Devin-2 by Kathi S. Barton Read Free Book Online Page A

with only a few minutes of awareness with each awaking.
    After two months of drifting in and out, Ronnie opened her eyes fully one morning. She had been waking more and more, but had made sure of who was in the room with her before she made her wakefulness known to others. She could stay conscious more and more during the day, though she hid that as much as she could too. She still had pain, horrible, gut-wrenching pain, but she was getting better at seeing past it. At times, when she saw her father there, she simply did not move and waited for him to leave again. He rarely stayed long anyway and would only sit and watch the television in the room, ignoring everything but it.
    She looked around the room she was in, trying to find an escape route, even though she could not move. That was when she saw the woman policeman.
    Why, oh, why? How could someone be so cruel? she thought when she realized she was still alive.
    “Hi, honey. How are you doing? I know you can’t talk very well, but can you blink for me? Blink once for yes, two times for no.” The officer moved in front of Ronnie. “I’m here to keep you safe, to protect you, you understand? I want you to trust me to keep you safe. They never caught the man who did this to you and we don’t know if you saw him or not. We don’t want to take the chance of him coming back. Can you remember what happened?”
    Someone had been asking her those same questions every time she woke up for the past few days. She wanted to scream that yes, she had seen the person who hurt her, but no, she did not know how she came to still be alive. She had gathered from the talk around her that the story was someone had broken into her family’s home and tried to rob them while her parents were out spreading Christmas cheer in the neighborhood. And Ronnie, God bless her stupid little tough soul, had taken it upon herself to save her terrified little sisters from all manner of harm. For her troubles, Ronnie had gotten herself beaten to a bloody pulp and nearly killed. But she had saved the day, her sisters and Christmas, thank the Good Lord. If she could have, she was sure she would have puked.
    Ronnie just stared at the policewoman. Trust? Who was this woman kidding? Trust? No, was not anything she would ever give again.
    “My name is Officer Frey, Mary Frey. I want to help you. All right?” Ronnie may have been only six, but she was far from stupid. She did not blink at the officer, but had turned away and closed her eyes. She knew there was no help for her, not from this person, or anyone else. So, as she had every other time, she pretended to slip into the abyss of welcoming darkness and escapism.
    Six months later, she was gone. Planning, hording foodstuffs, and pretending got her away.

    ~Chapter 6~
    Ronnie woke with a start and looked over at the clock beside her bed and realized that it was only one o’clock in the morning. She got out of bed and took a shower. She knew from experience that she would not get any more sleep tonight. After leaving her bedroom, she made her way to the kitchen.
    Ronnie baked when she was depressed. She baked cookies mostly, though sometimes, she would whip up a batch of cinnamon rolls or a cake or two. Ben always made sure there was at least two twenty-five pound bags of flour in the pantry and enough sweet add-ins that bakeries would be in awe. She pulled out the big bag and took it to the kitchen to work off some stress.
    Ronnie did not need recipes to cook. She had been cooking since she was old enough to pull a chair over to the stove on her own. And she could dream up more concoctions that turned out perfectly than Ben could cook with step by step instructions. When Ben came into the kitchen later that morning, she looked up in surprise. She thought she had woken him up.
    “I could smell the sweetness all the way upstairs. Is there anything for breakfast yet, or do I have to wait?” he asked her with a huge grin.
    Ronnie looked up at the clock