All the Things Between Us

Chapter 9

How did it come to this? I despise this awful cycle. This is my third hospitalization this month. The sensory deprivation of constantly being in a white room is almost as maddening as being trapped by that monster.
This time at least isn't as bad as the others. I'm not as atrophied as the first time so I can move around as I please. I'm not here on self-harm like last time so no one is watching me all the time. The best part this time though is the hospital isn't letting the monster or any of his associates anywhere near me.
After I explained what happened, to the best of my ability, they decided it'd be in my best interest to put some distance between us. I still don't understand why he's not being arrested. They could easily hand my account of things over to the authorities and surely, they'd lock him up.
Maybe they can't prove he kidnapped me or broke into my house, but my broken hyoid and my statement must prove something.
Suddenly there's a knock at the door interrupting my train of though. A young-looking nurse comes through the door knowing I can't answer her. She smiles professionally at me.
I'm so sick of that smile. Something I've noticed with being around medical professionals so much is their fake sweetness. At the end of the day these people are working customer service. The only difference is I, the customer, basically have to live with them.
I'm so sick of their constant professionalism. Their hair is always up and out of their faces. Their makeup is always so natural. Their nails are clean and free of paint. With all the matching uniforms and carefully planned mannerisms their almost like robots, so efficient and forgettable.
"Hi Ms. Diana, I'm afraid there was a mix up when we were getting your medical history and we accidentally got your husband's file sent us", she says, "when you see him would you mind giving him this file". She hands me a thick folder.
"I'm sorry who's is this?", I ask in my terribly hoarse voice wincing as I do. I'm practically mute now and it hurts to speak. I hate hearing my voice so weak. It makes me feel so helpless.
She smiles at me again with that God-awful smile.
"Your husband, the one whose paying your hospital bill", she says before turning and walking out the door. This sort of feels unprofessional and somewhat illegal. I should figure out who's this is so I can return it to them.
I open the folder and the first thing I see is an incident report. I frown at this and turn the page wanting to respect privacy. All I find is another incident report. I flip through to find so many of them. Almost every paper here is an incident report. Finally getting through over fifty of those I find a page with the patient's identity.
I spend a lot of time staring at the name on the paper, Apex Panganiban.
Of course that obsessive creep would be paying my hospital bills. It makes perfect sense that he can't just stay away from me.
Then I realize that I'm holding the monster's file. I suppose that makes sense; A guy like him having so many incident reports. It's unlikely that I'm the first person he's attacked.
I read through his paper. He's twenty-two apparently, I had assumed he was older. It's hard to see someone so young being so evil. I know that anyone's capable of anything, but it's hard to see one of my peers doing something like this. I sigh and continue.
The next thing to catch my eye is that both of his parents are deceased. Looking back, I realize that in all his rambling about his family he'd never really mentioned them. He could talk for hours about his grandma and brother. How had I never noticed that?
Apparently, he's six foot five and two hundred and thirty-six pounds. In all this time the only thing about him that had really caught my attention would be his haunting green eyes. I'd noticed he was big, but I was too distracted to realize how big exactly. I guess it makes sense, monsters always seem to be giants after all.
Deciding that was all I was going to get out of his basic information I take a deep breath to mentally prepare myself for his incident reports. I can't imagine the awful things he must have of done before me. The thought is terrifying. Knowing the man next to you is a monster is one thing, but it's a whole other terror to know exactly what he's capable of.
I turn to the first page. I read it and quickly see it's an injury of his own. Four years old, he fell down a flight of stairs and broke his arm. In the next page he's still four and has a concussion from running into a tree. I guess he was a clumsy kid.
Page after page say the same thing. Six years old and had and accident with a knife. Seven years old and stuck his hand on an oven burner. Nine and he broke his leg falling from a tree. Ten and a glass bottle fell on his head. Eleven and his ribs broke from a bike accident. Pages upon pages of injuries he's endured.
The last page takes my breath away. Three gunshot wounds to the chest, both parents deceased, therapy recommended. He was fourteen.
My heart aches for this little boy who grew into such a monster. I wish I had never read this. I wish he didn't seem so human after reading that.