"Hello?" Joey asked.
"Hey, Hun." Danielle said, her voice solemn.
"Danielle! Where are you? Justin and JC are worried shitless about you and Katie!" he cried.
"I-I'm at the hospital."
"What?!"
Danielle heard JC in the background, but couldn't make out what he was saying.
"Shut up, man, I can't hear when your talking!" Joey told him.
Any other time Danielle would have laughed. "Joe? Can I talk to JC? I think he needs to hear this from me."
"Hear what?"
"I'll tell you later."
"Ok." Joey handed the phone to JC.
"Hello?"
"JC. . . " Danielle began.
"What? Where are you?"
"Katie and I are at the hospital."
"Why?!"
"JC. . . something horrible happened to Katie."
"What? What happened? Is she ok?"
"No, she's not. God, this is so hard to say. Katie was. . . Katie was raped this morning."
JC was speechless. "She. . . she was what?"
"I know his is hard to deal with, but. . .I need you all to come down here. She's in the examining room right now, and needs our support. This is what most violating thing someone can experience, and. . . she needs us."
"I. . . all right. I'll see you in twenty minutes." without waiting for her reply, JC hung up.
By now everyone was gathered around him.
"What happened?" Lance asked.
"Katie was. . . raped. .. "
"Ms. Fountaine?" a nurse with frizzy red/orange hair asked.
Danielle looked up. "Yes?"
"Ms. McGraw is done with her examination and wants you to join her in the hospital room."
"All right." Danielle stood up, propped Noah on her hip, and followed the nurse into Kevin's room.
Katie was sitting on the bed in a hospital gown with a blank look on her face.
Danielle walked in and gave her a quick hug. "How are you holding up?"
"Life sucks." she muttered.
"I know. This *never* should have happened. You didn't deserve it."
"Nobody does." Katie said, still starring straight ahead, blankly at the wall.
"Your right."
"They're bringing a police officer in here so I can file a police report. They are going to make me tell them every last detail. Then they are going to arrest the man who did it, and if he doesn't admit to doing it, we have to go to court and I have to tell the story again. Why do they have to do that? I just want to forget everything!" tears welled up in Katie's eyes.
"I know you do, hun, but, you don't want him to do it to someone else do you? The only way to stop him is to put him in jail."
"Da ba Da ba Da!" Noah shouted out of nowhere. "Tak Tak Tak!"
Katie glanced over at him. "Can I hold him?"
"Yeah, of course!" Danielle passed Noah o her.
Katie cuddled Noah in her arms as the two girls sat silently, waiting for something to happen next.
Suddenly the door burst open.
"Who the hell did this?!" JC yelled. 'Tell me where he is and I'll go teach his sad ass a lesson!"
"JC, man, calm down." Justin said, putting a hand on his shoulder and shaking him slightly.
JC exhaled deeply. "Baby, are you okay?"
Katie wrapped her arms tighter around Noah as JC stepped over to the hospital bed. The thought of any man being near her right now was to much for her to handle.
"JC, stop, please." she said quietly.
JC stopped abruptly. The look on his face had turned from anger to hurt. "What?"
"I-I-I-"
"I understand." he cut her off, even though he didn't understand. He didn't come close to understanding.
"Thank you."
"Can I just say something?"
Katie nodded.
"I love you, Katie. And I would and will never do anything to hurt you. Ever. You know that right?" he said, softly.
"I know." she said, managing not to look into his eyes.
"Do you, though?" Katie finally looked up, her head still lowered. "I do." "Just remember that." Everyone; Danielle, Justin, Joey, Chris, Lance, and Brittny stood around, silently, not knowing what to do or say. "Excuse me," a woman in uniform said, knocking lightly on the door. "I'm here so you can file a police report."
Part Thirty Three
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Part Thirty Five