Danny knocked on Marnie's door. How'd I get involved in the family drama? All night long, he'd considered his choices, deciding the best thing to do was ask Marnie to come back to New York. He didn't feel comfortable leaving her in Chicago. She had too many problems with her family. Adam's visit only confirmed this decision.
What was she bitching about now?
He was tired of the drama. The sooner they left, the better he would feel. His head couldn't stand anymore of Marnie's mood swings.
Danny knocked for a second time harder, but when silence ensued, he entered with his keycard.
“Marnie,” he called softly.
Both the living room and bedroom were empty. A pink night mask lay atop the covers. As his heart began to race, he checked her closet and was relieved to find her clothing still there. Good, she was here.
Sobs coming from the bathroom alerted Danny to her presence.
“Marnie,” he knocked on the door. What was wrong now? She could be such a drama queen.
“Go away,” her muffled voice replied.
Danny sat down on the carpeted floor. Clearly this was going to be a long day. His left hand hit a wet spot. His eyes widened in alarm. Dark red liquid coated his fingers. Blood. He jumped back on his feet and jiggled the bathroom door. Locked.
“Marnie, please open the door.” Violent images fluttered through his mind.
She couldn't possibly be doing what he thought she was.
With no response from the bathroom, Danny kicked the door handle, silently praying the lock was cheap and would give easily. It didn't. With each passing second, Danny's panic rose. Seeing he was making no headway, Danny proceeded to ram the door with his shoulder. On the second run the door burst open.
He stumbled into the bathroom. Marnie lay slumped against the cabinet on the bathroom floor, the hem of her nightgown stained dark red from the pool of blood that formed around her. Her hair was strewn across her face, deep red from the blood seeping from the crown of her head and dripping down the side of her face, staining her chest. Her ochre skin was as pale as a sheet. Her head drooped as if she was asleep.
Danny's heart threatened to shatter into a million pieces. She cradled her right hand in her left. Danny noticed cuts on her wrists. Both hands were stained with her destruction.
“No.” Danny grabbed a terry cloth towel off the rack and knelt. He took the glass shard from Marnie's hand and wrapped her wrists.
Marnie tried to squirm out of his grasp, but he would not release his hold. Her movements were lethargic at best. He wrapped her in his arms and called an ambulance.
“You're going to be okay.”
“Go away,” she whispered. A big tear rolled down her face.
Danny rocked her back and forth, ignoring her pleas.
What had he gotten himself into? He prayed the paramedics would get there in time. Marnie had lost a lot of blood and was starting to fall asleep.
He had to keep her talking. “What's your favorite song?”
“Buenos Dias,” she said, naming one of Danny's hits from his boy band days. He began to sing, but he struggled to keep his voice from wavering. He encouraged Marnie to help him.
“Danny, what's going on?”
Danny walked into the emergency room and watched the paramedics wheel Marnie past the double doors. The inquiry had to be repeated before he was able to answer.
“What?” Danny turned around in the direction of the voice. Standing at the emergency check-in counter next to another woman, was a young man with blond highlights. He wore surgical blues. Danny shook his head to clear the thick fog that dulled his senses. As Danny walked closer he realized it was Marnie's brother, Adam.
“You work here?” he managed to stammer. His brain struggled to turn back and put the pieces together. He didn't clearly understand what had happened. He knew he was in a hospital, but beyond that everything was in a dreamlike state for him. He wouldn't be surprised if the Easter Bunny showed up.
“I'm a CNA. Here,” he put a hand on his shoulder “let's get you into some clean clothes.”
Until now he had not thought of himself. Danny realized he must have looked like he had stepped off the set of a horror movie. Dried blood ran down his right arm and covered his right pant leg, settling into his socks and shoes. His gray Calvin Klein shirt was ruined; a dark red spot claimed the right half of his torso.
“Tell me what happened.”
Danny let Adam guide him through the same double doors Marnie had been carted through. He looked for signs of her, but saw none. Adam took him to a locker room and closed the door behind him, shutting out the busy sounds of the hospital. Danny breathed a sigh of relief.
“Sit down.”
Danny collapsed on a bench in front of a row of lockers.
“I went to see her after talking to you,” Danny said. He was surprised his voice sounded hoarse. “I found her in the bathroom. She'd cut herself up. She was halfway gone by the time I broke down the door.”
Adam let out a sigh. He pounded his fist into the locker and leaned against the door.
“I guess I shouldn't have dug that stuff up, but I was just trying to make amends.”
“What do you mean?” Danny asked.
Adam glanced at him and proceeded to pull out a white shirt and a pair of jeans from the locker next to the one he punched.
“We're about the same size, so these should fit you.” He tossed the clothes to Danny.
Danny thanked him and quickly changed. Adam was right; they were just about the same size. He was slightly taller than Adam—the pants barely reached his ankles. But that was okay. It was better than walking around looking like a zombie.
“What did you guys talk about?” He wasn't about to ignore the comment Adam made moments ago.
Adam sighed. “I'm not sure I should discuss this with you.”
“It's fine. We tell each other everything.” It was a lie. But Danny wasn't above lying, not when a life was at stake.
Adam studied him, apparently sizing him up. Danny stared back at him, silently willing him to speak. Come on tell me!
“I already know why she stopped speaking to your parents,” Danny ventured.
“She probably never told you the whole story, though.” Adam leaned forward. “My dad owed a lot of money to a loan shark. The guy called in the contract early, threatening to kill us all if my dad didn't give him some money. The man had taken an interest in my sister, and of course my father didn't have the money to pay him.” He raked a shaky hand through his hair. “He drugged Marnie and gave her to him as temporary collateral for one night. Unfortunately, he didn't know Marnie was going to be raped repeatedly by different men.”
Danny froze, taking in all the words Adam had just said. Because they felt like just words, or syllabi. He replayed them in his head, making sure he had heard Adam correctly. Raped. Repeatedly. Her nightmares, and reluctance to talk about why she used, the isolation, it was all there right before his eyes. He never would have guessed. Betrayed by her father—raped. It was unfathomable.
Danny's stomach clenched not once, but twice. Adam grabbed a trashcan and shuttled it in front of his feet just in time. He poured the contents of his stomach into the can, and kept continuing until his stomach hurled only air. He leaned over the receptacle, gasping. The cool touch of water brushed his cheek.
“Here, drink this.” Danny looked up and gratefully accepted the bottle of water.
“That's sick,” he said, after rinsing his mouth out.
Adam sniffed. “Yeah, she needs some help.”
“No!” Danny pointed a shaky finger at him. “She's not the one that's sick, you all are.”
Danny suddenly understood Marnie's rage. He had taken her back to visit her abusers. He was lucky he was still alive.
Poor Marnie. He put his head in his hands. What had he done?
“Stay here for a sec. I'm going to go check on her.” Adam avoided his gaze as he left the room.
Danny lay across the wooden bench and tried to still the chaos ensuing in his mind. Things had gotten out of hand. He wanted to tear the whole place apart and scream at the top of his lungs. As much as he wanted to shield himself from it, he felt her pain. Beth's words echoed. “You did what was best for you.” He'd been selfish. All he had been thinking about was ending this experiment and getting back to his old life. This wasn't an experiment though. This was her life he'd played with. She counted on him and he'd hurt her.
Adam poked his head around the doorway. “They've got her sedated and are stitching her up right now. Why don't you come and relax in the waiting room?”
Danny silently followed. There was nothing to say to him. He was utterly disgusted and wanted to take Marnie far away from it all. As soon as she was well he would put her on a plane and take her home. She needed him and he wasn't going to turn his back on her. He leaned back in the recliner and closed his eyes. Sleep was the only thing he could manage right now.
Murmured voices woke Danny from his deep sleep. He peeked an eye open and glanced at his watch. 9:30 a.m. He'd been at the hospital for three hours now. Surely she was awake. Danny stretched his arms wide and sat forward in the recliner. He frowned when he saw Marnie's parents Aileen and Paul were sitting two feet away with Adam. He darted out of the chair. Pain racked his body—next time he would sleep in his car.
No, wait. There wouldn't be a next time. She couldn't do this again, and he was going to make sure she wouldn't want to. He would take care of her. Starting by dealing with the origin of the pain.
“What are doing here?” he barked.
“Oh, you're awake,” Aileen said with a smile.
“You need to leave now.”
“Excuse me, who the hell are you—,”Paul said.
Danny turned toward Paul towering over him.
“If you ever talk to her again, I will kill you. And if you don't leave right this moment I will call the police. I'm sure they'd love to jail a pimp.”
Paul shot up and was nose to nose with Danny. Their chests heaved in and out furiously. They looked like two bulls without a matador.
“Dad!” Adam pulled on his father's left arm. “Perhaps he's right. She might not want to talk to you right now.”
“But—”
Adam gently placed a hand on his mother's back and nudged her toward the door. “Maybe later, okay?”
“How can you live with yourself?” Danny said as Aileen walked past him.
Her eyes glazed over and she turned away, sobbing into a napkin she held in her hand.
Once his parents left the room, Adam whirled around to face Danny.
“She never told you anything, did she?” There was no anger in his eyes, only calm resolve.
Danny stuck out his chin in defiance. “She didn't tell me about them.”