how she had been moved, all of which she had no knowledge about.
She could only describe waking from a dreamless sleep, feeling fuzzy and disorientated. She recalled the dark room, her inability at first to feel her limbs, and how slowly the movement came back but not her control. She focused on the sound of the monitors, of the pen scratching on paper as Agent Oliver took notes in silence, a nondescript look on his face.
As she continued with her story; detailing her first ever meeting with Charles Sinclair, what had been said and then later her time with the footballers, she made a concerted effort not to look at Jack.
It was when she was recounting how the football captain's hands had violated her, how he'd restricted her breathing and then threatened Mimi that the tears came, uncontrollable sobs wracked her body and she vaguely heard Gloria say that the interview was over.
"No." Her voice rose with her fear. "Don't make me. Please." It was like she had fallen back in time, could feel the clamminess of his skin on hers, the pain as he used his much stronger body to hurt her.
How his teammates had stood to block her attack from view, the pleasure he found in being able to punish her in public and how there was nothing anyone could do to stop him.
How he had lifted the skirts of her dress to leave his mark on her, knowing it was drying on to her skin and how once it was discovered by Sinclair, he would blame Luke, so that the other boy would be put in his place.
At that moment, knowing what was sure to happen once she was taken away from the school, she wanted to run. To risk the safety of those she loved to save herself, so it was only right that her betrayal was punished and so swiftly.
"Grace," she heard her name being called over and over again. Then she was in the shelter of someone's arms and heard Jack say that she was done.
"I can't stop, not now." In spite of how small and pathetic her voice was, it was still heard. The agents insisted that she was checked over by Gloria, to ensure that it was safe to continue.
"You know I always thought that the majority of people in Silver Glade were good. That no matter what they were promised by Sinclair, that they would resist, but as I stood on that stage I watched as he tempted them. Mesmerized them in such a short amount of time, with his lies and his fake promises."
"I don't think everyone was drinking the Kool Aid and some looked like they were at a play, especially when Nate was announced as Homecoming King and not one person batted an eyelid. That should have been the first sign that something wasn't right, but I guess that's not as important, not in the grand scheme of things."
She felt as if she was rambling and tried to focus on what she needed to say. Helen seemed to understand this, moving the conversation forward.
"You were on the stage, still being held by the football captain?" Grace noticed that the agent was not referring to him by his name, obviously having noted that this was something that she struggled with. Somehow it was a little easier not thinking about him as her fellow student who had hidden his true nature from the town for so long.
"Yes he was not happy at losing out to Nate." She held up her bruised wrist. "This was how he showed his disappointment. After everything else it didn't really hurt, it was more that it was yet another touch I had to clean away, and I'm not sure it will ever be fully gone."
"There are no guarantees I'm afraid, but I can recommend some people you might like to talk with?" Helen's voice was kind, non-judgmental and Grace was glad that she hadn't offered any fake platitudes. "There is one thing we still haven't been able to work out."
"Just one?" Grace quipped before shaking her head at her flippancy.
"When you were being examined, there were two small pen marks, one on your neck, the other on your wrist. Do you know what they were for, or even who did them?"
"It was Ms Fields, she said something about suitable locations but that was all. She was super flighty and I couldn't, or maybe didn't want to, follow what she was saying."
"That's fine Grace, we'll add that to our list of questions for her." Helen paused and it seemed to Grace as if she was choosing her next words with extra care.
"You have named three boys as having assaulted you. What about Luke? There is some footage that we've seen that shows him in your personal space."
Grace ignored the part about the footage, and what that meant. "Luke didn't hurt me in any way. He tried to protect me. There seemed to be a hierarchy and the football captain didn't like being usurped, especially not by Luke. Even more so than Nate. Because, because..." She didn't know how to finish her sentence.
"We understand Grace." For the first time since he had introduced himself, Agent Oliver spoke.
"Did you know that Maddison McKenzie had a weapon?"
"No I wasn't paying attention to her, I didn't think that she was that much of a threat until she was, and then it was too late. Really I should have known better, that she was clearly not in a good mood. That's never good at the best of times"
"I think that you are being a little hard on yourself, all things considered." Helen said softly.
"You don't understand. That girl, she's hated me from the first time we ever met. I never knew why. Once she heard my name, that was it. Mostly she ignored me, or would talk about me to others, not caring if I heard what she was saying. But the past few weeks it's been so much worse. It's like she was enjoying getting away with hurting me and it was a free for all."
"Are you saying that Maddison McKenzie has physically assaulted you, prior to the Pep Rally?"
"There was an incident at the school, Grace had a concussion after it." Jack gave the details as sparingly as possible so that she didn't have to.
"So on Thursday night, you had no prior knowledge of what Mr Sinclair was going to say, specifically name you as the Homecoming Queen?"
"Not a clue, and even now it makes no sense to me. But honestly what was he thinking? Maddie wins every tiara, every title and not even Charles Sinclair should have tried to change that." She watched the two agents exchange looks.
"I know to you it seems beyond petty and childish, but Maddie has been terrorizing
the school for years and not one single adult there ever stopped her. Some even helped with her campaigns of torture. No one ever spoke out because they knew there was no point."
"A lot of people have said the same thing, about how they were afraid of her." Grace snorted, she couldn't help it.
"Oh so now they speak up. Trust me, the majority of the students never said boo. They did what they had to in order to reap the benefits of being in Maddie's group of friends. Then there were the ones who never even made it on to her radar. They were the lucky ones, so long as they stayed out of sight they could have as normal a high school experience as Theodore Roosevelt offers."
As the bitterness threatened to overwhelm her, Grace asked for a break. "I'm not usually like this."
"We understand, and if you can give is a few more minutes we can finish for the day." Helen's voice underscored the truth of her words.
She asked, and Grace gave details about the actual attack, how she had been in shock at her name being read out, then Maddie had grabbed hold of her, pulling her forward. Then the pain in her side.
"I thought that was it. I needed to find Jack, Mimi and Nate. It was so blurry, like swimming under water. I thought I saw Mimi go all vampire slayer on Dylan's dad." Grace mimicked fight moves with her hands.
"Both Jack and Nate were being held back and then Nate was there. I couldn't see him, but I could hear him, calling to me. It was such a relief that the last words I would ever hear were from someone I care about. And I was just so cold and tired you know? The pain wasn't an issue." She bit her lip as the memories flooded back.
"I think that's enough for today," Helen said. "Thank you, I know how difficult sharing has been. If you think of anything else you let Jack know and he can contact us." Agent Oliver said goodbye and as they walked towards the door a thought struck Grace.
"Wait. Have they told you, how we are like ninety eight per cent sure that Maddie isn't Maddie." Instead of looking at her like she was crazy Agent Oliver nodded his head.
"We have been made aware of that Grace. We've been able to establish her true identity, but that's a conversation for another day. I think your nurse is ready to kick us out." His words were not unkind but firm.
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