Wren is now getting very sleepy from being awake so far into the morning. It is several hours until the next tests and she knows there will be no breakfast or lunch for her until after the tests so she settles into the covers as best she can and lets herself drift off into restless sleep.
“Wren, why are you fidgeting so much?”
“Grandma, please don’t worry about it. Okay?”
“Worry about it? What do you mean by that? I need to know what’s wrong.”
Wren just sits there looking out of the car’s window, glad that the ride to her Grandma’s house is short so she can get out of the car and stand up again.
“Wren I can’t help you if you don’t answer me. What is wrong?”
After a long pause Wren finally speaks though her voice is subdued and choked with tears.
“Grandma, Mom gave me the worst punishment I’ve ever received and I can’t sit down without experiencing excruciating pain. What makes it worse is I didn’t do what she says I did.”
“What were you punished for?”
“Having sex.”
“Why did she think you had sex?”
“I went out with Lee and he asked again. I told him flat out no. The next day at school he was spouting off how, when, and where we did it.
I guess the school nurse called her because I got called down to her office to get the “so you’ve become sexually active packet”, and Mom was waiting for me when I got home.”
“What did she do? No, wait to answer that until we’re inside since we’re here and you obviously need to stand up.”
They go inside through the garage door straight through the kitchen and into the living room. Her grandma sits down in her favorite chair and Wren paces the floor explaining exactly how she had been punished.
“When she finally came and unhooked me and removed the blindfold I could finally see that it was a mixture of blood and sweat that was running down my legs. Mom hustled me into the bathroom and into the tub. She turned on the cold water and oh it felt so good to feel the cold water running over my butt. Then she left the room. When she came back she turned off the water and immediately poured alcohol over my butt. She was lucky she hadn’t taken the gag out of my mouth because I let out the loudest scream I’ve ever made. Even with the gag in it hurt my throat to scream that loud. When I settled down some she tossed me a black towel which told me I was to be grounded. I dried off everything except my butt and went in and lay face down on the bench. Then you called this morning to remind her you were picking me up and here I am.”
“Wren, I need to see what she did to you.”
Wren showed her the raw, red flesh of her butt, with its myriad of criss-crossing welts running every which way across it. The sight of which was too much and made her Grandma choke and gag on her sudden tears.
“Oh Honey we have got to get you to a doctor that’s going to get infected and then it’s going to be nothing but a whole heap of trouble.”
“Grandma, NO! That will just get me in more trouble. It will heal and I’ll be just fine.”
Grandma’s face became stern and cogent her thick Irish accent coming fully to the forefront of her speech.
“No Wren this has to stop. Eighty lashes all but the first sixteen of which were with a riding crop. I can’t believe my own daughter would do this. Why? Where did she learn to behave like that from? Well those are questions to be answered later. For now we have to get you to the doctor.”
Wren’s grandma makes a phone call and finds Wren’s doctor will see her. Then she makes another call to someone else and explains the whole thing to them.
“Come on Wren your doctor will see you today if we beat his closing time.”
They head out and get back in the car. As they drive along with Wren face down on the back seat her curiosity finally gets the better of her.
“Grandma, who was the other call?”
“My lawyer, he is going to meet us at your doctor’s office. I’m going to take custody of you. You will not be going back home again.”
Wren lay in complete shock and awe at the statement her Grandma just made. Her mind is a complete jumble of thoughts as it races through all the possibilities of what it means. The only thing that clouds any part of her thinking is the pain of the reason she wouldn’t be going home.
When they arrive at the Doctor’s office Wren not being able to sit starts to apprehensively pace the floor. She comes and stands by her Grandma when the lawyer Mr. Hardwick shows up. He asks a few questions, Wren’s age, birth date, and so on. The Doctor’s office has slowly cleared out when they are finally called back.
“Dr. Emir will see you now.”
The three of them go back to the exam room where the doctor is already waiting.
“Doctor, this is my lawyer Mr. Hardwick.”
“Yes, I know Mr. Hardwick very well. How is Steven's arm doing?”
“Oh he just complains about the itching under the cast is all.”
“Well that can’t be helped now can it? Just tell him not to try riding his skateboard down stairs again and he wont be going through it again. So what brings the three of you here?”
“My client has undergone a rather severe beating at the hands of her own mother and her Grandmother Mrs. O’Malley has hired me to investigate the case and to change Wren’s custody status to Mrs. O’Malley. Now unless you feel I need to be witness in this part of the proceeding I shall be waiting on the other side of the door for your word.”
“That’s fine Mr. Hardwick if I deem it necessary I’ll Let you know.”
With that Mr. Hardwick leaves the exam room.
“Now Wren, let's see why you are here.”
Wren lowers her jeans and shows him her buttocks. Which causes him to wince as her underwear is stained with blood and has stuck to the open wounds.
“Excuse me Wren but this will have to be photographed as trial evidence.”
He gets into the cabinet and removes a small camera. He takes several shots at slightly different angles to ensure enough will come out fit for trial.
“Wren I’m going to step out and have a word with Mr. Hardwick so why don’t you disrobe because this will require a full examination to be admissible.”
Dr. Emir leaves the room and Wren undresses a nurse, comes in with an exam gown for her and leaves again. After a few minutes there is a knock at the door.
“You may come in Doctor.”
Doctor Emir reenters the room.
“Would it be alright for Mr. Hardwick to come in not for the exam but so you don’t have to answer the same questions over and over again?”
Wren answers “That would be fine.”
Mr. Hardwick comes back carrying a tape recorder.
“Now Wren, why did your Mom do this?”
Wren tells them everything from the time of her date with Lee right down to showing her Grandma the sores and welts from the beating. She gives them every detail, every feeling she had and all in one uninterrupted narrative.
“So this is your Mom’s normal way of punishing you?”
“Yes Mr. Hardwick, as far back as I can remember it has only gotten worse though as I have gotten older. Except she has never gone this far before. Usually I only get four swats with the paddle and twelve with the crop.”
“Hasn’t this method ever seemed a little odd to you compared to how your friends are punished?”
“Doctor, I've never once thought about it. I mean I’ve never talked to anyone about the way I’m disciplined so why would anyone else?”
“Mrs. O’Malley, Wren, I’ll be waiting outside so the Doctor can go about with his work.”
“Okay Mr. Hardwick.”
“Well I can see that the place to start will be a gynecological exam to prove you didn’t have sex. Then we will check for other signs of abuse.”
After the exam Dr. Emir leaves the room so Wren can redress. When she is done her Grandma reopens the door and the Doctor and Mr. Hardwick come back into the room.
“Well we defiantly have a case as according to Dr. Emir you most defiantly have not had sex and he is willing to testify to that at trial.”
“Yes I have no problem testifying at your emancipation hearing. Now I am going to write you a prescription for a salve to put on the affected areas three times a day and a special soap to use as well twice a day. I would advise you to wear loose skirts and no underwear until it heals. If the condition worsens any at all or the sores don’t stop bleeding by Monday call me first thing. And don’t sit on it if at all possible though standing and walking are advisable so everything gets to heal properly.”
“What about school?”
“Until that heals you can’t go back. I’ll write up a note for the school to keep you out for the next two weeks.”
“There is only a week left of the year.”
“How much time have you missed so far?”
“None.”
“There shouldn’t be any problems then.”
“Mr. Hardwick, how am I supposed to get my things from Mom and what about my stuff at school and my school records like my report card?”
“I’ll take care of that and try to arrange for a hearing as fast as possible.”
“That reminds me, Doctor Emir said an “emancipation hearing.” What is that?”
“Basically at your age it is easier to get you declared an adult than to try to change custody to your Grandma. Doctor Emir was nice enough to point that out to me.”
“So I would choose where I live, not the court.”
“Right.”
Wren rolls over from one side to her back and through slightly open eyes in the dim light of the room she sees someone standing at the foot of her bed. Causing her to sit up fast her eyes opening wide as she stares at the person. He is tall, thin, with dark hair and wearing a dark blue suit. He is standing there staring down at her, then in a deep, soft, husky voice he starts to speak.
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