Chapter 38

Amanda lay in her hospital bed after the SART kit was taken.  She was waiting for a doctor to come in and examine her.  She didn’t want to go back to the Draiman’s house without whatever medication she may have needed.  Malachai sat with her and held her hand, trying his best to be comforting.  His cell phone buzzed in his pocket and he answered it.  “Hello?” he said, not bothering to check to see who it was that called him.

“Malachai, it’s Mom.  The Sheriff’s Department just called to tell us that Amanda’s Aunt and Uncle have been arrested.  Let her know when you see her”, Brie said to her son.

“Mom, I’m with her now.  We’re waiting on a doctor to come in and examine her.  You know, you could have just text me that, right?”

“I wanted you to hear it for yourself.  I know you, you won’t believe it if you don’t hear it for yourself.”

Malachai laughed.  “You know me too well, sometimes, Mom.  You and Dad, both.”

“I know your Dad just as well as I know you , if not better.”

“Ewww, Mom.  I really didn’t want to know that.  You’re the queen of over sharing.”

She laughed melodically.  “I love you, Malachai.  I’ve got to go help your Dad put your brothers and sisters to bed.  Get home as soon as you can, and tell Amanda to ignore any strange noises she may hear when she comes into the house when you two come home.”

He rolled his eyes.  “Love you too, Mom.  I’ll warn her.”  He hung up the phone.

“What was that all about?” Mandy asked.  “What did your Mom want you to warn me about?”

“She called to have me tell you that your Aunt and Uncle are in county as we speak, and to warn you to ignore any strange noises you may hear when we get back home.”

“Why would I hear strange noises?”

“My parents are very sexual, even with Dad being 50.  The strange noises you may hear are my parents having sex.  My mom makes a little bit of racket in the sack”, he replied with a laugh.

“Hey, at least you know that after so many years of marriage, they’re still physically attracted to each other.  How long have your parent’s been married?”

“Fourteen years.”

“They’ve been together as long as Jacob and Jordan are old.  Your Dad must have become a father late in life.”

“Mom made him a father for the first time at 37.  She was 35.”

“She was 30 when she had you?”

“Yeah.  It’s pretty crazy.”

“Your parents’ started late in life.”

“Yeah.  But, I’m glad they did.  I’ve got my little brothers and sisters, and they’re the best.  Jessi and Marc are so funny.  They do everything together.  I guess it’s because they’re the last of the children.”

“That’s pretty funny.  Did you have one of your siblings that you did everything with?”

“No.  I spent most of my childhood hanging out with the older boys from the other members of Disturbed.  Justin Donegan, Logan, the Wengren boys.”

“Oh, yeah, when the band and their families were in hiding during the Utopian Occupation.”

Before Malachai could say anything else, the doctor walked in.  “Malachai Draiman, you’re not my patient this time, are you?” the man joked.

“No, Dr. J, I’m not.  I’m here with a friend for moral support”, he laughed.  He glance out of the corner of his eye at Mandy.  She had a question written all over her face and it was obvious.  “Mandy, this is Dr. Jeremiah Mongan.  He’s our private physician and a good friend of my mother’s.  He has everyone call him Dr. J.”

Dr. J looked at Mandy, giving her face a scrutinizing look.  “Looks like you walked into someone’s fist several times.”

“More like I was used as punching bag”, she said sardonically.

Dr. J smiled.  “I know what happened.  I read your chart.  According to our X-rays, you have minor fractures to your cheek bone and a lot of severe scarring.  Were they doing that for awhile?”

“Since I was nine when I went to live with them.”

“Jesus!”  He looked at the other X-rays that were taken.  They had to do a full body series.  “You have a lot of scarring all over your body, Amanda.”  He sighed and looked back to the young woman.  “What I’m going to do for you is give you a prescription for some pain medication and one for massage.  I suggest Malachai’s mother, Brie Draiman.  She’s a magnificent therapist and works miracles in scar tissue reduction.  From the damage I’m seeing here, unless you get the scar tissue reduced, especially in your abdomen, you’ll never have children.  I’m also going to wrap your ribs to stabilize them so that they’ll heal.  When your uncle kicked you earlier, he fractured a few of your ribs.  I really suggest that you start getting massage after you’re healed.”

“I’ll talk to Mrs. Draiman about it in the morning.  I think she’s going to be in bed when we get home.”

“You’re staying with the Draiman’s?”

“For now, I am, I guess.  From what I understand, Mr. and Mrs. Draiman are insisting that I stay there.”

“Good idea on their part.  You’ll be safe there, I’ll guarantee you that.  David, Malachai, and Brie are all highly trained marksmen.  No one goes near with the intent to harm without eating a bullet from a sniper rifle from one of them.”

---------------

After wrapping Mandy’s ribs and giving her the prescriptions, Dr. J discharged her and she and Malachai headed home.  She tucked herself against his side.  He looked down at her as he started the car.  “What are you doing?” he asked.

“You make me feel safe, Malachai.  I want to stay as close to you as I can.”

He shrugged.  “Ok.  It’s just that my Mom does that with my Dad.  I’m used to seeing it, but not having someone to it to me”, he said as he looked down at her with a smile.

“Are you ok with me doing this?” she asked.

She looked so fragile in that moment.  He just couldn’t tell her lie to her and say that he was, not that he wanted to.  He wanted to show her what love was.  All he could do was smile at her and shake his head.  “I don’t mind it.  It actually feels really nice.  Now, let’s go home so that you can get some rest.”  He pulled away from the hospital, squealing his tires as he pulled away.  Not even five minutes after they’d pulled out of the hospital parking lot, she was asleep against his side.  He glanced down at her as he drove them home.  “Mandy, I’ll never let anyone hurt you ever again.  I’ll kill someone before I let them hurt you.  And you can rest assured that I’ll never hurt you either.  I hope you feel in your heart what I’m saying to you as you lay against my side, sleeping like you are.  You’re an angel and no one should hurt an angel.  He wrapped his arm around her, and held her as close as he could.

She mumbled something in her sleeping state and he tightened his grip.  She mumbled again.  “I love you, Malachai.”

He smiled softly.  “I love you too, my Mandy.  Eventually, I’ll get to say that to you and you’ll be awake for it.”

---------------

When they got home, he tried to pick her up and carry her into the house, but she wouldn’t let him.  “Let me walk, Malachai.  I’m a big girl, you know.”

He laughed.  “Ok, fine, geez.  Can’t blame a guy for trying to be nice.”

“No, I can’t.”  She was quiet for a moment, listening for any funny sounds coming from inside the house.   “Holy shit, you were right.  Your mom does like to make some racket in the sack.”

“I told you.”

“What is your Dad doing to her up there?”

Malachai listened closely for a moment.  “Oh, that?  It sounds like he’s topping her.”

“Topping?  What does that mean?”

“Dominating.  He’s pretty much showing her who wears the pants in the relationship.”

“And she LETS him?”

“Yeah.  She likes it a little rough upon occasion.”

“How do you know all of this?”

“As I told her on the phone, she’s the queen of over sharing”