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Then the police arrived, called in by the staff at the clinic automatically because Willow had been hurt. I told them everything, knowing if I wasn’t honest CPS could become involved and I really didn’t want that.
The officers I spoke to were patient and understanding as I told them everything. They tried hard to disguise their shock when I told them who Edward was – the son of the D.A. - but I saw it, nonetheless. When they left they assured me Edward would be picked up and questioned, but I didn’t hold out much hope that they would charge him and even if they did, his father would get him out of it. Still, at least all he had done was on record, along with photos of our injuries to back it up. It would help me if Frank forced Edward to try and take custody of my kids, as they had both threatened to do in the past. No judge would give him custody after what he had done to Willow that night.
“Hey,” Nico greeted quietly as he walked into the room and looked to Willow. “She finally crashed?”
“Yeah. The doctor gave her some pain meds and she passed out.”
“How are you feeling?” he asked as he came over and sat in the chair beside my bed, handing me one of the coffees he had been out to get.
“Relieved the baby’s okay. Guilty Willow had to see any of that, let alone get hurt. Stupid for ever being with that waste of space in the first place,” I blurted.
“You’re out now, and none of what he did was your fault, Maddie. Don’t let him put this on you. He’s the asshole who hurt his own child. I hope they put him in jail and throw away the fucking key,” Nico hissed.
“They won’t,” I sighed. “His daddy will get him off any charges they bring.”
“I know,” Nico sighed as he looked down to his feet. “That’s why you have to get away from here.”
“Away? Where would I go?” I asked, looking to him with surprise.
Chicago wasn’t home. It never had been. I was from Washington, and that was where Edward and I met. I had moved to Chicago with him when he finished his law degree, no question, but I had never really felt at home there. I couldn’t return to Washington either though. I had no one I knew there and no money, place to live or job. At least here I had my job.
“I have my attorney filing for a restraining order against Edward on your behalf. That will allow you to take Willow out of state. While I don’t want to let you go, I think you have to, sweetheart. You’re not safe here. Frank Foster is going to hate the press this situation will create and who knows what he’ll do to end it, not to mention Edward is a fucking psycho. You have to get away.”
“I don’t disagree, Nico, but I have nowhere to go. Right now all I have is my friendship with you and Emilia, and my job at Milite. I can’t lose those things too,” I pointed out.
“Mia and I will always be here for you, and if you really want to stay, I’ll set you up in the Milite building and get you round the clock security to keep you safe. We’ll protect you and Willow, whatever it takes,” he promised, making me feel emotional with his kindness. “But you do have another option and I want you to really consider it for me, okay?”
“What other option?” I asked, confused. Nico held up a finger as he got to his feet and went to the door. He opened it and stuck his head out, then when he came back in, he was followed by the last person I expected to see.
“Hunter?” I squeaked as he walked into the room, now dressed in jeans and a navy t-shirt that sculpted to his defined body beneath. He looked from me to Willow and back, a look of anger filling his face. It was funny that despite how much he had grown up and changed, I still recognized every expression that crossed his face.
Anger filled my own expression at that thought and the reminder of why I hated Hunter so damned much. I glared from him and back to Nico.
“What the hell is he doing here, Nico?” I growled.
“Just hear him out, okay? I know him and his brother’s, Maddie, and I trust them. Just give them a chance,” Nico implored, then he left the room before I could utter any further protest.
“What are you doing here, Hunter?” I asked as I struggled to sit up a little more. I hated the fact he was seeing me at my absolute lowest.
“I asked Nico to call me if anything happened. I never expected it to be so soon, or this bad though,” he replied as he reached up and ran his hand through his hair, just as he used to when he was stressed as a teenager.
“You had no right to ask that of him, and he definitely had no right to tell you my damned business!” I snapped, the sheer effort of raising my voice so much causing my ribs to throb angrily. “Just go, Hunter. Get out,” I told him breathlessly. I was fighting an internal battle not to allow myself to look up into his eyes again.
“Maddie, please just give me a few minutes. I just want to help you,” he pleaded. This was why I couldn’t meet his eyes. I knew if I did I would give in. I could never say no to him.
“Why? What do you care? You washed your hands of me a long time ago.” The bitterness in my tone was obvious and I hoped he caught it. I took a deep, steadying breath and looked up, glaring at him with all of the anger and hatred seeing him again had stirred up. “You left me! You walked away and abandoned me!”
“No we didn’t, Maddie. We never planned to leave you like that. We had no choice,” he countered as he moved closer and sat in the chair Nico had vacated.
“Yeah, okay,” I sighed, annoyed. I could argue all night, but I just wanted him gone. It was too painful seeing him and remembering all of the hope he and the others had filled me with so many years ago, only to leave me crushed.
“It’s true. Something happened and we had to split. We wouldn’t have left you if we didn’t have to. You know that.”
“I don’t even care anymore, Hunt. It was a long time ago and we’ve all grown up since then. Just leave. I don’t want to talk to you and I certainly don’t need your help,” I threw back.
“We fucked up, okay? Is that what you want to hear? We did leave you, but we felt like we had no choice. We thought we were doing the right thing for you.”
“Even if you had no choice about leaving, you did have a choice about calling me. You could have reached out and let me know you were okay! Hell, a fucking postcard telling me you were alive would have been something! You could have done something so I didn’t feel like I had just been abandoned by the only people who ever gave a flying fuck about me!” I raged, breathless once again by the time I was done, pain shooting through my bruised side from the effort. Tears filled my eyes and I had to look away from him as I tried to calm down.
