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He furrows his brow. “I… I don’t know what you mean. Callie, I’ve only known you for a year or so.”
Mike swallows hard and takes out his phone.
“Who are you calling?” Callie asks.
“An ambulance. I think there’s something wrong with him,” Mike states while he dials 911.
“Niall, we’re getting you some help,” Callie placates him. Niall’s eyes search around the room, his face taking on a confused blank stare.
Aiden kisses my forehead. “Baby, it’s going to be all right,” he says as I try to recover from the attack.
Mom looks at the state I am in and shakes her head as she walks over to Niall with fierce intent. “How could you try to kill my girl like that, you f-fucking asshole!” Mom’s voice breaks like she’s having trouble keeping it together as she rushes forward, her hand coming out and slapping Niall across the face as hard as she can.
Chris steps in, holding Mom back.
Niall’s eyes flood with tears as he backs up like he’s afraid of her. “No, Father, don’t hit me,” Niall murmurs, cowering into the sofa. “I’ll be good.”
Mom stands back in disbelief at the crumbling man before her.
Bree brings me a glass of water, and I try to drink it slowly, soothing my sore throat. Sarah sits on the floor next to me while we watch Niall closely.
“Father, don’t hit me,” Niall yells out. He crawls into a ball on the sofa, and Callie places her hand on his leg. “Mommy, make him stop hurting me, please,” Niall begs, cuddling into Callie, who clearly swallows hard and looks back at us raising her eyebrow.
Finally, there’s a knock at the door and Mom answers. Two EMTs head inside, and one comes straight to me and the other goes directly to Niall.
“My name is Mandy.” She squats beside me. “Can you tell me what happened?” she asks kindly as Aiden wipes the tears from my cheeks with his thumb.
“My soon to be father-in-law choked me,” I say very quietly.
She immediately looks over at the other EMT and then back at me. “Did you pass out at all?” she asks while she wraps a blood pressure cuff around my arm. I shake my head. “Sweetheart, can you breathe properly through your mouth? Are you getting enough air?” I nod, as she continues to check me over. “I think you’re going to be all right physically. I’ll check your blood pressure now, and we’ll go from there.” She pumps the cuff, and as it tightens around my arm, it’s almost painful. “Your blood pressure is way too high. We’ll need to take you to the hospital, and have you checked over by a doctor. It’s better to be safe than sorry,” she says, putting her hand on my knee in reassurance. “Can you stand?”
Aiden stands, taking me with him, but I stumble as I feel weak and lightheaded like I might actually pass out. I sway on the spot, but Aiden holds onto me tightly.
“Mandy, we need to get Mr. O’Connell to the hospital as soon as possible,” the male EMT states.
A cold sweat invades my skin as my head feels fuzzy. I sway slightly, and I start to see flashes of light while my limbs go numb.
“Jeni, are you okay?” Sarah asks.
The room turns black, and I collapse into Aiden’s arms.
Waking in a small, brightly lit room, my throat hurts. I move my hand to gently feel it and tense at the pain.
Aiden is quickly by my side. “You scared me for a moment there,” he whispers while stroking my hair. Blinking a few times, I look around a room and notice I have an audience.
It’s hard to swallow. My throat feels dry and coarse. Noticing my discomfort, Aiden hands me a glass of water with a straw.
“How are you feeling?
“I’m fine,” I whisper. “Where’s your father?”
Aiden swallows hard and frowns. “He’s being tested for dementia. The doctors think that his regression back to childhood, his confusion with recognizing people, and his sudden change of mood are all contributing factors. He’s always been grumpy but never violent and sadistic. They think the testing will see dementia as a probable outcome,” Aiden tells me.
Well, that explains a lot.
I never thought of Niall as being ill.
I knew he was sick and twisted but not mentally ill.
