Erika's p.o.v.

Kage sat me down on the edge of my bed and sat next to me. I could see Ms.Miller in front of me but the rest of the world was blurred.

"Okay, so I need you two to understand some things; Erika is 16, Kage you are 19. You only have a few months left in the teens ward." Ms.Miller looked apologetic, "Don't get me wrong, I'm trying my hardest to keep you here but I can't go against policy."

I leaned my head against Kage's shoulder and squeezed my eyes shut to try to dull out the throbbing in my head.

"We are three years apart, you can't hold that against us. We're just friends anyway" Kage argued. I let my arm settle on his shoulder and squeezed him to get him to not argue.

"She's trying, Kage. At least give her that" I said even though for a few seconds afterwards I didn't know if I said it out loud or not.

"I'm not stupid; You two are more than just friends and I can get past that" Ms.Miller said. I opened my eyes and tried to stand, only to fall back down a few moments later. Kage caught me by hooking his arms under mine.

"Kage thank you but can you please leave, so I can take pictures of Erika's bruises?" She said. Kage nodded and set me back down on the bed. He gave me a quick hug before walking out of the room and shutting the door behind him.

"Okay Erika I'm going to need you to strip down, so I can take pictures of the bruises you obtained, these will only go in your file" I shook my head and moved back to the corner of the bed.

"Erika.. You need to show me the bruises, so I can make sure it never happens again" She told me, kneeling down on the side of the bed to be more level with me. I slowly pulled up the sleeve of my hoodie to reveal the blueish green bruises from the restraints.

Something about Ms.Miller was so comforting and motherly, but she looked far too young to have children on her own.

"Do you have any kids?" I asked anyway, my voice raspy and broken.

"...I had a son"

"Had?"

"He passed away in a car accident a few years ago" She said, a small, comforting smile still present to make me feel better.

"I'm sorry"

"Don't be sorry, dear, it was quite some time ago, and he's in a better place now" She spoke while taking pictures of my wrists and ankles.

"...Kage mentioned a bruise on your thigh?" She said, breaking the awkward tension that had built up.

"I think so" I said. She helped me stand, so I could take off my leggings and hoodie to make it easier. I covered my breasts with my arms since we weren't allowed to wear bras here... some weird policy that was put into place when some women tried to strangle each other with them. It made me more uncomfortable but I trust Ms.Miller.

"These bruises are old Erika... why are there hand prints on your thighs? This wasn't brought up when they examined you?"

"I was never examined, he just asked me stupid questions."

"Do you remember who did this to you?"

"I did it"

"Erika why would you hit yourself this hard?" She asked me and took another picture.

"You can't hit the walls at my mom's house. She'll get mad and do worse" I stated.

"Did your parents hit you?"

"Just my dad, my mom liked clothes hangers and belts more than hands" I said. Ms.Miller gulped and looked up at me with pure shock and fear.

"I never understood how parents could inflict that kind of pain onto a child" I nodded and turned around, finally getting my balance back.

"Okay I'm all done... I'll bring you some clothes that aren't ripped" She told me. I put my hoodie back on in the meantime to cover my stomach.

When she left, I broke down and cried. Crying is something I rarely do and only do when I'm alone because of how weak it makes me feel.

I cried because I was upset, angry, scared, I had no idea why I was put in here and there no way for me to get out. I wiped my eyes and looked down at the floor when I heard the door open again.

"Hope you like black" Ms.Miller said and placed the neatly folded clothes on the bed. When she walked out I changed quickly, laying down on the bed and facing the wall. Not going to sleep but instead just staring blankly at it, my thoughts consuming me.

~

Kage's P.O.V.

I wanted so bad to be able to hold her, comfort her, and tell her she would never have to go through that again but I.... couldn't. That's the world we live in. If you have a problem with someone then you throw them in here to rot.

The thought of someone hurting her enraged me to an unbelievable extent. If I had been in that room, they wouldn't of had to strap or muzzle her. If only they hadn't ever separated us this wouldn't of happened. She wouldn't have those horrible bruises on her body, and she wouldn't of had to be tranquilized.

I have been the victim of tranquilization a few times, eventually it just stopped calming me down. Now they give me the more powerful sedatives that could bring down an elephant.

Of course Erika wouldn't be able to handle even the regular amount of tranquilizer. She's so tiny that if they gave her the amount they give me, it would have killed her.

You should have kissed her.

No, she was too out of it, dumbass

It would have been nice

I fought with all the voices in my head telling me to do things to her. I never had these kinds of thoughts when I was with her, only when I was away.

--

I was about to lay in bed when my door opened and Ms.Miller walked in.

"How is she?" I asked frantically.

"She's okay, Kage.... do you know anything about Erika hitting herself?" She asked. I was taken aback by her question because Erika never told me anything about her hurting herself before.

"The marks on her thighs, she told me she did that to herself when she was at home" Ms.Miller told me. All of this shocked me again because Erika never mentioned any of this to me.

"You can leave now" I said, getting quite tired of being around people today.

"But Kage I-"

"I told you to leave!" I threw a book towards her, thankfully not at her but it hit the wall beside her head. She just nodded.

"I thought you were making such good progress.." She mumbled and left the room. Her words echoed in my mind.

I thought you were making such good progress.

I thought you were making such good progress

I thought you were making such good progress

Over and over again I heard those words repeating. I looked down at my hands and took off the splints, revealing my bent up fingers that have definitely seen better days. It didn't hurt much to move them around and pick things up, but I definitely wouldn't be throwing anything for a while...