“Since when does my name sound like Lacey’s? I mean, I know we’re both blonde, but…”
“Archie, shut the fuck up, please. Ted is at our house. I’m already on my way, but it’ll take me hours to get there. You need to–”
He cuts me off, “Already on my way with Don. We’re minutes away, Cole. Don’t worry, brother, I’ll make sure she’s okay.”
“Archie, if anything…”
“Don’t. Concentrate on driving, Cole. I’ll update you.” With that, he clicks off, and all I can do is uselessly drive back. I pray that they’re both okay.
**********
Lacey
My eyes flutter open as I hear shouting.
Oh god, has he brought more men with him?
Then I hear the voice that all little girls need to hear when they’re scared.
“You take one more step towards my daughter and you’ll be fucking crawling out of here with two broken kneecaps, you little fucking shit!” My dad’s voice booms through our hallway.
My vision is still blurred, and I can just make out shapes. I think I see my dad, holding a big, long stick.
I blink a few times, as if trying to shake my eyes into working again.
Then a face appears before mine, a mop of unruly blonde hair and eyes so beautiful that you could get lost in them. My unofficial little brother, one light blue eye and one brown, is blinking at me. His lips are moving, but no sound comes out. Why isn’t he talking?
A wave of nausea hits me. The room tilts and spins like a fairground ride, and I bump along with it.
Something pops inside of me, low down and warm liquid flows between my legs, not that I care, because the darkness claims me once more.
**********
“Oh my god, you should have seen him, Rafe! He barged in there, ‘get away from my daughter’, then he swung the shovel…”
“Wait, where did you get a shovel from, Don?”
“Rafe, the garden, obviously. Anyway, that doesn’t matter, don’t interrupt me! So then he swung the shovel, right at his head. BONG! He goes down, then gets this – Donsitson him so he can’t move!”
“Archie, I know you’re excited, but please, sweetheart, shut up before I throw you out. Lacey needsrest,not a retelling of a clearly, very stressful ordeal.”
No one has realised I’m awake yet, so I open my eyes, a mammoth task in itself. “It’s okay, May.” She snaps her head to mine, and when she makes eye contact, she breaks down and hugs me, sobbing.
“Is Peanut okay?” I whisper the words, too scared to say them out loud in case they tell me she isn’t.
A lady, who I didn’t notice right away, moves to my side and straps a blood pressure monitor on my arm as she says, “She’s perfectly healthy. Okay, I have indulged in this long enough. I need everyone out, please. Visiting times are over.”
The midwife is no-nonsense, probably May’s age, and eyes everyone like they’re the enemy. She turns back to face me and observes me. “I am going to run some checks, make sure your blood pressure is okay, and I’ll assess you for a concussion.” I lie there and stay still as she runs her checks. Apart from a slight headache, I feel fine.
I look around the room as the midwife fusses around me, trying to distract myself. My heart rate picks up, and I put a hand to my chest. “Where is he? Where is Cole?”
May swipes back the hair from my eyes. “He isn’t back yet, but he called about half an hour ago to say he was about forty minutes away.” She smiles at me, and my whole body relaxes.
As the midwife finishes her checks, she says, “I don’t see any signs of concussion, and your vitals seem fine. But you need to rest, and there are too many people in this room. I’ll be back in a moment.” She tuts as she storms out the door.
I squirm in the bed, my stomach aching, probably from falling over. I shuffle myself onto my side and try to sit up when I feel a sharp pain in my side that has me crying out suddenly.
“Lacey, honey, what is it?” May’s voice floats through to me, and I squeeze my eyes through the pain.
