"Did she hurt you?" I woman asked me from across the table.

I shook my head. "She wouldn't do that to me."

"Why'd she hurt your mom?"

"I don't know."

"Why'd she hurt your dad?"

"I don't know."

"Were they fighting?"

"Who?"

"Your sister and your parents." The woman stated like I should have known what she was talking about.

"No."

The woman looked down at her hands, then back at me. "We need to understand why your sister did this Elizabeth."

"Can I see her?"

"No."

"Please."

"No."

The woman jumped as my hands slammed against the table. "Why?!" I screamed.

"I need a minute," the woman said. She left the room. She left me sitting there.

*******************************

HARLEY

The beeping woke me. Where am I? I moved. Pain shot through my body. The beeping sped up. A young woman walked into the dark room. "Your awake," she exclaimed. "I'll get the doctor." She nodded toward me. Shortly after her leaving the room a man arrived. He was wearing a white coat. Dr. Jones. I'm in a hospital? I looked around. The machines beeped and clicked. Why am I in a hospital bed? I moved again but this time Dr. Jones held me still. "Don't move sweetie. It will only hurt you if you do." I tried to pull my legs up to my chest. They wouldn't move. I tried to pulled my arms away from the rails to grab my hurting stomach. They moved slightly but not very far. "Those are to keep you safe." Those? I lifted my head to look at my ankles. I was tied to the bed.

"Keep me safe?"

"From hurting yourself Harley. We can't have that here."

I looked around the room. "Why am I here?"

The doctor pushed his hand on my side. Pain shot through my body once more. "You put a knife right through you."

"I did?"

He looked puzzled. "Yes Harley."

"Where's my sister?"

"She is talking to Ms. Kandy right now."

"Who is Ms. Kandy?"

"A cop."

"What is she doing to my sister," I yelled. "My sister didn't do anything wrong!"

"Calm down Harley. You are going to hurt yourself moving like that."

"Leave my sister alone!"

"They are only asking her questions Harley."

"Stop saying my name. And leave my sister alone..." I looked straight into Dr. Jones eyes. His jaw seemed to tense. "..She doesn't know anything." Tears floated down my cheeks. "Just let her go okay?" My voice was soft. "Let her go home and I'll tell you everything."

Dr. Jones blinked at me and stood. I could hear the pain in his voice when he told me they couldn't let her go home yet. I wanted to ask him why but words failed me. I watched him leave the room. His posture had changed. He was tense. I could see the muscles in his back as he moved. When he disappeared I felt all alone. I wanted to sit up. I wanted to hold myself. I wanted to find my baby sister.

*****************************

ELIZABETH

 The woman returned after a few minutes. I heard someone call her Ms. Kandy as she opened the door. She nodded at the voice and looked back at me.

"Your sister won't be able to see anyone for awhile Elizabeth."

"Why not?" I screamed at her. All I want is to see her.

"We aren't so sure if that is the right thing."

"WHY?!"

"Because your prints are on the weapon too Elizabeth."

My stomach fell at her words. Of course my prints were on the knife. I touched it. She had me touch it. Did she know they'd be coming? She wouldn't do that to me.

"Oh."

"Did you help her?"

"Help her what?"

She gave me that same you-should-know-the-answer look. "Hurt your parents?"

"No. I was outside."

"Then why were your finger prints on the knife Elizabeth?"

Because I had to do as she said. I had to cut her for what she had done to them. She wanted to be punished. She needed to be punished. She asked me to! "I don't know."

"Did you touch it for any reason?"

"I picked it up."

"Why?"

"I don't know."

"Did you have it before or after Harley?"

"After.... Before... Both."

"So you handed it to your sister?"

"No. She had it first."

"You just said that you had it first."

"She had it first."

"You took it from her?"

"No."

"Okay."

"Is she okay?" I asked, causing Ms. Kandy to look up at me from a piece of paper on the table.

"Yes."

"Then why can't I see her?"

"I've told you."

"I want to see her."

"No."

Ms. Kandy stood and left the room again. Why does she keep leaving me? I have told her everything I know. When do I get to see my mom and dad? Do I want to see my mom and dad? Is Harley coming home? I don't want to go home without Harley. I stood and walked to the door of the room. I twisted the knob. It wasn't locked. I walked out. People turned to look at me. I ignored their blank stares and looked at Ms. Kandy. "Please. Can I see my parents?"

The room seemed to grow cold. No one answered me. No one even looked in my direction. The door of the building opened and a doctor walked in. He handed papers to Ms. Kandy. She looked up at me. "You can go home now Elizabeth. Your parents are outside."

Outside? Did I want to go out into the dark? Harley is afraid of the dark. I wonder if she is alone and afraid now. Probably not. Does she even want to see me like I want to see her?

********************

HARLEY

It's so dark. The night is passing so slowly. I want to yell for my sister. Is she anywhere near me? All I want is to see her. To tell her that I'm sorry. To make sure that she knows that I love her and that I will never hurt her. I wish she was her with me in this darkness. She would lay with me like she has done so many times before. She would save me from the darkness. Her light would make me unafraid. Why hasn't anyone been back in to check on me? Don't they know that I'm afraid. I didn't tell them.. Of course they don't know. I wish I had my phone. I'd text my sissy. Where is my phone? It's still at home. Is my family home? They left me here alone. They hate me so. Why does that clock sound so load? I want to throw something at it but I can't move. Maybe I should sleep. I can't sleep on my back.

Something just moved across the room. "What do you want," I whisper. No answer. It moves across the room once more. The darkness. It's moving in on me. It's whispering things in my ears. "Look what you've done to yourself," it says. "Pathetic." I close my eyes but I know that the darkness is still around me. Why does it keep coming back? Why won't it just leave me alone?

My eyes flutter open. The light burns my eyes. Someone is sitting beside me.

"Hello," they say when they look at me.

"Hi," I mutter back, half asleep.

They man smiles briefly. He is young. "How are you feeling?"

"Sore."

"I'll do you a favor." He says this in a bargining tone.

"What do you want in return," I ask.

He shrugs and walks over to the room door. I watch him as he shuts it very slowly. When it clicks closed he locks it before returning to the side of my bed.

"I'm trusting you. Okay?"

"Trusting me to what?"

"Not do anything stupid."

He grabs my hand to hold it still as he undoes the restraint on my right wrist. It's sore. Time passes. It feels like forever but it is only seconds. Why isn't he letting go? He said he trusted me. Suddenly he rubs my wrist. This causes a pain to radiate up my arm but it soon stops. He releases my hand. I roll my now free wrist and lift my arm. That feels so much better. He moves down to my ankles. He frees one at a time and rubs them just like my wrist. I'm not sure why he cares that they are hurting but it feels so much better after he rubs them. I lift my legs to my chest. I almost scream in pain. The man frowns at my discomfort. "Don't do that." Then he is undoing the last restraint. I rub this one myself.

He is watching me carefully. "Don't sit up. Okay?"

"Okay."

I watch him carefully as he undoes the bandage around my stomach. I help him by lifting my back off the bed so he can pull the wrap out from under me. When he finally gets it all undone I see the stitches. Seven stitches put there to hold together the stab wound. It looks deep. As I sit up to take a closer look I see it open slightly, The man pushes me back flat. "Don't," is all he says. He cleans it and rewraps the wrap around me.

"The cut on your chest isn't that bad. It did break skin but it doesn't need stitches."

Cut on my chest? Elizabeth. Where is she? "Okay."

"I'm Max, by the way."

"I'm Harley."

"I know that. I'm your nurse. I can read your chart."

"What does it say?"

"It says absolutely nothing." He shrugs.

"Nothing?"

"Harley, you haven't told them anything. They can't put stuff in there if you don't tell them what happened. I mean it says your name, parents, age, and all that other good stuff. Doesn't really say too much about why you are here. Just says stab wound."

"I guess that is all it will stay."

Max frowned. "They saw your arms Harley."

"So?"

"Want to sit up?"

"Sure."

Max placed his hands on my shoulders. It helped a lot since my stomach was really hurting. Sitting up felt good though. It was the getting up part that hurt. Max pushed the button on the bed to lift the top so I could rest against it.

"Thanks." I mumbled.

He simply stared at me. Minutes ticked by. "They know."

"They know what?"

"That you did this," He motioned to my stomach, "to yourself."

"I didn't really try to hide it."

"They can help you.." His blue eyes stared right through me. ".. You just need to tell them the truth."

"If they know, as you say they do, why do I need to tell them?"

"If you tell them.. I don't know Harley. It's just they way it works. They can send you to get help. You can get out of here. Out of those restraints."

"I'm not out of the restraints?"

"No."

I could tell by his change of tone that he was doing something that he wasn't aloud to do. That something was undoing my restraints.

"I have to put them back on you."

"I know."

He gave me a puzzled look. "Right now."

He started with my ankles. Then he did my wrists. I watched him as he carefully redid each one. He looked at me when he was finished. His face was full of empathy.

"I've been here before Harley. It's not a place you want to be. People can help you get better. Think about it okay? The sooner you let them help you, the sooner you get to go home. You're sister kept asking for you. I'm sure she'd like if you did the right thing."

"Okay," I said.

He turned his face from me and I could tell that I had upset him with my simple answer. I doubt he had even been here before. Everything he just said was probably a lie. But just as he turned to walk away my eyes fell to his wrist. That was all the truth a needed. The neat scars the covered his skin was all I needed to trust what he had said. I smiled at his back. He unlocked the door and was gone before I could say anything more. "Bye," I mouthed.

********************

ELIZABETH

I'm so hungry. Why won't they get up? They haven't left their bedroom all day. When we got home last night they cried. I think they cried out of fear. Or maybe they cried because their daughter is pretty much labeled as crazy now. I don't think Harley is crazy. I just think that she is different. The doctors will help her get better now. I hope. Soon. I'm missing her already. She'd have made me my grill cheese. I wonder what she is having for lunch.