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Hannah had been distraught on the phone.
“Dad,” she sobbed, “Evelyn was attacked again! She’s in the hospital and they’re running tests but, I don’t know Dad, I’m really scared.”
I hadn’t heard anything other than that. Evelyn hadn’t ever registered a next of kin, which was as sad as it was aggravating when I tried to call and get information. I spent the two-hour ride holding my breath and needing to land on the ground so I could be somewhere with cell reception again. The moment I got off the plane, I was on my phone, Hannah speaking in my ear.
“Any news?” I begged.
“Not really,”she said,“But mostly because I’m not her next of kin. I don’t know, Dad, maybe you’ll be able to figure all this stuff out.”
I nodded, realized she couldn’t hear me, and told her I’d be there soon. I slipped into the car that was waiting for me, my grim-faced chauffeur, Tony, almost breaking speed laws to get me to Mount Sinai Beth Israel Hospital. I thought I’d bite off my bottom lip waiting in the back seat, and Tony knew it, just guessing from his anxious glances into the backseat.
When he dropped me at the entrance to the emergency room, I flew in, coat tails flying behind me. Hannah was there, with red eyes and a scared expression. She latched onto me, hugging like she hadn’t since her mother died, like she actually needed me for comfort. I held her, squeezing her to me, because I needed it too.
“How is she?” I whispered into her hair.
“They just came out and told me she’s in a room. Because of not having any next of kin, they said that I can go see her once she’s awake, but obviously we can’t make any decisions on her behalf.”
A nurse turned into the room then, and walked towards Hannah, who let go of me to speak to her.
“She’s awake,” the nurse said, “A little groggy, but mostly okay. If she’s going to be discharged to you, the doctors will go over her care.”
We followed the nurse, my heart in my throat, and I heard a hoarse voice call my daughter’s name as she let us into a room. I turned into the room. My heart stopped. In the bed was the girl I was in love with. She was wearing a hospital gown, and there were dark bruises circling her neck. She smiled though, and the most important thing was that she was alive. I wanted to run to her, run my hands over every inch of her to check for cuts and bruises. I couldn’t though, not with my daughter there, with her sat next to her, fretting over her. She gave me an understanding look, and assured Hannah that she was okay.
I stayed, perched in the corner, and watched her. Evelyn barely spoke, her throat obviously sore from the abuse it had taken. She let Hannah fret over her, and when the doctors came in and Evelyn agreed to share her information with us, the doctor told us what had happened to her. Her assailant hadn’t been after money or her body, because neither of those things had been affected. He had gone straight in to strangle her, and knocked her unconscious. The doctors didn’t say all of this, of course. Instead, they used terminology to refer to the injuries she sustained which were, thankfully, light. She hadn’t injured herself while trying to fight him off, and when she’d been unconscious, the chloroform that had been kept over her mouth to keep her that way wasn’t so overpowering that it killed her. Whoever was after her was definitely only making a stop in New York. Hannah left with the doctors to clarify some of her discharge instructions, and to go to the bathroom, and I couldn’t help but run forward.
“Are you okay?” I whispered, “please be okay.”
“I’m alright,” she whispered back, holding my neck with one hand, “But Julian… Julian, it wasGarth.”
Garth—the grade-A asshole that tortured her for years, and only stopped when she accidently killed him?
“I’m going to fucking kill him,” I growled, anger surging through my veins.
“You won’t be able to,” she sighed, “But if you could, count me in.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean he was arrested, and more than that, he was the one who attacked me on the night we met, Julian.”
I stuttered back, my mind cast back to that night. All I’d seen was a dark figure, running into the alley, and all I remembered feeling was anger and pain.
“He was…”
“Yeah,” she said gently, “But it’s over now. It’s over. He faked his death, and he’s been after me ever since, but a couple of cops came to speak to me before you got here, and they said they found enough in his motel room to implicate him in a lot of serious crimes. He’s going away for areallylong time, Julian.”
I sighed, because I’d thought she was safe once before. There was no answering this, and I couldn’t do anything but kiss her. I knew it was risky, and I knew my daughter would be back any moment, but my lips touched hers, and I knew everything would be okay. If she was okay, I would be okay. I wasn’t losing her, not yet. This was a warning from the universe though, to not take her for granted.
“I’m never letting you out of my sight again,” I muttered.
“Now that’s just impractical,” she chuckled hoarsely, “But when it happened and all, I was thinking that if I got out alive, we’d need to tell Hannah. As soon as possible. I can’t live in this limbo without her blessing.”
I nodded and agreed with her. If something happened to one of us, we needed to have Hannah in the loop. She couldn’t just think I was indifferent to Evelyn, that she wasn’t a big part of my world. I pulled her back in for one more kiss before we had to part, and that’s where my mistake lay.
“I’m fine, Julian,” Evelyn whispered just before our lips touched.
“I know,” I replied, “But I was so scared for you, Evelyn. Never scare me like that again.”
She gave a dry chuckle.
