Abandoned

Chapter 25

Miles POV

“I don’t want them to see her!” I told Max as soon as he hung up the phone.

He looked up at me with anger written all over his face.

“Oh, they won’t see her.” he said. “They will never come near her again.”

I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair.

“I don’t know, Max.” I mumbled. “It’s not a good idea. If they find out that she is here…”

“They will fucking have to go through me!” Max exclaimed, clenching his fists. “They are not going to see her. They are not going to talk to her. They are going to talk to me, and they are going to fucking explain to me why they left her!”

My heart was hurting. My brother was so fucking angry and so fucking sad, and there was nothing I could do. I was so fucking angry and so fucking sad too. I wanted to kill him. I wanted to punch him until I saw his soul leaving his body.

“We know why they left her.” Ryan mumbled.

He was leaning on the wall. His arms were crossed over his chest, and he had a murderous look on his face.

“They left her because she is a girl.” Ryan said, tightening his jaw.

I took a deep breath. He was right. We did know why they left her, but we didn’t know why then. Why not when she was born? Why did they leave her when she was four years old?

The bathroom door opened, and I looked up.

My stomach turned, and my vision blackened. I was going to pass out.

“Oh, my God.” Ryan mumbled.

Max sobbed.

I couldn’t even breathe.

“Fucking bastard!” Sam yelled.

Her whole upper body was covered in scars. There were still some bruises on her ribs. There were a few cuts on her arm and her belly that didn’t seem to heal properly.

But the scars told her whole story.

She wasn’t fucking abused.

She was tortured.

She was standing by the bathroom door, holding the towel over her chest. I could see her hands shaking. Her head was hanging low. She couldn't even look up at us.

Max moved first. He approached her and pulled her into a gentle hug.

“I am so sorry.” Max cried out. “I am so sorry, Mads. This will never happen to you again. I promise.”

Maddie wrapped her free arm around Max’s waist.

“Bring her to the bed.” Sam said, wiping his cheeks.

Max let her go, put an arm around her shoulders, and walked her to the bed.

She sat down next to me, and I took her small hand in mine.

Her wrists were covered in scars. I could tell that the scars were from being tied with a rope.

Fuck!

I was going to kill everyone who touched a hair on her head!

“Okay, love.” Sam said softly. “Lay down so I can see if your ribs are broken.”

She nodded, and I stood up so she could lay down on the bed.

“Go get my bag, Ryan, please.” Sam mumbled.

Ryan wiped his cheeks and nodded. He walked out of the room and closed the door behind himself.

Sam kneeled next to the bed and caressed Maddie’s cheek.

“Okay, love.” he said softly. “It’s going to hurt a little.”

Maddie nodded and looked up at me.

I immediately took her hand in mine and squeezed it gently.

Sam lifted the towel a little, and it gave me a perfect view of her bruised ribs. I wanted to scream and cry.

Sam tightened his jaw.

He started feeling around the area, making Maddie flinch.

“I am sorry, love.” he said, looking up at her. “Just a few more seconds.”

Maddie nodded and squeezed my hand.

I looked at Max, who was staring at her ribs with a murderous look on his face.

Maddie flinched again, but she didn’t make a sound.

Sam finally stopped and looked up at her.

“Okay, love.” he said softly. “They are thankfully not broken, just bruised. They didn’t have time to heal because you kept moving around.”

She nodded, and Sam bent down to kiss her cheek.

“Okay.” Sam said. “Sit up so I can see the cuts.”

I pulled her up gently and sat down next to her. She tightened the hold on the towel around her body. I looked up at Max and motioned for him to come sit down with us.

He clenched his fists and shook his head. He looked like he was about to scream. I sighed and looked back at my sister.

Sam was looking at a cut on her belly.

“It’s a miracle that it’s not infected.” Sam mumbled. “It’s mostly healed, but it needs to be cleaned and bandaged.”

Sam traced his finger over the cut, making Maddie flinch again.

“I am sorry, love.” he said, looking up at her. “What did he use on you?”

She looked at him and gulped.

“A broken beer bottle.” she mumbled.

FUCK!

I looked away and tightened my jaw. I didn’t want her to see me angry. I wasn’t angry at her. God, I could never be angry at her.

Max ran his fingers through his hair, grabbed it, and started pulling.

The bedroom door opened, and Ryan walked back inside.

“What took you so long?” Sam asked as he turned around to take his bag from Ryan.

“My friend from Social Services called.” Ryan said. “They brought her foster parents in.”

Maddie squeezed my hand.

I looked at her, and my heart broke. She was staring at Ryan with so much fear in her eyes that it made me sick. She was so fucking afraid of them.

“Don’t be scared, Addie.” Ryan said softly. “They can’t hurt you anymore. I promise.”

I could feel her shaking.

“Sam, can you hurry up?” I asked, keeping my eyes on her. “I think that Maddie had enough for today.”

“We still need to go to the hospital.” Sam said, frowning at me.

I looked at him and sighed.

“Can it wait until tomorrow?” I asked. “It’s late anyway.”

Sam looked at Maddie and sighed.

“It can wait until tomorrow.” Sam said. “But we are bringing her to the hospital first thing tomorrow morning.”

I nodded and kissed her temple.

“Just a few more minutes, and I will get them out.” I whispered to her.

She looked at me and gave me a small nod.

I could tell that she needed some space. I could tell that she had enough.

Sam got to work and started putting some cream on her wounds.

“I will bandage them and clean them every day, okay?” he said as he put the last bandage on her. “We need to make sure that they don’t get infected.”

Maddie nodded.

“Okay, love.” Sam said as he finished bandaging her cuts. “All done.”

Maddie nodded and gave him a small smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

“You can go put your clothes back on.” Sam told her. “Just be careful not to tear the bandage.”

Maddie nodded and stood up. I reluctantly let her hand go.

I watched as she walked to the bathroom and closed the door behind herself.

Sam ran a hand over his face.

“Did you see the rope marks?” Max mumbled quietly.

The three of us nodded.

Max cursed under his breath and started pacing around.

“We are staying here tonight.” Ryan said.

“That’s okay.” I said. “But you need to leave the room. She’s had enough.”

Sam started putting his stuff back into the bag. He stood up and looked toward the bathroom.

“Call me if she needs anything.” he said.

I gave him a small nod and watched as he and Ryan left the room. Ryan glanced toward the bathroom one more time before closing the bedroom door behind himself.

As soon as the bedroom door closed, Maddie walked out of the bathroom.

She looked around the room until her eyes landed on me.

I didn’t say anything. I just reached out for her.

She approached me, sat down next to me, and I pulled her into my arms.

I felt another pair of arms wrap around us. Max kissed the top of her head. I rubbed her back gently.

“Thank you.” she mumbled quietly.

“You can always count on us, Maddie.” I said softly. “I promise.”