About a week later, Denise and Odessa went to 7/11 to get a slushie. As they were walking down Broadway, Odessa was singing Freeze Your Brain from Heathers at the top of her lungs. Denise was pretending not to know Odessa, and trying not to laugh. All of the sudden, Odessa stopped singing. She froze, her eyes fixed upon something. "Denise..." she whispered. Denise followed her glare, and noticed a small figure laying on the ground. But... That was... "Mandy!" Denise exclaimed. She kneeled down beside the unconscious figure. "Omigod..." she breathed. Yes, it was indeed Mandy, but not like Denise used to know her. All liveliness and mischief was gone. Left was a small and fragile little girl. Her body was covered in bruises and bloodstains; her usually so bright hazel eyes were closed; and her brown curly hair had lost its life.

"I'm so sorry, Mandy..." Denise whispered.

"Do you know her?"

Denise nodded: "I shared a room with her at the group home." She looked up, and noticed that Odessa had turned scarily pale, her eyes filled with horror.

"Odessa? Are you okay?" Denise asked worried.

Odessa nodded. "We have to get her to a safe place as soon as possible," she quickly changed the subject. Denise looked around, and saw the Richard Rodgers Theatre just down the road.

"The theatre!" she exclaimed. She carefully picked up the little girl, her right hand supported the girl's head and her left hand under her hips, carrying the weak body. Denise noticed that Mandy was very, very light. Mandy's eyes fluttered open. She smiled softly, and said with a weak whisper: "Isa..." She rested her head against Denise's shoulder.

"You know how much I hate that name," Denise joked unconvincingly.

"Please don't hurt me," Mandy said, curling up.

"I would never hurt you!" Denise exclaimed. She softly kissed the little girl on her forehead: "You're safe now..."

Denise stared at the pale, unconscious girl on Lin's bed. Everyone had left the dressing room to give Mandy the rest she needed, except her and Pippa. Pippa softly squeezed Denise hand, as they waited for the results of the doctor's examination.

"She has several bad cuts and bruises, as well as a broken arm. I tried to splint it as well as I could, and we should get her a real cast as soon as she feels well enough to come to the hospital. At the moment she is unconscious. If she doesn't wake up within two hours, call me. If she does, give her something to eat. Make sure to keep her warm, and I left painkillers on the desk. She should be okay soon, she just needs some rest and some food."

Denise and Pippa listened closely to the doctor's instructions. When he was finished, Denise let him out. At the door, he layed a hand down on her shoulder: "It's less bad than it looks like. That girl is a fighter, I'm sure she'll make it through."

Denise started smiling: "She sure is a fighter, Sir. Fighting is all she ever does!"

An hour after that, Mandy woke up. She sat up in bed. "Where- Where am I?"

Denise softly pushed her down: "You're in the theatre where my foster father works."

A faint ghost of a smile flew over Mandy's face: "Denise!"

"That's me," Denise said dryly. "And by the way," she added, "That woman over there is called Philippa Soo, but she goes by Pippa."

"Hi!" Pippa waved, "How are you feeling, Mandy?"

"My arm hurts," Mandy said.

"That is very likely," Pippa laughed, "as it's broken. Don't worry, we'll get you a cast as soon as possible. I'll drive you to the hospital."

"Thank you," Mandy smiled, "That's very kind of you."

"What happened to you, Mandy?" Denise asked, "How did you end up like this?"

Mandy's smile faded. "My parents," was all she said. Denise hugged her closely.

Mandy pushed her away, and started telling: "After you left, Isa, I got adopted. The first days, they were super nice to me, and I was happier than ever before. They already had adopted two other children, one older girl called Nina and one little boy called Mischa. They made me feel like something wasn't quite alright, but I didn't pay much attention to it, because I was too happy. But after a few days, something started to change. They stopped giving me breakfast, then supper. They did give me a packed lunch to school each day, but I feel like that was merely so authorities wouldn't notice. If I was in their way or didn't didn't do as they'd like, they'd-" Mandy hesitated. "punish me," she ended her sentence. Denise shared a look with Pippa, and saw the same horror in her face she felt herself. Mandy pulled up her legs and wrapped her arms around herself. "Yesterday, I picked little Mischa up from school. His teacher came to me, and asked if she could talk to me in private. So I told Mischa that he should go play outside with the other kids, and followed the teacher. She said that she was worried about Mischa. She told me that Mischa barely ever spoke. He worked hard, but wasn't easy to talk to. He didn't have any close friends. She had noticed his bruises, and asked me what was going on."

Denise found it hard to imagine Mandy as a big sister. Mandy had always been the little one!

"What did you answer?" Pippa asked.

"I told her the truth. Of course, they found out. Especially Father was outraged. He pushed me to the wall and started beating me. When he left, I ran out. After that, I don't remember. The first thing I remember is waking up here."

"You must have passed out on the street," Denise said, "Odessa and I found you unconscious on Broadway."

"My head hurts," Mandy said.

"You should get some rest," Pippa said, "Come Denise, let's go so she can sleep."

Denise nodded, gave Mandy a quick kiss on her forehead. "I'll stay close, I promise."