Free Trinity (Moonstone Book 1) by Andi Bremner Page A

check out my forehead and see if I needed stitches. Hopefully they could just tape it up. That was much cheaper.
    “Miss Hallow?” the nurse called after about thirty minutes. “We can see you now.”
    I followed her through the corridors and into an examination cubicle. She pulled the curtains to give me some privacy as the doctor came in flipping through my file. I winced at that. He would see all my “accidents” but I was too old to be questioned by children’s services now.
    “Hello, Trinity,” he said, offering me a genuine smile, “hit your head I see.”
    I nodded. “I tripped and hit it on the edge of the coffee table.” Only a half lie.
    “Ouch,” he winced like it actually hurt him, “let’s take a look shall we.”
    His name tag said his name was Dr. Kingston. I hadn’t seen him before but he seemed nice.
    I sat still while he examined me.
    “So how old are you, Trinity?”
    “Eighteen.”
    “And you live at home?”
    “Uh-huh.”
    “With your mom?”
    “Uh-huh.”
    “What about your dad?”
    He was asking a lot of questions. “He’s not really around.”
    “I see.”
    He fell silent which I was grateful for. “Well, Trinity, you will need a few stitches unfortunately, and it might leave a tiny scar just under your hairline.” He paused. “Now do you want to tell me what really happened?”
    I blinked at him. “I already did.”
    “Why are you holding yourself together then like you’ve been snapped in half?” he asked, tilting his head towards me knowingly. “Let me check that shall I?”
    I didn’t reply as his hands went to my side, carefully moving over my ribs. I winced. It hurt.
    “No broken ribs,” he said after a moment of examining me, “just bruised. Will hurt. I’ll have the nurse give you some pain killers and make sure you take it easy for the next few days.”
    I nodded.
    “Trinity,” he began, “you know it is not alright for anyone to treat you like this. They might say they love you but if they hurt you like this then it is not love.”
    I blinked up at him. Wait. What?
    “What would your mother say if she knew someone was treating you like this?”
    I didn’t say anything. What was he talking about?
    “A man who would hit a girl is not a man worth keeping silent for.”
    Suddenly I understood. He thought a guy—a boyfriend—had done this to me. I shook my head earnestly. “Oh no, you have the wrong idea. I don’t have a boyfriend. No one did this to me. I really did fall.”
    Dr. Kingston frowned. “You fell?”
    I nodded. I was eighteen now, he didn’t need to believe me, there was nothing he could do but somehow I wanted him to.
    “If you ever need anyone to talk to, Trinity, there are people here that can help.”
    “Thank you but I’m fine.” All I needed was somewhere to live. I wondered if someone here could find me somewhere to live.
    He paused for a long while watching me before he nodded, deciding something that he didn’t share with me. “I’ll get the nurse to organize those stitches.”

Chapter Eight
     
    Trinity
     
    I woke up with a massive headache. And my side hurt. I winced, turning over in my car that was tight and cramped. I ached all over. It was only when I opened my eyes and looked around that I remembered the previous night.
    My date. Luke . Kissing. My mother. My head. The hospital.
    After getting my stitches done and packet of Tylenol I didn’t know where to go. By this stage it was well after midnight. I was tempted to go home but I wasn’t sure that was a good idea. If I woke my mom and she was still annoyed with me for whatever she thought I’d done do Kent then I couldn’t afford to suffer any more blows. In the end I’d decided to park out the back of The Bean again. I had to work there in the morning anyhow.
    Touching my head and sitting up, I grimaced as pain shot through me. I really needed to go to the bathroom and when I looked down I realized I was still wearing the same blood-stained dress. I had