Page 4 of Twisted Elites

Uncle Trevor stepped aside and let the doctor shine a light in her eyes. “My name is Dr. Nash, and you’re in Cumberland Royal Infirmary. You’ve suffered a terrible assault, but we’re here to take care of you.”

I clasped my hands to my reverberating chest and backed against the wall, while the nurses entered the room and crowded around the doctor. My throat dried. I swallowed hard and strained to listen to her whispered words.

“I want to talk to the police,” she rasped.

“Who did this, Ashley?” The words spilled from my lips.

Ashley fixed me with a glower that looked monstrous through her swollen features. “Get out.”

My eyes bulged. “What?”

“Out!” she shouted through a hoarse voice.

The doctor and Uncle Trevor turned and fixed me with near-identical impatient stares. My back straightened. All they saw was a damsel who urgently needed help and me as the person hindering it.

With a sigh, I walked out of the room and waited in the hallway. Eventually, Uncle Trevor would tell me what happened to her.

Several minutes passed. Nurses, healthcare assistants, and even the tea lady went in and out of Ashley’s room. The doctor left but didn’t give me any information. I waited on a bench by the ward’s reception desk, bouncing my knee like an addict desperate for their next fix. If Ashley didn’t clear Prakash, he might spend the night in jail.

Two police officers arrived through the accident and emergency ward’s double doors. A large woman with shorn, blonde hair, and a smaller man with a neat beard.

I leaped off my seat. “Are you here to take Ashley Evergreen’s statement?”

“Yes,” replied the man. “Are you a friend or relative?”

“Sister.”

The policewoman glanced down at her notebook and opened the door to Ashley’s room. “You’d better come in, then.”

Ashley rested in the hospital bed, which was arranged with her back raised. Dried blood no longer caked her face, revealing patches of pale skin that made her bruises stand out.

The female police officer glanced at her notebook. “Ashley,” she said in a gentle tone. “My name is WPC Stanley, and I’m here to take your statement. Do you remember what happened?”

Ashley gave a slight nod. “I passed out halfway when he punched me so hard, my head hit the wall.”

“That’s alright,” Constable Stanley said in a soft voice. “Just tell us what you can.”

Ashley’s hazel eyes darted across the room to where I stood. “She can’t be here.”

The policewoman turned around. “Your sister?”

“Tell her to get out.”

I clenched my teeth. What the fuck was Ashley doing?

“Miss Evergreen,” said the policewoman. “Could you please wait outside while we take your sister’s statement?”

“But—”

“Come on.” The short male advanced toward me.

I tried to keep the venom out of my gaze. “Are you sure about this? I can tell Mrs. Benazir and get the attacker expelled.”

Her swollen face twisted with anguish, and dry sobs heaved from her chest, reminding me of how she used to fake tears when we were little. “G-get out!”

Shoulders sagging, I turned and walked to the door. Something about this situation didn’t seem right. The worst part about it was that her refusal to have me in the room made it look like I scared her.

The policeman followed me out of the room and stood at the door, guarding the entrance as if he thought I was responsible for Ashley’s wounds. As if I would hulk out and rush through those doors to finish the job I had started.