When I woke up, they told me I was lucky I hadn't died. Sarah had, in essence, quite literally beaten me near to death. It was, I told, a miracle I was still breathing after what she'd done to me.
And she'd done a lot of damage.
Nearly every bone in my body had been broken, but my feet had come in for "extra special" attention, according to the doctors. But there was nothing amusing in how grim their faces were when they told me I'd have to have both feet amputated.
Those words tore my world apart.
I could have lived with losing my feet under normal circumstances. But knowing what I knew, that Sarah had targeted my feet deliberately... it was, in essence, too much for me to bear.
To my protests, the doctors told me there was nothing they could do to save my feet. Sarah had broken every bone, and, driven by an almost inhuman fury, had then managed to break those bones again, thus ensuring they would never heal properly, thus rendering me a cripple and killing my ability to dance for good.
But a stubborn streak deep inside refused to believe this. I knew, of course, that the doctors wouldn't be able to save my feet. But I refused to believe amputation was the only path.
So I put my foot down. The doctors tried to convince me it was the only way, but I held stubbornly to my resolve, and in the end, since they couldn't actually force me to have my feet amputated, they acquiesced.
Now the focus was on my long and painful recovery. Since I had no wolf to help me heal, I had to fall back on my own resources. It was made worse by the fact that Sarah had soundproofed the entire house so no one could hear my screams. She'd only lifted the soundproofing after Uncle Ben had forced her to, but by the time they found me lying in a twisted, broken heap on the floor, the damage had already been done, and I was facing many long months of recovery and rehabilitation.
It would have been easier had my friends been able to visit me. I'd have been happy even to see Mum. But somehow, against all logic and reasoning, Sarah had managed to twist it around so it was all my fault. Therefore, Uncle Ben had decreed I was to have no visitors, and though Mum should have had final say over my medial treatment, Uncle Ben had instead managed to get himself put down as the final authority in her place.
And he wouldn't be budged. No matter how much I pleaded with him, no matter how much I begged, he refused.
"You're in no condition for visitors," he told me sternly. "Your mother would only wear you out, and you need to focus on your recovery. Once you're on the mend, I can decide what to do with you."
I stared at him in disbelief. "You can't be serious," I protester. "Sarah attacked me. Not the other way around."
"Sarah tells me you threw yourself at her unprovoked after she went back inside," Uncle Ben said coldly. "And since the house was soundproofed at the time, we can't be certain of what exactly happened. And Sarah was in a very vulnerable state after that debacle by the pool. You had no right to attack her, and you are fortunate you did not get worse for treating your cousin in such a shameful manner."
Gone was the kind uncle who had promised to care for and love me like another daughter, and I felt my heart crack in two at the look on his face. This was an Alpha ready to defend his own.
"But, I didn't do anything," I said. "All I did was try to..."
"Enough," Uncle Ben said, bringing his hand down sharply. "I've heard all I wish to hear about this matter. As I said, you need to focus on your recovery. And you will do all the doctors require of you. If you refuse, I will have you declared incompetent, and you will be transported to a psychiatric facility to live out the remainder of your days. Consider yourself fortunate I do not have you transported there. You should know better than to think your own cousin would even treat you so shamefully, either now or in the past." He shook his head in disbelief as he rose and looked at me with no pity in his eyes.
"And if she did treat you that way," he said, his voice now devoid of the caring I remembered, "then perhaps you may wish to rethink your past actions towards her. For such actions never come without consequence, and if my own daughter treated you the way you claim, then perhaps she had a good reason."
So saying, he turned and left, and I lay staring at the door for a very long time, the tears streaming slowly down my cheeks, the despair of my never being able to dance again temporarily snuffed out in an overwhelming welter of shame and humiliation that cut right to the very core of who I was until there was nothing left.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGkvoUtowgP
