After the Storm (Gifted and Special Adolescents Hospital Book 1)

by Cheryllynn Dyess

  Sliding off the hood of her baby blue Mustang, Bec rounded the car and pulled open the driver’s door, “You coming. We’ve got work to do!”

  Kyle could only smile and slide into the passenger side. He loved her Mustang as much as she did and even did some work on it for her. “You know you shouldn’t drive. Who are we working for tonight? Tricia?” As he asked, he pulled out the folder that sat between them and began thumbing through the papers, “Ahhh, Roberta. Oh, this guy is scum. Dayum he did that to her.”

  The photos were of an older Asian woman with bruises all over her face and her teenage daughter with a cast on her arm, also covered in bruises. Bec glanced at the papers and photos quickly then set her eyes back on the road, “Yup I’m driving, didn’t drink that much. I’m good. And yes, Roberta sent me those. The lady is Nguyen and her daughter Sybil. Her brother did this to her. Her husband died and left them broke. The brother took her in two years ago and the abuse started shortly thereafter. They have no other family,” she spoke in facts with no emotion as she drove through the housing area in the city where Nguyen was said to live. “We can get her out. I’ve got a safe house for her… but first,” she shot a sly smile to Kyle, “we take care of the brother. He needs to know what it’s like to fight a woman who fights back.”

  “Oh, I see. You got some stress and aggression to get out on someone, huh? Well, I could stand back and watch. I guess.” Kyle was always teasing Bec about her fighting. She swore she’d never let a man hurt her again and she honed her skills to make sure it hadn’t happened but he never let her go alone just in case. “One of these days, I won’t be able to just stand by and watch. You’re gonna need me, just wait and see.”

  Bec stared at the road ahead of her as she clicked her blinker on, “This is the place. I’ll send the ladies out and then I’ll have a little talk with Ming. As for you,” she laid her hand lightly on his leg, “I’ll always need you.”

  As soon as the car hit the driveway, Bec put the car in park and hopped out. The Mustang was left running just in case there was trouble but with Kyle standing next to it she never concerned herself with anyone messing with it or her no matter what neighborhood they were in. Bec was dressed in a midriff burgundy top with low waisted jeans and biker boots that were thigh high with a low heel. Her hands were adorned with several rings, her wrists covered in bracelets of all sorts, a few necklaces hung loosely around her neck, all garnish to her style that was topped off with a thin gold hooped nose ring and an onyx studded eyebrow piercing. When people saw her, they instantly thought trouble and she preferred it that way, at least this was her way of keeping people at bay. Her bright pink hair was enough contrast to the attire to make people look three times, instead of just twice.

  She made it to the front door of the small home in four quick steps, Bec had to calm herself down in order to make sure she wasn’t moving too fast. She couldn’t take the chance on just anyone seeing her super speed. At the door, she noticed the house was in need of repair. The paint chipping on the exterior walls; the yard needed work, and there were cracks in some of the windows. She lifted her hand to knock on the door when it slung open. A short Asian man stood there talking in what she could only guess was Korean and apparently giving her hell. A flashback to when she confronted her mother’s second husband gave her pause. That man gave her nightmares as a child but as an adult, he was the one who ended up scared.

  Looking blankly at the man she says calmly, “I have no clue what you just said, so let’s start this over. Good evening. I’m Bec and you are?”

  The man eyed her curiously. He’d never seen a woman dressed or even look like her before. “Ming. What you want?”

  “We need to have a talk.”

  “I no know you. Go way.” Trying to shut the door on Bec only made her smile. She jammed her worn biker-style boot in the doorway, making the door bow from the pressure.

  “I’m not done talking Ming. Let’s go inside,” she pushed the door open to find the room cluttered with mess and barely a place to sit.

  “You leave. I say go way.” The man yelled at her, waving a finger in her face.

  “Where’s Nguyen and Sybil?”

  He stopped silent, frozen. His face scrunched up, “What you want with them?”

  “Where are they?” She growled this time as she stepped closer to him. She towered over him easily by a good six inches, even though she was considered average for a woman.

  Movement near the hall entrance caught her eye as the man turned and started berating someone in Korean. Bec could see a stack of magazines piled up near Ming, so with a flick of her wrist she sent the books tumbling over. The stack hit the man in the leg causing him to jump and go silent. He looked at Bec, then the books, then Bec again. She shrugged and smiled. Looking over the man, who was now bent over cursing at the books as he picked them up, she could see the two women peeping out at her. She motioned for them to come over. Hesitantly, they did as the two women held onto one another.

  “No, you stay!” Ming straightened quickly and demanded of his sister and niece.

  “No, they don’t,” Bec replied. “Go on outside. My friend is there and will help.” Her tone of voice went from abrupt to soft and kind and back again in an instant. “You,” she pointed to Ming, “and I need to talk.”

  “I no talk you.”

  Chuckling, Bec remarked, “Oh we’re gonna talk and you’ll listen… eventually.”

  Once the two women were outside, Kyle sent a telepathic message they were safe. Bec turned to Ming, “You won’t hit them or any woman again. We clear?” She motioned between them.

  “I do what I want. I a man.”

  Bec used her super speed and was on top of the small man in a microsecond, held him up by his shirt and growled, “You will not!” She reared her left arm back, fist in tow and gave one good punch to the tiny man. Dropping him in the same instant only made him fall back harder than he would’ve from the hit alone.

  He yelled out in pain and started babbling in Korean. Bec knew he was cursing her so she laughed, she didn’t care. He had both hands holding his nose that was spewing blood everywhere. His face and shirt were covered in the crimson liquid. “You broke my nose.”

  “Be glad that is all I did. You don’t hit women. You don’t hit people you love,” she was in his face pointing down at him, “and you never look for them. If you do, I’ll come back and do so much worse. This,” she waved a finger up and down at him, “was too easy.”

  As she started to leave, the man stood and started to come after her. Bec heard his loud approach and instantly turned on him. Holding her left hand in the air, the man gasped. “You see, I am a woman of many talents. You are a man of few.” She lifted the man in the air by his neck and began squeezing as she berated him for his behavior.

  Struggling, the man scratched at his neck to remove the unseen hand. Legs kicking wildly, the man was near passing out. As Bec stepped closer to him, she growled, “Never again.” With a push of her arm the man slammed into the far wall and slid into a lump on the floor. Satisfied he wouldn’t get up the woman walked out calmly as if nothing had happened, locking the door behind her.

  Once in the car, the woman turned to the two ladies in the backseat, “You’re safe now. I have a place you can go and he will never bother you again!”

  Chapter 3

  Bec saw Dr. Wilson every day at two no matter what, even on the weekends. “Don’t you take days off?” Bec questioned her one day. It was a Sunday and the sun was shining brightly, she wanted to be outdoors and not in here talking to her. It was late spring, and the sun warmed the air and everything it touched.

  Dr. Wilson smiled as she jotted down notes of the conversation so far. Bec was in a good mood, playful even, Georgia had hoped her time outside was good and so far, it seemed to be working. “I’ll make a deal with you. I’ll take a day off when you don’t need to talk to me anymore. How’s that?”

  Laughing, “I don’t need you now. Only the law seems to
think I do.” Bec stared out the window again, “Funny how the law thinks they know what you need.”

  “I think it’s better here for you then at home with your mom,” Georgia knew she was pushing Bec but in order for her to open up she felt she had too. It had been two months since Bec’s first time outside and she hadn’t really talked about anything since, nothing that mattered anyway.

  Bec shot her a glance, turning towards the doctor she slowly walked up to her and knelt down in front of her, “I think out there I can take care of my problems instead of in here with you trying,” she tapped her temple, “to get in my head.” Bec snarled as she spoke. It wasn’t as good a day as the doctor thought.

  “In your head is where the problems remain. In your head is the only place I can help,” the doctor talked calmly and with an even tone. She knew not to provoke Bec, that happened once before and the telekinetic teen destroyed a room along with everything in it. Two people ended up needing medical care after trying to subdue her. They never worked on her wing again.

  Bec stared at the doctor as she stood. Her mind whirled with thoughts, dark thoughts and while she knew the doctor might be a little right… she also knew that getting revenge on the people who damaged her was also the right thing too. “Fine,” she snipped. Sitting in the large chair, staring at the ceiling she continued, “What do you want to know today?”

  “Tell me about the dark,” Georgia replied softly. This was another tough topic for Bec and the doctor knew that asking might start a fight. What she didn’t expect was Bec’s response.

  “I was three. I remember hiding under the bed when I heard him come home,” Bec tossed another figurine in the air with her abilities. She would let it fall slowly towards her and then push it quickly back up to the high ceiling. Bec did this over and over again as she continued with her story, “I remember the wooden screen door slamming. My mom yelling and running by my door. I’d quickly slide under the bed and watch him pass my doorway. Then I remember them fighting. My mom would try to fight back but never did so well. He’d always win.”

  “I don’t think that is the story about the dark…”

  “No, but it’s a memory, nonetheless. Figured any was better than none.”

  Georgia put her notebook down on the table next to her and gently laid the pen atop of it. Uncrossing her legs, she leaned forward, “Was that story part of the reason or just a distraction?”

  Bec smiled before glancing her way, “Clever doctor. You know it’s all part of the reasons I have my… issues!”

  “Bec, I need you to open up more. You’ve been here over a year and the progress we are making is a bit slow. I want to be able to help more. Help me, help you.”

  Bec grumbled under her breath, “Fine! You want to know about the dark, I’ll tell you. Every time my mother felt I was not getting along with one of her husbands I was thrown into a closet and locked in until I could play nice,” her voice was rising in anger. “I had this happen to me in front of friends, all my life. Locked away like some old pair of shoes no one wanted to see but couldn’t be thrown out.”

  Georgia Wilson sat stunned for a moment at the revelation. This young girl had endured so much and sadly her mother played a huge role in that. No one defended her. No one stood up for her. No one tried to help her. Georgia decided right then that she would not only be her doctor but her defender. “What if I can make it so you don’t have to go back to her?”

  Bec’s head turned towards the doctor quickly, “What are you saying?”

  “You’ve been through so much. No one took care of you like they should’ve. What if I can make it so you can stay here till your eighteen and never have to go back home?”

  The girls face darkened. Her eyes turned from an inviting shade of blue to nearly solid black. She didn’t know how to react to someone wanting to help her. All she heard was the doctor trying to keep her locked away. She thought back to the conversation with the young man in the fenced yard. He offered an alliance. Offered to help get her out of the hospital. Glancing from the doctor to the floor in front of her, Bec considered her options. If she played along with the doctor, she could work out something with Kyle. She wouldn’t stay here till she was eighteen, no way in hell. Her features softened as she looked towards the doctor one last time, “You think you can do that? Keep me safe in here?” The doctor nodded. “I’m sure there are some fancy words in those books to make that possible. Use them to make me sound disturbed and dangerous. But if you do that, then who’s to say that they’d ever let me out!” The young girl stood and walked towards the door, “our time is over today. I’m going outside.”

  Georgia didn’t stop the troubled teen; she knew the girl needed time to consider everything. Bec rarely acted out in the moment. No, she was a thinker. She considered every option she could. There were those weak moments where Bec would throw a tantrum, but they were rare and that is what worried the doctor most.

  Going to her office window, the doctor looked out at the fenced-in yard and watched Bec as she exited the building. Bec stood just inside the fenced area and looked back up at the window where Georgia stood. The doctor didn’t move; she had to stand her ground. Bec turned and began jogging the perimeter again. This was what she did every time she went out. Georgia couldn’t figure out what Bec was up to but knew it was nothing good. Bec was cunning and that worried her.

  Kyle was outside again today and began jogging alongside Bec when she came in. Georgia wondered what they talked about, she knew the two together could be trouble for her and the hospital but also knew that together they could be good for each other. These thoughts tore at her as she watched their interactions time and time again. Since meeting Kyle, Bec was being more open but Georgia worried that the end result wasn’t worth it.

  Bec and Kyle jogged along in a nice steady pace around the fenced yard’s perimeter. They would make a few rounds before ever speaking a word. Today, Bec spoke first, “She’s watching us again.”

  “I know,” Kyle smiled as he quickened their pace.

  “Do you think she means well for us?”

  Kyle thought for a moment, “In her own way yes. But she’s not like the rest of us in here. There is nothing gifted about her. I don’t think she ever had a bad day in her life.”

  Bec stopped abruptly, “She never had a bad day? Come on, no one has it that good.” Bec thought back to the day the doctor revealed what she could do and knew that keeping that secret that built trust with her. The teenager also knew that trust was essential for her to get what she wants.

  Kyle bent over with his hands on his knees to catch his breath, “Maybe not but it’s hard for me to trust someone to understand what’s happened when they’ve never dealt with the issues I’ve dealt with.”

  Bec glanced back up at the doctor, “Maybe not. Maybe I just want to believe someone wants to actually make a difference.” She shrugged and started jogging again.

  “How do you keep going without ever running out of breath?” Kyle asked as he ran to catch up to her.

  “Super speed and all, guess it just doesn’t affect me like that. I can run for hours and never get tired.”

  “That can be handy. Anything else you can do that isn’t considered normal?” Kyle quickly glanced at the young woman before looking away.

  “Telekinesis,” Bec answered flatly.

  Kyle slowed to a stop again, causing Bec to turn and stop. “You mean you are fast as hell and can move things with your mind? I’m telepathic and some others in here,” he pointed vaguely at the building, “they can do stuff to. Together we could get out. You interested?”

  Bec was interested but she was also ready for somewhere safe to call home, even if it was a hospital. She nodded at Kyle then started running again.

  “I got a question for you.”

  The girl stopped running and looked toward him, “yes.”

  “If you’re telekinetic, why not just levitate yourself out?”

  “Now, what would be the fun in that?”
She winked at him and started to run again.

  Chapter 4

  Mealtime was always one of the loneliest times of the day for Bec while in the hospital. After about a month in her room, she was going stir crazy. The walls seemed to close in on her which only made her fear of closed-in spaces worse. Her room wasn’t small in any sense. There was a full-sized bed with a desk on the opposite wall and a basic rolling chair for her to use. A small loveseat sat on the farthest wall opposite a small bathroom with a standing shower. After a month inside confined to the space… anything would be too small.

  Bec was a person who had a lot of energy, making this enclosure seem even worse. She would run laps around her room to burn off her excess energy. Dr. Wilson watched the young woman for weeks on the monitor before she introduced herself.

  When the orderlies would come to deliver her meal, she silently begged for their company, she wouldn’t dare tell them she needed it, that would be showing weakness. Weakness is something she couldn’t show anyone. Her fifth week in there was a soft knock on the door. Bec stopped moving suddenly, turning her head as if to hear the noise better. At first, she didn’t realize it was someone knocking. The orderlies never knocked. They’d open the door and announce their entrance. Bec had gotten use to that pattern of behaviors. No one ever knocked… not until now.

  On the other side of the door Bec could hear a woman’s voice, “Rebecca. May I come in?”

  Bec walked up to the door slowly to listen more closely and then stepped back before turning to sit on her bed. She looked at the door, held her right hand up and made a twisting gesture. The doorknob turned and slid open. Standing in the doorway, Georgia Wilson, a woman in her mid-forties with long blonde hair, pulled over to one side, and brown eyes that were a light honey hue. Her red-rimmed glasses were a stark contrast to her light-colored hair. Bec looked over every detail of the woman before raising a brow, “Who are you?”