by Melody Anne
He mumbled something that sounded like screw you, then turned and tripped his way toward the street. I scrubbed my hand over my face. Another hour and we could kick all of ’em out and lock the door.
I had to remember that every asshole drunk was one step closer to getting Sara away from Davis. That alone motivated me to go back into the sweltering air.
I’d just got back behind the bar when my phone vibrated.
Jim said he didn’t like personal calls at work, but I couldn’t think of anyone who’d call, so I pulled it out of my pocket. Ryan?
“Hey, man, what’s up? Not supposed to get calls at work.”
I couldn’t hear him over the noise around me. I held up a finger to Sylvia and ducked back into the hallway where it was quieter.
“Sorry, man, place is a zoo. What’d you say?”
“Sara’s in the hospital, Seth.” Ryan’s voice cracked and my heart stopped. “It’s bad and she’s in surgery and they won’t tell me anything because I’m not family.”
The floor tilted, and I thought I was going to lose my burger from earlier. My blood froze and grew sluggish in my veins. Now the noise around me silenced for a different reason.
“Where?” I croaked.
“Eastside Memorial. You better get here quick. I don’t know . . . just get here, okay?”
“I’m on my way,” I said, already pushing my way out of the bar.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Avery
“It takes a village to elect a new mayor, and I’m proud to be surrounded by the people who believe I’m the best candidate for that job.”
My father stood at the head of the table among the murmurings of agreement. I resisted an eye roll as I pushed the rubbery chicken around on my plate. The night had been interminable, even with Grant and me back on good terms, and all I wanted was to get home and wait for Seth. Now I had to listen to my father’s posturing on top of everything.
“My record speaks for itself, and I firmly stand behind my one-strike platform, which I think will see a dramatic reduction in crime in our fair city.”
Several glances moved to me.
That I was not an exception helped my father in his endeavor.
“Despite recent unexpected circumstances, we’ve pulled together, and I’ve shown that I mean business.”
More approving noises and more glances turned my way. It was obvious that I was that circumstance. I was there tonight to assure everyone I had fallen in line.
“Monica, Avery, would you join me, please.” This is where I was supposed to stand on one side with my mother and smile like the happy family we were supposed to be.
I stood reluctantly with a smile plastered on my face. Just as I was about to push my chair back, my phone vibrated in my purse. Next to me, Representative Jones’s wife narrowed her eyes. The noise stopped, and I slid the chair back so I could step free from the table.
My mother already stood at my father’s side, and they both watched me with mixed expressions of impatience and annoyance.
Two low hums came from my purse.
Grant reached over and plucked it free, but his eyebrows dipped down when he looked at the screen. Unmindful of everyone around us waiting, he held it out to me.
A text.
Avery it’s Ryan. Pick up your damned phone.
Almost immediately it started vibrating again.
I answered without even having to think about it. Already my heart thumped against my ribs. Why would Ryan call me? Oh, God, what if something had happened to Seth?
“Hello?” My voice came out shaky and too high.
“Avery. You need to get to Eastside Memorial right now,” Ryan said breathlessly. In the background I heard the rumble of a truck’s engine.
My knees started to shake and I reached out, searching for something solid to hold on to. Grant was there, his hand in mine. Keeping me from falling onto the floor.
“Oh, God, did something happen to Seth?” Tears burned the backs of my eyes.
“He’s okay. It’s Sara. She’s in surgery. I was just coming home when the ambulance came barreling through. Someone said Davis beat her up bad. I didn’t tell Seth it was Davis, but once he finds out . . .”
“He’ll go after him,” I whispered.
“And if he does, he’ll be back behind bars. You have to talk to him. He’ll listen to you. But you have to hurry.”
“I’ll be right there.” I ended the call and looked up. Every gaze in the room was on me. My mother looked furious. “I have to go,” I said to the room. “Excuse me.”
“I’ll drive you,” Grant said. “You’re in no condition to be behind the wheel.” He took my shaking hand in his and squeezed. He must have heard Ryan talking.
I was at the front door when my father’s voice stopped me.
“Where are you going?”
“The hospital. A friend needs me.”
His eyes narrowed, one side of his lips raised in a sneer. “It’s that boy, isn’t it? Did he get in a bar fight?”
I pulled free from Grant’s hand and stormed over to where my father stood. He was six inches taller than me, but I didn’t care. I still got in his face.
“Seth. His name is Seth. And his sister’s in the emergency room because their stepfather who keeps her drugged up beat the crap out of her tonight. No one knows what’s happening and I am going to be there in case he needs me. Because that’s what you do for the people you care about.”
I didn’t wait for my father to reply. Didn’t even stop to see if he heard me. I’d never raised my voice to him before, but I was too scared for Seth to even care.
There wasn’t time. If Seth went after Davis, if he found him, it wouldn’t only be a parole violation.
I was terrified that Seth would kill him.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Seth
“Sara Hunter,” I croaked to the nurse behind the front desk. “She was brought in by ambulance. She’s in surgery now.”
“Are you family?” the dark-haired woman asked as she typed on her keyboard. Each click of the keys jolted through my head. Tiny triggers that threatened to blow my brains out.
“Brother. I’m her brother. Is she going to be okay?”
The nurse looked up, and I saw a flicker of sympathy pass over her face.
“You’ll have to take a seat in waiting room B2, it’s down the hall, first right. When the doctor is done, he’ll come out and talk to you. In the meantime, I need you to fill out some forms. Medical history, insurance information, that kind of thing.”
She handed me a clipboard and a pen.
I stared at the questions. I didn’t have the first fucking clue about any of it.
“Give it to the nurse there when you’re done,” the nurse said.
I made my way down the fluorescent-lit hallway. The sharp sting of antiseptic cleaner filled my lungs. Every step thundered in my head, and I focused on making my feet move, though it was as if I trudged through sludge.
Images pounded into my brain.
Overdose.
Heart failure.
Brain damage.
The last time I’d been here was when our mom died. A sick feeling settled in my stomach. I didn’t get to see her until after, when she was lying on the hospital bed, her eyes closed, her chest still.
Sara had clung to my hand, silent tears streaming down her face.
This could not be happening again.
I sat down in the empty waiting room and stared at the forms in front of me.
I looked up and met the gaze of the nurse behind the desk. She glanced at the screen, then back at me. “Mr. Hunter?”
“Yes.” I sat up straighter. “Is there news?”
“No, I’m sorry. It looks like they might be finishing up, though, so it shouldn’t be too much longer. When you finish that”—she nodded to the clipboard in my numb hands—“you can give the papers to me, okay?”
I couldn’t even do that for Sara because I didn’t have the first
fucking clue if she had insurance. My guess was no. We’d never had it before, and I’m sure she didn’t now.
Allergies?
Medications she’s taking?
I scrubbed my hand over my face. Christ, did I put down that she was addicted to heroin there or on another line? I closed my eyes and let the clipboard fall at my feet.
What the fuck happened tonight?
I needed answers, but there wasn’t a single person around who could help me.
And I couldn’t do a single thing to help my sister.
“Seth? Any word?” a breathless voice asked.
I opened my eyes and saw Ryan striding across the waiting room. His shirt was untucked and only half buttoned. He sank down into the chair next to me and leaned his elbows onto his knees.
“Nothing. The nurse couldn’t tell me anything. Said to wait for the doctor. What the fuck happened, Ry?”
He sighed and dropped his head into his hands. “All I know is what old man Peters told me when I got there. And, Seth, man, you have to promise me you’ll focus on Sara, okay? All that matters is her getting better after this. She needs you.”
“What the fuck happened?” My jaw hurt from clenching my teeth so hard.
“Davis.”
The waiting room turned red, and I jumped to my feet. Goddamn him. I was going to kill him. Should have the first time.
“Sit the fuck down,” Ryan gritted out, grabbing my arm and yanking me back toward the chairs. “Sara needs you, so don’t go blowing off all half-cocked. You need to hear what the doctor has to say. You have to be here because she doesn’t have anyone else. You got that? You have to be here.”
The pressure inside my chest grew until I wanted to reach in and rip my heart out. This was my fault. If I had focused harder on helping her when I got out, I could have had her away from that asshole by now.
Or swallowed my fucking pride and borrowed money from Ryan.
I backed up to the wall and then slid down it until I could pull my knees close to my chest. Pain lanced through my scalp when I drove my fingers into my hair and pulled, but it felt deserving.
I deserved the pain.
Sara didn’t.
Ryan slid down to sit beside me. He didn’t say anything. Really, what was there to say? He’d been there every step of it with me. Hell, he’d been there when I couldn’t be.
“I can’t lose her.” My voice cracked, and I tried to swallow, but the lump made it almost too hard to breathe. My eyes burned, and I shoved the heels of my hands against them, pressing so hard that white dots spun behind my lids.
“You won’t,” Ryan promised.
We sat there for what felt like hours but in reality was only a few minutes.
When a doctor stepped into the room and went to the nurses’ desk, I pushed to my feet. My palms were sweating so badly I wiped them on my jeans. The nurse pointed to me, and the doctor straightened and moved toward us.
All the sound sucked out of the room.
It felt like I was standing in a vacuum.
When he stopped right in front of me, the noise came rushing back, slamming into my head.
“You’re Sara Hunter’s brother?” he asked.
I nodded. Couldn’t get a sound past the dread stuck in my throat.
“Would you like to sit?”
“Do I need to sit?” I managed to say. “How is she? Did she make it . . . ?” I couldn’t finish the sentence. What if she didn’t?
“She’s doing good. Resting now.” He lifted the clipboard and shuffled through the papers. “There were several fractures to three ribs, which isn’t usually too bad, but one nicked her lung and so we had to make sure there wasn’t a puncture. Lacerations to her face and arms, and her right wrist was broken. We set it and it should heal clean.”
“When can I see her?” I demanded.
The doctor met my gaze, then looked back at the papers. “She’s seventeen, is that correct?”
“Yes.”
“The biggest challenge right now is the withdrawal she’ll be going through. The track marks on her arms suggest that the drug use has been going on for some time, and tonight, there are very high levels of heroin in her system.”
The doctor looked up, but I saw him glance at my arms. I crossed them and glared. “I don’t do drugs. My mother died of an overdose. This, all of this, is because of my asshole stepfather. He got them hooked years ago. He beat the crap out of Sara tonight.”
The doctor’s eyes widened. “If that’s the case, then I have to report this. She’s a minor.”
“She’s going to be okay, though?”
“Yes, I believe she’ll recover from her injuries just fine. The other stuff will be harder, though, mentally and physically. There are treatment options, but let’s just take it one step at a time. You can see her now, but she’s still sedated so she won’t know you’re there. And you can only stay a few minutes.”
“Okay.”
“We’ll talk more later, when I can update you.” He held out his hand. His grip was firm and sure, and for a few seconds, it made me believe everything was going to be okay.
After a quick stop at the desk, the doctor left the room.
“Room two twenty-three. Take a right and it’s just down the hall,” the nurse said. “Did you finish the paperwork?”
Ryan clasped my shoulder. “I got that part. You go. See your sister.”
I swallowed the lump and nodded. “Thank you, Ry. I owe you . . . so much.”
Outside Sara’s door, I hesitated. It had been over a year since I’d seen her in that courtroom, and I braced myself for what lay inside. A year was almost a lifetime in an addict’s world.
My hand shook as I pushed the door open. The room was dark and filled with the steady beep of a machine. I could see the end of the bed from where I stopped.
My breath hitched, and I pressed my knuckles against my mouth.
I had to be strong.
For her.
With that single thought in mind, I walked into the room and didn’t stop until I stood right next to her. When I finally mustered the courage to look at the figure in the bed, the dam broke.
If I’d passed her on the street, I don’t think I would have recognized her. Her dark hair had been cut very short and was dyed blond. Even with the bandages on her face, I could see the sharpness in her cheekbones. The darkness under her eyes.
And her body under the blankets? There was barely anyone there.
I fell into the chair next to the bed and blindly reached for her hand. It felt too fragile and small in mine. Tubes twisted from her IV to a bag behind her head, and she had a breathing tube in her nose.
I laid my forehead against our hands, and tears splashed down over them.
“I’m so sorry, Baby Bee. So fucking sorry.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Avery
I hated the smell of hospitals.
Something about the odors of the disinfectant and the sickness mixed together made my stomach turn. But it wasn’t anything compared to the fear I had that Seth might go after his stepfather and jeopardize his entire future.
My heels clicked on the linoleum as I hurried down the long hallway. Grant was in step beside me, his hand at my elbow to keep me steady.
“Thank you,” I said. “You didn’t have to come inside.”
“This is what friends do, right? Help each other out?”
“There it is.” I breathed a sigh of relief when the waiting room came into view. The air froze in my chest when I stepped into the room. “Did he leave?” I asked Ryan.
“He’s in with Sara. She just got out of surgery, but she’s not awake yet.” Ryan looked next to me where Grant still had his hand on my arm. I’m sure we made a sight, me in my little black dress and Grant in a suit.
“Is she going to be okay?” I asked, stepping away from Grant just enough so that his hand fell.
“Doc says so. She’s got a broken wrist and lots of bruises, but he didn’t hit anything
vital. He’s reporting it to the police. Child abuse, I guess.”
“Will that work?”
“They tried it before right after Seth went in. Sara refused to cooperate and said she fell. After one CPS visit, no one ever came back.”
God, the system was so screwed up. How could people who had the chance to make a difference, to save these kids, just drop the ball? They needed a voice. A loud one.
“How’s Seth doing?”
Ryan closed his eyes and exhaled. When he opened them, I could see the worry in them. “Not good. He’s blaming himself for this.”
“Do you think he’s going to go after Davis?” I wanted Ryan to tell me that Seth wouldn’t do something like that. That he would stay calm and let the authorities handle it.
“Yes. That’s why I called you. Maybe you can talk some sense into him, because he won’t listen to me. He was seeing red before, but after he comes out of that room, he’s going to be on the warpath.”
I walked back to the doorway and glanced up and down the hall. No Seth yet. I felt so helpless standing there not being able to help. Unless . . .
“Excuse me for a sec.” I moved out into the hall, leaving Grant alone with Ryan.
“Dad, I need your help,” I said as soon as he answered. “No questions right now. The girl, Seth’s sister, she’s under eighteen and the doctor is filing suspected child abuse paperwork, but last time it all fell through and I need to make sure that this time she has a chance. Even if she doesn’t want it.”
“That sounds complicated,” he said, switching from father to lawyer voice.
“Her stepfather got her hooked on drugs and he pimps her out and he beat her up very badly tonight. There has to be something you can do, strings to pull or people you know who can help. She’s seventeen, Dad.”
“And this stepfather has custody?”
“Yes. But Seth was hoping he could get some kind of temporary custody so that he can get her into a treatment center. He was trying to find a lawyer to help him do this all the right way, but this changes everything. She can’t go back there.”
“Let me see what I can find out. What is the stepfather’s name?”
“Davis. I’m not sure what his last name is, but he lives in Garden Grove Estates. Her name is Sara Hunter. She’s at Eastside Memorial. She just got out of surgery and hasn’t woken up yet.” My voice cracked, and I swallowed against the lump forming. I didn’t have a sister, but if I did, I couldn’t imagine seeing her lying in a hospital bed like that.