The Way We Were, chapter 2
When Rachel woke up, she noticed she was in an unfamiliar room. There was a man sitting at her bedside, which she could barely make out. Everything she saw was only a foggy silhouette. Her throat was dry and parched, so her first words were barely audible.
"Where am I, and who are you? What's going on?"
A deep voice responded, "You're at the UC Berkeley Medical Center, and you're being treated for exhaustion, malnutrition, severe bleeding, and beatings. And I am Mike Dirnt, who has been watching you since you were brought here. You've been asleep for two days, and won't be released for at least a week."
The stunned girl couldn't fathom why anyone was watching her, let alone a world famous rock star. She knew she was exhausted and was starved when she arrived in Oakland, but she didn't think her beatings were bleeding that much, only that they were painful. She also was curious as to why the man by her bed was not the person who was responsible to look after her in case of an emergency; Billie Joe.
After a few moments to collect herself, she finally spoke, "Why are you here? I mean not that I don't appreciate you being here to explain what's going on, but for the weekend Billie Joe was the one responsible to look after me, not you."
"Actually your guardians for the weekend were all three of us," Mike said, "Billie has some issues to sort out. Another thing is that I have a daughter, and can't understand why this could happen and I'm worried about your welfare."
Mike was familiar with the mumbling under- your- breath thing; his daughter Estelle had used it many times in the most recent years, so he had practice with hearing the supposedly "inaudible" words. "It's not your place to care," she retorted bitterly, "That's what parents, and legal guardians are for, not just some rock star."
Mike had not been expecting that type of reaction from Rachel, and was a little hurt that she didn't acknowledge the fact that he was only trying to help.
"You should know that I'm not here for obligation, but because I want to. I can tell by your bruises that at home you aren't cared about and that by the way Billie and Joey treated you, but that doesn't give you the right to talk to me that way. I really am only trying to help, so bare with me. Right now Billie is having marital issues, so the tension around everyone he's around is high. I know that's not an excuse, but give him some credit, he was really worried about your condition, but his family comes first."
Rachel was confused by the feeling of remorse, and was not used to having some one care about her. "I didn't mean to be rude, it's just I'm not used to being treated this way. I guess I blew any chance of ever being able to get along with you guys."
She had finally ended when a sob escaped from her throat. Every other time she had made a mistake was part of the reason way she was in such a bad state. Rachel was even more shocked when Mike got up from his chair, and sat on the side of her bed, while she continued to sob into his chest.
"Where am I, and who are you? What's going on?"
A deep voice responded, "You're at the UC Berkeley Medical Center, and you're being treated for exhaustion, malnutrition, severe bleeding, and beatings. And I am Mike Dirnt, who has been watching you since you were brought here. You've been asleep for two days, and won't be released for at least a week."
The stunned girl couldn't fathom why anyone was watching her, let alone a world famous rock star. She knew she was exhausted and was starved when she arrived in Oakland, but she didn't think her beatings were bleeding that much, only that they were painful. She also was curious as to why the man by her bed was not the person who was responsible to look after her in case of an emergency; Billie Joe.
After a few moments to collect herself, she finally spoke, "Why are you here? I mean not that I don't appreciate you being here to explain what's going on, but for the weekend Billie Joe was the one responsible to look after me, not you."
"Actually your guardians for the weekend were all three of us," Mike said, "Billie has some issues to sort out. Another thing is that I have a daughter, and can't understand why this could happen and I'm worried about your welfare."
Mike was familiar with the mumbling under- your- breath thing; his daughter Estelle had used it many times in the most recent years, so he had practice with hearing the supposedly "inaudible" words. "It's not your place to care," she retorted bitterly, "That's what parents, and legal guardians are for, not just some rock star."
Mike had not been expecting that type of reaction from Rachel, and was a little hurt that she didn't acknowledge the fact that he was only trying to help.
"You should know that I'm not here for obligation, but because I want to. I can tell by your bruises that at home you aren't cared about and that by the way Billie and Joey treated you, but that doesn't give you the right to talk to me that way. I really am only trying to help, so bare with me. Right now Billie is having marital issues, so the tension around everyone he's around is high. I know that's not an excuse, but give him some credit, he was really worried about your condition, but his family comes first."
Rachel was confused by the feeling of remorse, and was not used to having some one care about her. "I didn't mean to be rude, it's just I'm not used to being treated this way. I guess I blew any chance of ever being able to get along with you guys."
She had finally ended when a sob escaped from her throat. Every other time she had made a mistake was part of the reason way she was in such a bad state. Rachel was even more shocked when Mike got up from his chair, and sat on the side of her bed, while she continued to sob into his chest.
