“Don’t run away from me Hailey.” His voice is lethal, I feel numb, I don’t understand why the hell he’s here. I was free, I thought he had finally found someone new. “You can’t escape from me Hailey, I thought I told you what would happen?” I make it to my room and as I turn I see that Eric has Maddie by the throat. I want to run to her, to help her but she knees him in the balls and he goes down.
“Maddie, run.” I scream at her as Eric starts to get up, tears start to fall as I plead with Maddie, “Move, Mads.”
“Lock the door and call the cops.” she yells breathing heavy as she lifts up the vase on the coffee table. “Do it Hails.” she instructs and I close the door, my heart dropping to my stomach as I lock the door knowing that I’ve locked my sister out and she’s about to go head to head with my monster. Hearing the vase smashing, I rush over to my cell phone only to find it’s dead. Oh no, God no, please no. Any hope I had fades as I realize my charger is in the kitchen and to get to it I’d have to go back out into the sitting room.
I hear crashing and I just hope that Maddie’s okay but I don't think that’s the case, I don’t hear her and when the crashing noise stops my heart sinks. My breathing seems to be extremely heavy and so loud, I try to take deep breaths to slow it down but it’s no use as it just makes things worse. It makes my breathing louder and faster. I can’t hear anything from the sitting room and that makes me worried; worried about what’s happened to Mads.
My door is busted open and I scream, there’s blood trickling down Eric’s face from a cut just above his eye. He lunges for me and there’s nowhere for me to run to. This room is tiny, so all I can do is move backward until my back hits the wardrobe. It doesn’t even take him a second and he’s already pulling my hair, I let out a cry as I feel it being pulled from the roots. He pushes me to the floor with so much force that I’m met with unbearable pain in my nose and blood fills my mouth. “You are not to leave me! You’ll die before you ever get the chance.” His anger has taken over, each word is said as he kicks me in my ribs, each kick getting stronger and harder. There is no sign of the Eric I met in the coffee shop, instead he’s been taken over by this monster. The last kick is so severe that it takes my breath away.
He pulls my head up so my back is arched, it hurts so bad and no matter how hard I try to get away he’s too strong for me. I don’t have a fighting chance. “You’re mine Hailey, you always will be.” He whispers before he smashes my head against the floor and blackness seeps in.
Chapter Eight
Scott
A ringing sound filters into my sleep and after a while rouses me awake; what the hell? Who is calling me at this time of the night? Before I can answer it, it stops. I sigh heavily knowing that I won’t be able to get back to sleep tonight. Getting out of bed, I reach for my cell phone and see that it’s three am, seeing Morgan’s name as the missed call has me on edge. Is Luke okay? I unlock my phone to call her back but I don’t need to, she’s calling me again. I stand up and answer, I may need to pace while I’m on this call.
“What’s wrong?” I demand, there’s something wrong, why else would she be calling me?
“Scott…” It sounds like she’s crying. “It’s Hailey.” Hearing Hailey’s name knocks the air out of my lungs and I fall back onto the bed. “She’s in the hospital, you need to come.”
“Is she…” I swallow hard hating that I can’t say it, I don’t even want to think about her being dead. She can’t be.
“She’s alive but she’s in a bad way. You need to get to her quickly. Luke’s on his way to get you. He should be there any moment. I’m sorry Scott, I wish that I could tell you more but right now that’s all I know. I’ve got to go, I need to talk to Maddie. Be safe and I’ll see you soon.” She’s in business mode right now and that’s exactly how I need her to be, I need her to find out what the hell happened.
Throwing on my jeans that are at the end of the bed, I’m rushing around trying to get ready before Luke gets here. I’m actually shaking; I don’t think this has ever happened to me before, been this shaken up. I pull on a t-shirt and socks when my cell starts to ring, it’s Luke.
“I’m outside.” He’s gruff and I know that he’s worried about her too, she’s been part of our family forever and he thinks of her as a sister. I pull on my chucks and run out of the Condo. True to his word he’s waiting outside, I jump in and he takes off not even waiting for me to put on my seatbelt.
“What happened, Morgan didn’t tell me much.” I’m anxious to get to the hospital and see her.
“A call came in from the neighbors. Morgan was called as it’s her old house. The neighbors heard screaming and crying coming from the house along with shouting so they called the cops. The cops walked in and found both Hailey and Maddie bloodied and beaten in Hailey’s room. Both women are unconscious. That was all the information Morgan was given, she’s gone to the hospital to take Maddie’s statement, she’s awake and she’s waiting for Hailey to wake up. She’s worried about her.” Luke’s voice is tight just as his grip on the steering wheel.
“She’s not woken yet? Does Morgan know what’s wrong?” I hate this unknown, this feeling of dread that I have. I feel as though my soul has been shattered.
“Not yet. She was being assessed when she Morgan arrived.” He sounds distant but then again, I probably sound like a mad man. Thankfully, this time of the morning the roads are quiet and it doesn’t take us too long to get to the hospital. Luke abandons his car in a no parking zone, “Fuck it, if it’s gone when we leave I’ll pay the fine. Morgan said they were brought into the emergency room.”
As we enter the emergency room, Luke uses his A.D.A. status to get us through to see Morgan. As we’re buzzed through the double doors I see Morgan looking flustered, she spots Luke and I right away and she starts to walk over to us, I can tell by the way her shoulders are drooped that whatever she’s found out isn’t good news. She’s in Luke’s arms and I watch as she sobs, “What's happened?” Luke asks as he tries to soothe her.
“She’s still unconscious, she’s so still, and God, her face.” She shakes her head against Luke’s shoulder. “I need to talk to Maddie, she’s okay, they’re releasing her any moment.”
“Where is he?” I’m barely able to contain the anger that’s bubbling inside of me.
“We don’t know for sure it was him, Scott.” Morgan tells me and even she doesn’t believe the shit she’s saying.
“Bullshit, we all know it was him.” Luke tells her just as Maddie comes out of a cubicle and I see the gauze on her head, blood staining her tank top and a bruise along her jaw. Her arm’s in a cast and she’s holding her side, by the looks of things she’s got a broken rib or two to go along with the broken arm. If she’s okay in Morgan’s estimations that means Hailey’s a fucking mess.
“Um, hi.” Maddie’s hesitance makes me feel like a douche, I’ve been an ass to her for a long time, maybe she has changed?
“Hi Ms. Myer, I need to take your statement. If you’d please follow me.” Morgan turns to walk towards the family room that’s located just off the emergency room. Maddie however, stays where she is looking at both Luke and I.
“Maddie, Morgan needs you to go with her.” Luke tries to coax her to move.
“Please, can you come with me?” She’s staring at me when she says it just as Morgan comes to stand behind her.
“All of you, follow me.” Morgan’s all business now, she wants to know what happened, I’ve no doubt that she’s already got people looking for Eric right now but she needs Maddie to confirm it so she can put out an officialAPB.
We walk into the family room and Maddie takes a seat by the window, Morgan follows her and sits opposite her not wanting to make her feel threatened while Luke sits close to the door. I do the only thing I can, I sit on my haunches and wait for her to tell us what happened. “Take your time and tell me what happened. Every detail you can remember.” Morgan’s voice is soft, she doesn’t want to scare Maddie. I can hear Maddie s
wallow; the room is that silent as we wait for her to start speaking. “Start from the beginning, what were you doing?”
Maddie nods as though that question has somehow helped her, “Hailey was in the bath, I went in to talk to her, to apologize for everything I had done. I wanted her to know how sorry I am, that I’m going to make it up to her.” She sounds as though she’s in a trance, like she’s replaying it but telling us as though she’s a spectator not actually a participant. It’s creepy.
“That’s good, then what happened?” Morgan, gently coaxes her wanting more information.
“She’s mad at me, I understand why and I left her to finish up. I went to bed, I left the spotlights on in the kitchen as I know that she loves to have a cup of cocoa before bed.” Her face pales to a deathly gray color and I watch as the tears start to fall. “I was in bed when I heard pounding on the door, it frightened me, I didn't know who it was. As I got into the sitting room the pounding got louder, but Hails; it was like she was stuck. She couldn’t move, I knew she was scared and when he started yelling I knew why.”
“Who was it Maddie?” Morgan asks even though we all know who it is.
“Eric, he kicked the door down. I told her to run, I told her to lock the door and call the cops but she wouldn’t, she was frozen. I just wanted her to be safe.” The sobs begin and they’re coming from both Maddie and Morgan. This is fucking hard to hear but I know that I have to hear it.
We wait until Maddie is able to talk, “He grabbed me by the throat as Hailey ran toward her bedroom. I lifted the vase and hit him across the head but it didn’t help. He threw me to the ground and my head hit off the coffee table. The next thing I know, I can hear him shouting and he’s in Hailey’s room. I rush into her room and…” She starts to sob again and this time I can feel the wetness on my face. I’m going to kill the fucking bastard.
“Take a deep breath Maddie, that’s it and again.” I’ve seen Morgan work before but I’ve never seen her interview a victim before and I’m really impressed, she’s handling Maddie really well. “Are you ready to continue?” there’s hopefulness in Morgan’s voice.
“Yes, I’m sorry.” She smiles at us but it’s the fakest smile I’ve ever seen. “There was so much blood. I honestly thought she was dead. He kept hitting her over and over again, screaming that she’s his and he’s never letting her go. Her face was… God, it was just bloody.” She’s shaking her head as if she’s trying to get the image to leave her mind. “I screamed at him, I don’t know what it was that I said all I remember was screaming, then I heard the sirens. He grabbed me again and threw me to the floor and he left, I crawled over to Hailey and held her hand. I woke up here and they won’t let me see her.”
“Okay, I’m going to talk to the doctors and see if I can get you in to see her. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” Morgan reaches out and squeezes Maddie’s hand before leaving the room.
“I’m sorry.” Maddie tells Luke and I although she’s looking directly at me. “I tried to stop him, I really did.” She starts to cry again and I don’t know what to do, I feel uncomfortable. Do I console her or do I leave her to cry it out? I don’t move from my position, I wouldn’t know how to console her and right now all I want to do is beat the crap out of something or preferably Eric.
“We know that you tried to stop him. Don’t beat yourself up Maddie, you did everything you could have.” Luke tries to comfort her but it’s no use, I know that she’ll beat herself up for the rest of her life, just as dad and I do for both Sophia and Winter being kidnapped and I know Luke feels the same way every time he sees the gunshot wound in Morgan’s shoulder.
Maddie nods and turns her head so she’s staring out the window and we wait for Morgan to return hopefully with news that Hailey has woken up or that we can at least see her.
Three hours later and we’re still waiting to hear about Hailey, Maddie has asked at least half a dozen times for an update and the only answer she receives is that the doctor will be around to see her soon. Soon is not three fucking hours, we’ve been joined by Nathan, Sophia, Dad, Asher, and Dwayne. Seems as though Luke called Dad who called Soph who told Nathan and he couldn’t keep his mouth shut. It’s one of the worst things about having a close-knit family and work family, we’re all in each other’s business come good or bad. I’ve tried pacing the room but that annoyed the hell out of Soph and Luke so I’ve been sitting beside Maddie ever since.
“Sabine is going to see if she can find anything out.” Dwayne tells us not looking up from his cell. Sabine is his wife and Morgan’s best friend, she’s a nurse here in the hospital and I’ve no doubt that she’ll try her best to get us some news.
“I fucking hate hospitals, this is the worst one. We live in a big fucking city and yet all the women have been brought here.” Luke spits out. He was here for a while with Morgan after our crazy ex shot her.
“Yeah this hospital is the worst. It’s where Con died and none of the boys were born here.” Soph is right, this is like the grim reaper hospital, nothing good comes from it.
“Mom and dad were brought here.” Maddie tells us and it’s the first time she’s spoken since she told us she was sorry, she never even spoke to Sophia when she walked in.
“I remember, Lydia was also brought here.” Dad tells us and just hearing him say that our mom was brought here after she lost her battle with cancer hurts, it’s something that we all pushed to the back of our minds never wanting to talk about it.
Morgan and Sabine walk in with a tired looking doctor, “Ms. Myer, I’m Dr. Shar, I’ve been looking after your sister. Your sister has some swelling on her brain, a broken nose, a fractured femur, a hairline fracture to her wrist and a cracked rib. She’s unconscious but alive.” Fuck, what the hell did he do to her?
“Why is she unconscious? When will she wake up” Maddie asks him and it’s the same thing I want to know.
“I can’t answer that; her body is recovering and it may take some time. We’ll reassess tomorrow, you all should get some rest.” He nods to Sabine and she follows him out.
“Morgan, can I please see her?” Maddie sounds so vulnerable right now, it’s not something I’ve heard from her before.
“The doctor said you can see her for only a few minutes but then you’ll have to leave. You can come back in the morning though.” Morgan offers her a small smile.
“Scott, will you come with me?” I stand and let the blood flow to my feet, I’ve been sitting for way to long. As we step into Hailey’s room it’s as though my world stands still, fuck, her face, she’s unrecognizable! I was prepared, or so I thought, at seeing her but this, this is something I couldn’t have ever pictured. She’s laying in the bed, her leg in a cast as is her arm, her nose has tape over it. Her face is swollen and red, I wish I hadn’t come to see her, I wish I had stayed in the family room. “Oh God, Hailey. I’m so sorry.” Maddie wails as she rushes out of the room.
I feel as though I’m underwater, that I’m drowning. Seeing her lying on the bed makes me realize how much of an ass I’ve been. If I had manned up and claimed her then this wouldn’t have happened, she’d be at home asleep next to me where she fucking belongs. Walking over to her bed seems to take an eternity, “He’s not going to get away with this Hails, he’s not going to get the chance to hurt you again.” I promise her as I take her hand into mine. The coldness of it seeps through me, she looks so lifeless just lying there. “I’m going to fix this Hailey, I’m going to make sure you never feel fear again.” I bring her hand up to my lips and kiss it, not wanting to leave her here. “I’ll be back tomorrow Hails.”
As I leave her, I’m met by Luke who looks as though he wants to kill someone. “You ready to go?” He’s being a gruff asshole and I give him the calm the fuck down look, if anyone should be an asshole it should be me. “Sorry, Morgan’s not coming home tonight, she’s looking for Eric.”
“I get it, if it were me in your position I’d be the same.”
“How is she, is she as bad as Morga
n says?” He looks at me and shakes his head, “That bad huh?”
“Worse, she’s been badly beaten, she doesn’t look like Hailey.” I feel arms around me and I know by the soppy look on Luke’s face that it’s Morgan. I shrug out of her embrace and turn to face her, typical Morgan, she’s not fazed that I moved away from her touch.
“She’s going to be okay, they’re moving her to ICU soon. She’ll be in safe hands, we’ll have guards outside of her room. Go home and get some rest, you can come back in the morning. Hopefully then she’ll be awake.” She sounds hopeful and I know she’s trying to lift our spirits, it doesn’t work because I’ve seen Hailey and I’ve heard only a snippet of what happened tonight. Morgan turns to face Luke, “Are you sure it’s okay?”
“Yes, I’m sure. She can stay in the guest room, it won’t be the first time I’ve been under the same roof as her.” Luke tells her and I’m wondering what the hell they’re talking about, “It’ll give Scott and I time to talk to her.” Morgan’s face screws up, she thinks it’s a bad idea, hell I’d love to know who I’m going to be talking too. “Listen Morgan, Hailey stayed with that asshole for a reason and Maddie knows what that reason is, so Scott and I are going to talk to her.”
“Hell fucking yes we are. Morgan, we’re not going to hurt her. We need to know everything so that we can make sure that Hailey is protected. Our priority is that Hailey is safe at all times.” There’s a harsh bite to my tone, I’m done with the soft approach. Look where that got us, both girls in hospital and that asshole is in the wind. We’re doing it my way now.
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