Author's note: School sucks. I'd rather be writing. Sorry for the delay

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Julie's POV

Kenny carefully unwrapped the gauze off from around my leg. The tender flesh on my thigh throbbed whenever his fingers would graze against the gauze.

"Don't worry," Kenny told me. "It'll be over soon and you can go to sleep."

The thin curtains were pulled back on the window and the moonlight was flooding in. My eyes felt heavy and I struggled to keep them open.

"Thank you," I muttered.

I kept my eyes locked on the moon. I didn't want to look down at my leg. I didn't want to see the stitched up and swollen wound that Tommy gave me. I snuck a peek at it the first time Kenny changed the gauze, and it looked awful. I couldn't believe Kenny when he said I would be able to walk on it again.

"I was talking to Carrie before I came to your room," he said. "She really wants to talk to you."

I squeezed my eyes shut. Carrie was betraying our family and telling the police and the reporters about everything that went on in the house. I needed to talk to her though. I needed to convince her to stop now before it got any worse. It probably couldn't get worse. Everyone was looking out for Jimmy and Tommy.

"Can she come to my room?" I asked.

I felt Kenny's hands stop for a moment. "I'm sure she'll be up."

He finished wrapping my leg back up and then pulled the nightgown back down over my legs. He straightened out the blankets for me so that they were tucked in around me.

"I'll go ask her if she wants to come down," he said.

"Thank you," I said, nodding my head.

I heard Kenny's footsteps walk out of the room and then down the hall. How close was Carrie's room? I never thought about her being close. It would make sense if she was. That way they could block off all of the reporters and police.

I turned my head to the other side when I heard a new set of footsteps walk toward my room. Carrie's blonde hair was tied back. She had on a pair of pink and blue pajamas on and not the flimsy hospital gown I was stuck in. She walked toward my bed like she had a pole stuck up her back. Her movements were awkward and jerky. She pulled out a chair and sat next to my bed.

"I'm not used to this," Carrie said as she sat down. "Usually I'm the one stuck in bed."

"Want to trade?" I offered giving her a faint smile.

"No. I'm good," she said. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay. They say I'm healing fast."

"That's good. You'll be out of here in no time."

I gave her a slight nodded. She shifted her weight awkwardly in her seat and I could see her face wince in pain. Her back is still healing from Tommy whipping her with his belt.

"Have you talked to the cops yet?" she asked.

"A bit," I said.

"Julie, I need you to promise me something," she said. She tried to lean forward, but her wounds stopped her. "I need you to promise me that you'll tell the cops the truth."

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Well, you're judgement is a little clouded because of Jimmy."

"This isn't Jimmy's fault," I told her. "This is because of Tommy."

"Julie-."

"No!"

My chest tightened and burned. I could feel the tears stinging at the back of my eyes, but I blinked them away.

"Tommy is the reason for this," I told her. "And you're not helping."

Carrie opened up her mouth to speak, but she didn't say anything. She chewed on her lip and then took a quick glance over her shoulder.

"Julie, we need to stick together," she said. "My parents got me an apartment downtown. They don't want me moving in with them."

I could hear Carrie's voice waver. I knew she was choking back tears.

"I would really like it if you and Hunter moved in with me," she said. "I know you have nowhere else to go."

"I have Lina," I said.

"Who?"

"Lina. She's my best friend."

"Oh." Carrie's eyebrows scrunched together. "I thought you had nobody before you met Jimmy."

"She's a friend. Not family."

Carrie let out a deep breath. She hooked her finger in her elastic and pulled it out of her hair. She shook her head and then ran her fingers through her hair.

"Julie, I want to take care of you," she said.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because that's what you did for me. I remember the deal you made with Tommy. I can never thank you enough for that."

I closed my eyes and swallowed against the lump forming in my throat. Tommy was so cruel to Carrie and when I asked him to be nicer to her, he said he only would if I had sex with him. The next day he came in and forced himself on me.

"I really don't want you to be alone," she told me. "Where do you plan on going when you get out?"

I hated to admit it, but she was right. Getting out of the hospital, even simply recovering, seemed so far away that I didn't bother to think about it. I had nowhere to go. I could move in with Lina, but she was getting married soon. She couldn't wait to start her life with Dan. I couldn't be hanging around her house with my baby while they decided to start their own family.

I didn't want to live with Carrie. She was the reason our family is being torn apart. If she didn't make up all of that stuff and tell the police it, then nobody would be looking for Jimmy. He could come to the hospital and we could be a family again. That couldn't happen if the hospital was surrounded by reporters, but if Carrie and I had our own apartment then maybe Jimmy could find us. If Carrie saw him she'd call the cops right away.

"I don't know yet," I said.

"Please stay with me," Carrie began to beg.

"Let me sleep on it. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Okay. Good night, Julie."

"Good night," I said shutting my eyes.

My eyes were so heavy that I fell asleep in seconds.

--

I felt fingers graze along my scalp. My eyes fluttered open and Kenny was leaning over me. The room was so bright that it burned my eyes. He smiled when he saw that I was awake.

"Rise and shine, Julie," he said.

Kenny opened his mouth again, and blood began to roll down his chin and drip on my thin blankets. Blood began to stain his scrubs and a blade protruded itself from his chest. Kenny didn't scream, but he garbled as he fell down onto me.

Tommy was standing behind Kenny and was holding the blade to the knife in his back. He smirked at me when he saw me.

"You're mine, Jules," Tommy told me.

--

"Julie!" Somebody was shaking my shoulder. "Julie, wake up!"

My eyes flew open and I saw Kenny leaning over me. I gasped and pushed myself farther away from him. His bloody face filled my mind. Kenny's eyes grew wide when he saw me panicking.

"Don't worry," he told me as he started backing up from the bed to give me my space. "It was just a dream. I'm not going to hurt you."

I was breathing hard and my chest burned and ached in agony. I couldn't stop a few tears from running down my cheeks. I wiped the tears away with the back of my hand.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," I muttered.

"Alright." Kenny pulled my little table over my bed and peeled back the foil to reveal my breakfast. "I suggest you eat this. There's a new detective here to talk to you."

"I don't want to talk to them," I said.

"You don't have a choice anymore," he told me. I could hear the sadness behind his voice. "You need to tell them everything, Julie. They have no more patience. They went into the basement."