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Chapter 30
Laurel
Morning arrived, and Hudson came in to check on us as well as the doctors. I’m sure they came in throughout the night to check, but I had been so tired that I never woke up. My body was exhausted, and today would be stressful. When my parents got in, they would have many questions, and I would need to be prepared to provide them the answers they wanted. It would be rough, but I could do it. Lacey might get pissed at me, but she would get over it eventually. I couldn’t lie to our parents anymore. They deserved to uncover the truth. No more hiding it.
Hudson could tell I wasn’t ready for my parents to arrive, but they should be in attendance anytime. They took the red-eye out last night. If I knew them, they wouldn’t even go to a hotel until after they came here. Our parents were great to us. They always nudged us to achieve greatness and had always been supportive of what we wanted to do in our lives. All-around good parents.
I showered with assistance and changed, then I heard my mom’s voice down the hallway from my room. I gathered a deep breath, knowing it was time. The doctors wanted me to maneuver a wheelchair instead of walking everywhere because they didn’t want me to hurt myself more. “Mom, I’m in here.” I waved them down, and they rushed over to me, taking me into their arms.
“Baby, why didn’t you call us sooner? How are you doing? Lacey? Is she awake yet?” my dad asked me.
“There has been no change. She’s still not conscious, but I’m doing okay. In pain but that’s all,” I said, giving my dad a kiss on the cheek.
They followed me into my room where I climbed up on the bed. Hudson was in the room, so I said, “Hudson, this is my dad, Robert, and my mom, Kasey. Mom, Dad, this is Hudson, my boyfriend.” Hudson greeted my parents then moved to the back of the room, giving us the space we needed to talk this through.
“So, what happened? Who did this to you girls?” my mom asked. I took my time to answer. The information was going to surprise and hurt them.
“This isn’t the first time. I’m going to tell you the truth because you deserve to know. When I moved to Dallas, I did so because Lacey’s boyfriend, Drew, had pummeled her. I did decide to stay here because I wanted to protect her. Last night, Lacey and I were attacked by Drew and Shawn.”
“Shawn? You mean little Shawn? Why would he do this to you? That doesn’t seem like him. He’s always been such a nice, polite boy.”
“Yes, he was. He lost his parents, and it killed him. It caused him to feel abandoned by them and me when I moved. He wanted me back, but I am with Hudson now. He wasn’t happy about that,” I replied, looking down at the floor. I wasn’t sure how they felt about this information. My dad glanced at Hudson.
“Honey, I have something to tell you. Shawn found you because of me. He called me and asked me if he could ask you to marry him. I didn’t know you were dating anyone and knew that you two were happy before you moved out here. I’m a fool. I’m so very sorry. None of this would have happened if it wasn’t for me.” He started shedding tears and blaming himself for my incident.
“Daddy, it wasn’t your fault. He would have found me without you. You didn’t know he was going off the deep end. No need to blame yourself.”
I knew that no matter what I said to him, he would still blame himself. It killed me.
My mom took me in a tender embrace, whispering in my ear, “We are going to make it through this. She will wake up. She’s a fighter.”
My mom was right. Lacey wouldn’t go out without a fight. That was just her personality. She had such a long life to live still.
“What happened to them? Are they in custody?” she asked.
Hudson walked over and put his hand on her shoulder. “Shawn decided to end his life, but Drew is in custody. He won’t be getting out for a very long time. I will protect both your girls with my life.”
I loved how comforting he was with my mom. There was no need for them to worry about us with him around. I doubted he would ever take his eyes off us again, but honestly, without him around, I wouldn’t feel as protected. I knew he would do everything in his power to keep us safe after yesterday.
Chapter 31
Hudson
Eight weeks later…
“Idon’t think I’m going to like this. I can hear everything going on over there!” Lacey screamed at the wall. I laughed because that was what I thought when Laurel had moved next door. She could hear everything going on in my bedroom, and it made me cautious. So, I understood what she meant. However, we wanted her safe. The closer she was to us, the safer she would be.
Laurel had been petrified that her sister wouldn’t wake up after the accident, but she did directly after her parents arrived. I hated meeting her parents under such horrifying circumstances.
Today, we were going to Lacey’s graduation. She finally made it. I couldn’t be prouder of her. It was astonishing to see how both kicked fear in the butt, and when released from the hospital went right back to their ordinary lives. I signed them up for trauma classes, but they never took me up on it. Even though I thought it would help. They didn’t need to keep their emotions from the trauma hidden. They needed to talk about it and let their feelings out. I knew firsthand that trauma could mess a person up. I didn’t want them to end up as I did. Not everyone would have someone like Laurel to bring them back to the light.
When we sat down in the stadium, Laurel’s hand clenched mine. Eight weeks ago, neither of us were sure we would get to watch her sister’s graduation, but here we were, waiting for her to walk across the stage with her big, goofy smile. I wasn’t sure what we would have done if Lacey hadn’t made it.
They called her name, and she walked across the stage. Laurel and her parents jumped up to take pictures. I whistled and hollered, “You go, girl!” She had a full support team behind her. We all knew how amazing of a student she was and how far she could go with a degree.
Their parents couldn’t contain their excitement. Their little girl was graduating from college, and due to recent events, there was no way they would have skipped it. At the hospital, they made it clear that they would never miss anything important in either of their daughters’ lives again. I was sure they felt bad due to the situation. As a parent, I would be hurt to find out that my child didn’t tell me about a traumatic event.
I decided to rent out a room at the Crestview Hotel for the graduation party, but I had ulterior motives too. Laurel and I had been planning her party for months. The day after Lacey got out of the hospital, I reserved the room. I wanted her to know how proud of her we were.
