27
Nathaniel
With my head in my hands, I stare at the hospital waiting room floor. Julia appears in front of me, crouching to rub my knees.
“Hey,” she says softly. “How is he?” She presses her hand to my cheek and I lean into her palm.
“He’s gone,” I say.
She falls back, pale. “What?”
I belatedly realize my phrasing. “Shit. I mean, he’s okay. My dad came and took him home.”
She’s clutched a hand to her chest, breathing in relief. Then concern furrows her brow. “Your dad took him home?”
“I tried to stop him. I have no power. He’s his legal guardian.” Rage made my quiet voice quake.
“But he did that to Lincoln. He did that.” Her nostrils flare. A little white light flickers in the back of her eyes before she lets out a slow breath.
My chin is trembling so hard I bite into my bottom lip. “He told them he got hurt in his kickboxing class. That it happens all the time.”
“No.” She sinks into the chair next to mine, wrapping her arms around my shoulders. She’s shaking too. Or I’m shaking her. “There’s no way they bought that.”
“They didn’t. The doctor tried to keep him overnight. He has a couple cracked ribs but is otherwise fine. Except for looking like he was beaten to a pulp.”
“How could they let him take Lincoln? I can’t believe it.” Her voice is soft with the same hopelessness I have been wallowing in for an hour.
“He owns this whole town. He has a wing here at this hospital. You could see the staff didn’t believe him. They were scared though. This is what he does. He always wins.”
“No. I refuse to believe that. There has to be something we can do to take Lincoln.”
I watch her closely to make sure she doesn’t start to glow. But her color is weird. Like she’s fighting herself.
“He’s very convincing. He makes it seem like Lincoln does this to himself by looking for trouble.”
She runs her hands through her hair and twists it into a bun before letting the curls drop again. Her hands are shaking so hard it alarms me. She’s wired and jumpy.
“I can’t help but feel like he’s losing control. He’s never hurt Lincoln this bad two times so close together. He sent me a threatening email. It’s like he’s freaking out about something. I can’t explain it.”
This was his pattern growing up. Any time work got too stressful or a woman turned him down—anytime he felt out of control—he’d find his power in hurting me. And now I see the same pattern with Lincoln.
“We won’t let him get away with this.” She grabs my hands and squeezes. “Whatever it takes, I’ll help you, okay? We’ll get Lincoln.”
“We?” I ask.
“I mean, for me, there’s only ‘we’ now.”
I grab her face and kiss her deeply. “Definitely a ‘we’ from here on out. I love you.”
She blushes beautifully. “I love you too.”
I pull her close to hug and kiss her head. At least I have this. I finally have Julia. No doubts. She loves me and I love her. And it will be okay. We will be okay. I hold her tighter and sigh into her hair. Her body collapses into me like she’s been holding it all in. She shudders out and I feel the heat of wet tears through my shirt.
I pull her back to see her face. “Hey, what’s wrong? What is it?”
This is more than Lincoln. She looks scared.
“I have to ask you something.”
