My recovery was hell in every sense of the word. Every day my mother would come and sit at my bedside, and stare at me. She said not a word in greeting or farewell, and simply sat there, staring at me until I felt like my skin would come off. If I was asleep when she arrived, she'd prod me awake, telling me I had no right to sleep, and whenever nurses brought my meals, she stared at me as I ate, telling me I had no right to eat. Every time I pressed the call button for assistance, my mother would tell me I had no right to assistance. All of her remarks were delivered in a cold tone that implied I had worse waiting me at home.
I refused to let her get to me, and whenever she "visited", I ignored her, watching the TV whilst tuning her out. I always made sure to keep the remote in a firm grip lest she pry it out of my hands and turn the TV off, but she never made a move to do so, telling me I had no right to keep myself entertained. According to her, I was supposed to lie there and stare at the ceiling all day, with no food, no drinks, and no assistance to use the facilities. Luckily, the nurses always came backed up with security to get her to leave when visiting hours were over, but even then I got no peace; every hour she'd ring through to my room to lecture me some more. I finally had enough and told the nurses to disconnect my phone so she couldn't call me anymore. This won me a stern lecture when she came the next day.
"I am your mother," she told me. "I have every right to speak to you. You do not have the right to refuse my calls."
"I've got every right to remove myself from a painful situation," I said. "You've got no right interfering with my basic human rights of sleep and food. Keep it up and I'll have you banned altogether."87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwbJHIAzv2j
My mother sniffed. "You wouldn't dare," she said. "If you do, I'll have you removed from this place even if I have to kidnap you and drag you out in your hospital gown for all the world to see."
She'd do it too. "Do that and see how far you get," I warned.
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Two days later, I woke to a ruckus, and when I saw my father entering the room, his face dark with rage, I realised I'd probably poked the bear a bit too much. "You're coming with us," he told me, yanking the covers off me and hauling me to my feet. I no longer needed a life support machine thanks to my surreptitious healing, but I still fell over when my father let go, and he hauled me up by the hair, slamming me against the wall. "Stop it," he snarled. "You're not as weak as you claim. Now stop with the bullshit, or I swear to god I'll slit your throat here and now!"
I pushed him away. "I'm not going anywhere," I said angrily. "Get the hell out of here before I..." My head rang like a struck bell, and I groaned as I sagged to my knees, blinking to clear the stars from my vision. My father grabbed my hair and hauled me to my feet again.
"Say one more word, and I'll beat you bloody," he said. "Now move!"87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnJZzDlvZ5I
I dug my heels in, but he simply grabbed my arm and dragged me out, and when I saw the chaos in the corridors, I felt my blood run cold. Dozens of special ops had flooded the hospital, and patients were being dragged out. Doctors and nurses lay dead on the floor, as did a few patients, with persistent beeping telling the grim tale; several patients had been connected to life support machines, their lives ending abruptly after being dragged out of their rooms. I wanted to throw up. "What the hell is going on?" I demanded, trying to pull against my father's persistent grip. He tightened his hold, and I was finally forced to use some of my strength to bring us to a halt. "Tell me what's going on!" I said.
My father raised his free hand to punch me again, but he lowered it when he saw my face. "Your 'friends' have got this place surrounded," he said curtly. "They're demanding we give you and other patients up, but they're being shot at as we speak." He gave a short bark of laughter. "I don't know what the hell you did, but you can forget about being rescued; I won't have you running free and telling your twisted lies."87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBnvPuOccwT
I frowned in confusion, before realisation hit me; some of Harry's friends had survived the ill-starred raid at the bank several days ago, and for no reason I could name, I felt immense relief. Sure, I'd been scared out of my wits the entire time I'd been held hostage, but I'd felt safer with Harry and his cohorts than anywhere else. Clearly they were carrying on his mission, and though I didn't know what that mission was, I was starting to get inklings. "Good luck trying to get rid of them a second time," I said.
My father's eyes narrowed, but before he could do anything more, a balaclava-clad man came over. "Let the girl go," he said. "I've got orders to shoot to kill."
"Try me," my father warned, grabbing me around the throat and pressing a knife to the side of my neck. "Get the fuck out the way," he warned. "I'll slit her throat before I let her get away again."87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6UhC94mgUo
My would-be rescuer raised his gun, but before he could fire, his eyes widened, and then he dropped dead to the ground. My heart sank when I saw his killer, and my father grabbed my arm again, hauling me through the mayhem. My hopes had died again, but even as my father threw me in the back of the car waiting for us in the parking lot, I vowed to get out one way or another, even if I had to run away.
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