In Our Blood

Chapter Thirty- Five

Her second day in the hospital and Charlie was starting to feel like she had her freedom even if her father chose to stay in her hospital room, she felt the freedom of walking around the hospital room as tried to adjust to her pain.

The slight burns around her lower legs were only first degree burns, she was happy to learn that they'd heal with the right care.

Her shoulder was a different story, the bullet had gone through her shoulder which had barely missed the vital parts of her shoulder. The bullet had gone through the same shoulder she had been shot through when she had target practice, the bullet that was lodged in her shoulder had moved slightly which took the medical team a little more time to sort out. She had been told that her arm may not be the same as it used to be.

The open wound from her upper thigh had been sealed up, it was the simplest wound she had attracted on the day she lit the building on fire.

Charlie didn't think any different to the injuries she had freshly gained, she knew they'd heal just like the countless other wounds she had gained over her life.

She watched as a nurse brought in a food tray.

"Thank you." Charlie spoke as the nurse placed the tray on the overbed table, she noticed her father sneak back into the room as he carried in a cup of coffee.

The nurse walked out of the room.

Charlie carefully adjusted herself to sit on her bed before taking off the food tray lid and savouring every bite of the hospital food.

He sat down in his chair as he watched her "Are you going to talk to me today?"

She slowly chewed on the mouthful of food as she looked at her father, she swallowed her food "Are you going to hunt me down again?"

"Charlie."

She looked down at her tray of food as he spoke the name, she had given herself "Please, just stop." She felt her eyes well up "I'm just done." She looked up at him as tears began to drip down her cheeks.

They turned their attention to the door as they heard a knock, she watched as the door opened and two officers stepped into the room.

He uncomfortably shifted in his seat.

"Morning, Charlie. I'm Officer Paz and this is Officer Loriel." Spoke a female police office as the two officers stopped in front of her bed. "We'd just like to ask you some questions about your injuries and what you know about the fire at the old hospital?"

Charlie nodded slightly.

"You came in with multiple wounds" Officer Loriel checked her notes in her notebook "and some burns. Many were quite fresh, and some were quite healed."

Charlie nodded slightly again.

"Do you know how you got any of those?" asked Officer Paz.

Charlie looked down at her tray of food before looking up at the two officers "I was being held hostage in the hospital."

"Do you know by who?" Officer Paz asked as Officer Loriel made notes.

Charlie looked over at her father seeing him with his arms over his face as he looked to be sleeping, his cup of coffee sitting by his feet. "I'm not sure, there was a few of them." She looked at the officers.

"Did they mention any names? Did they have any distinct features?" Asked Officer Loriel.

"One was named Josie; she was the only one that said her name. Everyone was dressed in black and wore masks." Her brain was refusing to let her spill the truth, her brain was refusing to let her tell the officers that her father had held her in the old hospital and put her through hell.

"The firefighters who reported to the fire, one of them spoke that you were with a man." Officer Paz mentioned.

"Probably a passer-by who just wanted to look?" The words flowed naturally from Charlie's lips.

The two officers looked over at Charlie's father in the chair before returning their gaze to Charlie.

"Do you know how the fire was started?" Officer Loriel questioned.

"They poured petrol everywhere. They tried to pour it all over me." She felt her lower lip tremble "I...I..." She burst out into tears.

The two officers took that as their cue that they had pushed Charlie too far.

"Charlotte, we'll let you get some rest but if you remember anything else." Officer Paz reached into her pocket and pulled out her card "Please give us a call."

Charlie used her left hand to wipe her tears from her face as her right hand reached for the card, She nodded slightly.

The two officers left the hospital room, closing the door behind them.

Charlie placed the card on the overbed table before wiping her face clear of her tears.

"What a show." Her father clapped for his daughter's lie as he positioned himself comfortably in his chair.

Charlie rolled her eyes.

"Throwing Josie under the bus? Did you forget that you killed her on day one?" He reached down for his cup of coffee before taking a sip "You didn't mention me? Quite surprised." He took another sip from his cup.

"What would I say? Officer, see that man sitting in that chair, his my father and tried to murder me."

He shrugged slightly as he took in his daughter's words "You told them that they tried to burn you alive." He shook his head slightly "Who was the one that found those canisters?"

"And whose the one who planted them?"

He found offense with her question.

"You knew what I was doing, you set me up."

"Set you up? Why would I set up my own daughter?"

"To save yourself. To come and sweep in, saving the damsel in distress."

"I wouldn't say you were in distress, you looked like you were enjoying yourself." He took a sip from his coffee cup.

"Oh yeah, cause I take pride in killing people." She scoffed "Did you not listen to a goddamn word I said during the shit you put me through?"

"All I heard was 'Yes father, I'll do anything you say', Remember that feeling you had when you killed Roni, what was it that you said." He pondered for a moment "Oh yes, 'I never liked her'. You didn't stop to think about the lives you were ruining when you killed them all."

Charlie felt her jaw tense up as he twisted her words.

"Charlie, you say you were surviving but no one kills someone for the sake of it."

"And no one holds their daughter hostage!" She let her frustration out.

He quickly hushed his daughter.

"Don't you dare hush me. I will scream it from the roof tops because some asshole wanted to torture me."

He rose to his feet "Enough, Charlotte."

She wasn't terrified of her father.

"I'm going to give you a minute to cool down."

Charlie watched as he left the hospital room, she listened to the door closed before screaming as loud as her vocal cords would allow her.