Текст книги "Deliver Her from Evil "

Автор книги: M. L. Steinbrunn

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Текущая страница: 13 (всего у книги 14 страниц)

Lakin

I don’t know what prompted me to get in my car, something just felt off. Carly is never intrusive or insistent, but her texts were. She was adamant that Campbell come over immediately, and that’s not like her. Something is wrong.

I was tense when Campbell left for Carly’s house, but when Campbell wouldn’t return any of my texts, and then Carly ignored me as well, I began to worry. Then when a text came in from Royce to get to Carly’s house, I grabbed my keys and headed in the direction of the girls as quickly as I could.

He wouldn’t tell me what happened, just that I needed to get there, which only made my fear intensify. I don’t even know how long it took to get there; it was like my car floated there. My mind was not focused on the road; my thoughts were devoted only to Campbell.

When I pull onto the street, the red and blue lights that illuminate the sky only confirm my worry.

All I can think is that Cam needs me.

The emergency lights bounce off house windows, blinding me as I park and jump out of my car. There are so many cars and emergency personnel everywhere, I have to leave my car several hundred yards from the house.

I race down the sidewalk, sending a little prayer with each step that I will find her all right when I reach the house. I go unnoticed by police until I reach the taped off driveway. I duck under the yellow rope and am immediately met by armed officers.

“Sir, you need to stay behind the tape; this is a crime scene,” the man says matter-of-factly, placing a hand on my chest to stop me.

“No, I need to get in there,” I insist.

“Sorry, we are investigating a major incident that occurred here tonight. If you have any information that might be helpful to the case, we have detectives who would like to speak with you, but if not, we need you to stay behind the perimeter.

My stomach drops when I hear him describe the evening as an incident that would require detectives; it means that my entire world may have just been turned upside-down. The possibility that I might have lost Campbell barrels me over and brings tears to my eyes.

“The coroner is ready to move the body,” an officer announces out the front door to a group of officers in the driveway. “Can we get a path cleared for the van?”

My mind becomes dizzy with the possibility of unbearable grief and I struggle to swallow down the knot in my throat.

Unable to stand there any longer, I rush past the officer and push my way through the other emergency workers. I make it all the way to the front door before a swarm of hands restrain me.

“Get off me!” I shout. “My wife is in there!” I rage against their grip, but make little progress.

“Sir, you need to calm down. Who is your wife?” one of the officers asks.

“Campbell Ryan, where is she? Is she okay?” I ask frantically, straightening my clothes once they release me.

“The women were transported to the hospital. One was in critical condition when we got here. Paramedics had to do CPR upon arrival. I haven’t heard their current status though,” a detective explains. “Let me get some information for you and I can have an officer escort you to the hospital.”

I exhale as I bend at the waist and rest my hands on my knees to gain my bearings. “I need to get to her. Just tell me which hospital,” I murmur, trying to catch my breath.

I called Jen and Vivian on the way to hospital. They bombarded me with questions, but I had no answers for them. All I could offer was a location. I tried calling Royce’s phone, but it continually went straight to voicemail. As soon as I find a parking spot, I storm through the emergency room doors.

Brooks, Vivian, Casen, and Jen arrive just after I do, and together we flood the nurse’s station to inquire about Campbell and Carly.

“We need information about two women who were brought here,” Vivian says.

“What are their names and what is your relationship to the patients?” the nurse asks.

“Our friends–”

“My wife,” I say, speaking over the group.

Everyone’s mouths drop open as they slowly turn in disbelief to stare at me.

“Campbell Ryan, she is my wife,” I clarify. “Please tell me where I can find her.”

“Let me just go check if she has been moved yet,” the nurse nods and disappears down the long emergency room hallway.

“Excuse me? You two are married? As in justice of the peace, for all eternity, make a million babies, married?” Jen rambles.

When I don’t say anything, Brooks intervenes on my behalf. “He only said that so we could get information,” he tells them. “They won’t release anything to anyone but family. Right?” He looks to me to confirm my lie, but I still say nothing which is met with a deep brotherly dissatisfied expression.

“You guys! About fucking time!” Royce shouts from down the hallway, gaining the attention of many of the emergency personnel. However, I find his interruption to be greatly appreciated. He waves us toward him, encouraging us to follow him.

The women rush past me, unfazed by the earlier topic of marriage, but Brooks hangs back.

“This conversation isn’t over, little brother,” he whispers to me before taking a step to follow his wife and the others. The disappointment in his tone isn’t caused by the fact I’m married to Campbell, but that I kept it a secret from him. I get it, I really do, but I could give two fucks right now. My sole concern is for her and no one else.

“It’s done, Brooks. We’ve been married since Vegas,” I tell him, causing him to halt his stride. “Campbell wanted to wait until after Jen’s wedding to say anything, but it is what it is. I love her and we are married; get over it.” I try not to insert any prick attitude into my delivery, but with the stress of the situation, I know I’ve failed miserably.

Brooks shakes his head and carefully examines me. After a long pause, he outstretches his hand. “Well, I guess this is congratulations then.”

A hint of a small smile breaks through my cold expression, my fear and apprehension, easing. I say nothing, though; I just shake his hand.

“Now, let’s go make sure your girl is okay,” he says, wrapping an arm around me as we walk down the hall. “By the way, I’m not getting you a wedding present,” he jokes.

Together we enter the room that Royce leads us to; everyone cramped along the walls around Carly, who’s in the hospital bed. Every piece of skin that is uncovered is black and blue; she is completely tattered. Her makeup has smeared down her face from the tears she’s shed. But other than the bruises, she thankfully appears okay.

I search each of the faces, expecting to see Campbell up against the wall with the others, but she’s not here.

“Where is she?” I ask breathlessly.

Her eyes bounce down to her blankets, unable to look at me.

“I’m glad you’re okay, Carly, but where is Campbell?” I say sternly.

My tempter flares, knowing she is in a hospital room as well, but instead of having her friends and her husband there to comfort her, she’s alone. “Why in the hell is she alone? How dare you all leave her, and expect me to abandon her as well. Where in the fuck is my wife?” I shout.

Royce walks over and places his hand on my shoulder, attempting to calm my roar. I can hear my heartbeat trying to pound out of my chest. My entire body feels like it’s shaking from the anxiety of the moment.

“They’re working on her, Lakin,” he says hesitantly.

“What do you mean?” I can barely get the words out through the constriction in my throat.

“She has several smaller defensive knife wounds that are easily repairable with sutures, but somehow in the fight she was stabbed badly in the abdomen. She was bleeding internally, so they couldn’t be sure of the damage until they got her into the operating room. She lost a lot of blood, Lakin.”

I stand motionless, stunned by the news of her status. My heart just ripped into a million tiny pieces and I have no control over whether or not it will be mended. I feel everyone’s eyes on me, staring but unable to say anything. The unease and grief of the situation is palpable.

Royce clears his throat to break the unyielding silence. “They gave me her things; the nurse said she couldn’t wear jewelry in the operating room,” he says, reaching into his pocket and pulling out her necklace.

He holds it up, allowing her flower and love token to dangle from his fingers. The sight of it is almost unbearable. She never takes it off, and here she is in her most vulnerable state, without it, without me.

I take a deep breath and then wrap my hand around the cool metal. “Nabac dom gan, mo ghrá,” I murmur, as I rub my thumb across the engraving that is now stained with dried blood.

“Forget me not, my love,” I repeat with more conviction, before turning and leaving the room. I walk through the doors, leaving my grief behind in search of whatever hope I can find.

Fall 2015

Campbell

I walk through the doors of A Scone’s Throw and fight my way back to our table, but I’m met with stunned faces and Carly’s tears. I wasn’t going to miss this day for anything, but apparently the girls thought differently.

I pull out my usual chair and take a seat at our table. “Did you really think I wouldn’t be here for this?” I ask them.

“Well, yeah,” Carly chokes out. “You are supposed to be on that European tour. There were no open days in the schedule. How is this even possible?” she asks.

The waitress comes over and places a water on the table in front of me and I thank her with a smile. “Some things came up, including this, so I took a few days off and flew home,” I explain.

“Since when is it that easy?” Jen counters. “I’ve been on a tour, remember? They suck balls and there is no ‘I’m taking a few days off.’” She scowls at me, daring me to show my hand. I know she’s right; there is no time off during tour. It’s all or nothing.

“I would rather not talk about it just yet. Today is Carly’s day,” I try to deflect. I’ve known Jen long enough to know she won’t settle for that explanation, so I packed my purse with souvenirs in preparation for sharing my secret, just in case I’m forced to.

“We are a family, Campbell,” Carly says. “This isn’t my day; this is a special day for all of us.” Her smile beams and it makes me so thankful I was able to be here for this. I’ve actually been in town for a few days, but I wasn’t ready to see them all just yet. Lakin and I needed to get our own situation handled before explaining everything to them.

“Did you quit? Did the tour end early? How is this even possible,” Vivian asks as she takes a drink of her coffee and places it back on the table.

I wiggle in my chair and take a long pull of my ice water; I’m a little uncomfortable with the direction of the questions. I don’t really want this day to be about me; we should be focusing on Carly.

“I’ve decided to quit for now,” I say quickly. When stunned looks bounce back at me, I continue with my vague explanation. “Lakin and I have other things we need to focus our attention on. As much as I love the job, I’m going to take some time away.”

I’m immediately bombarded with a million questions from every direction.

“Is there something wrong that we should know about?” Vivian asks.

“I thought everything had healed from the surgery?” Jen says, panicked. “You need to tell us right now, what in the hell is going on.”

“Music is your life; you can’t quit. What happened?” Carly demands, her smile fading and replaced with a look of concern.

I had a feeling this would happen, which is why I brought presents. Knowing I can’t backtrack and rewind this conversation, I resign myself to divulge the information I have been hiding from them.

“I’ve been back for a few days,” I exhale. “Lakin and I went to the doctor a few days ago, but we weren’t prepared for the news we got. I planned to tell you, but we needed a few days to process everything.”

“Holy canola oil, you need to just say it,” Carly interrupts. “This has been the most difficult year of our lives, trying to move past everything that Jack did to us. I can’t bear to think about possibly losing you, so if you are sick or hurt, you need to just tell us.”

I nod without a smile and reach into my bag for the presents within it and pull out the silver-wrapped gifts.

“Oh fuck, she came with gifts; this is really bad,” Jen blurts out, fanning herself like she’s trying to hold tears in.

Vivian and Carly wrap their hands and arms around each other as I push the gifts in front of them. Their eyes zero in on the packages, but they don’t move their hands to open them. Jen instantly pushes her gift back to me.

“I can’t. I love gifts, but not like this. Take it away,” she insists.

I laugh at all of them and push the package back in front of her. “Just open them,” I tell them reassuringly.

They each hesitantly open their gifts and uncover the jewelry box inside. One by one, they pop open the top of the box and I’m met with three very different expressions. Vivian exhales loudly, Jen scowls, but Carly looks up at me with tears staining her cheeks.

“I don’t get it,” Jen announces befuddled, lifting the silver charmed bracelet from its box. “How is this a clue about what’s going on with you?”

I had each specially designed for them with a flower and a quote inscribed on the heart-shaped charm. Vivian’s with a clover, Jen’s with a dandelion, and Carly’s with a forget-me-not. She obviously didn’t look at the entire bracelet.

“Read the back,” Vivian whispers forcefully in her direction.

She flips it over and slowly reads the back to everyone at the table. “The only thing better than having you as a sister, is my children having you as their aunt.” Her eyes immediately bounce to mine.

“But I thought…” Jen tappers off, pausing for a moment before continuing. “The damage from the attack would make it difficult if not impossible to have children?”

I grab Carly’s trembling hand and snap the bracelet around her wrist. “Apparently not impossible after all,” I say, smiling at her. “The babies are due next spring.”

Shocked, Jen spits out her coffee across the table and I dodge the path of the spray. “Babies, as in plural?” Jen asking, not even bothering to clean up her mess on the table. “You’re having twins?”

I giggle at her reaction and simply nod.

Carly gradually stands and pulls me up from my chair to stand with her. Her arms wrap around me and squeeze me tightly.

“I’ve always been told you can’t choose your family,” she whispers in my ear. “They say you should hold them dear, because at times, your family will be all that you have.”

She pulls away and squares her shoulders at me with every bit of confidence she can pull together, a confidence I don’t think I’ve ever seen. “Those people are wrong; the four of us have created a family together, all of us. I hold you dear not because I have to but because I want to and I’d sacrifice all I have to protect that family.”

Jen and Vivian stand and circle their arms around us creating a group hug in the back section of the coffee house, a place that has been a staple over the last few years. We momentarily bask in one another’s comforting embrace.

I back away with a smile and grab my purse, slinging it over my shoulder. “Now, let’s go add one more to this crazy family of ours.”

The amount of people who walk through the courthouse doors is impressive; we look more like a mob ready for a rock show rather than witnesses at an adoption proceeding. Everyone is dressed in their very best and is lugging presents for Leah to officially welcome her into our little group.

After the incident, I wasn’t convinced this day would happen. Leah was removed from Carly’s home that night and placed in a group home. She then wasn’t allowed back until the Department of Child Services could assess the safety of the situation and placement. Those months were extremely difficult for all of them. There were times that I thought they wouldn’t be able to weather the storm and would collapse under the strain of their grief.

Chatter and laughter fill the room, and the vibration of everyone’s joy for the moment is seen on every face I see, except one…Leah’s. I watch as each member of our little gang takes turns saying things to her and pulling her into a big hug, but each time she meets them with an uncomfortable smile.

Her long blonde hair falls in front of her face to hide her anxious expression, but I see it, I see her.

When Royce pulls Carly away from the group and Leah is left alone, I take my opportunity to talk with her, to tell her all of the things I wish Sharon had told me decades ago.

She is sitting on the bench, her neatly pressed floral dress fits her perfectly, but she is obviously uncomfortable in it. I’m not surprised; dresses have probably never been in her wardrobe before Carly came into her life. I learned early that jeans and a hoodie were the route to go when you have a very limited amount of clothing. It makes it less obvious to your classmates that you have nothing, that you wear the same clothes every day. She no doubt has learned the same lesson.

“You look very nice today, Leah,” I compliment as I take a seat on the bench next to her.

“I’m not good with dresses,” she says as she pulls at the shoulder strap of the dress and then flattens the fabric across her knees. “I’m used to pants,” she adds in a whisper, a sense of shame rolling off her.

I sigh loudly, knowing all too well the feelings she’s experiencing. “Me too, remember?” I tell her with a smile and a slight nudge with my knee. Her eyes meet mine, begging for reassurance.

“You know I never got this far,” I tell her. “I grew very close with one of my foster parents and I thought maybe I would be adopted, but it just didn’t happen. I wished and wished to be in the seat you’re sitting in now.”

“I know. I’m very thankful, excited even, but I’m so nervous,” she explains, her hands wrestling with each other with anxiety. “When I was in different placements or group homes, I just existed. I flew under the radar and stayed out of trouble, but there was never any pressure to be or do more than just survive.”

She looks down at her dress again and fluffs the cloth. “That’s different now. I want this, I really do it’s just…” she pauses and looks around for any listening ears before continuing. “The world I knew is ending and I don’t know if I’ll be any good at living in my new world.”

I nod and reach into my bag for the final gift I had prepared for today. I place the little box in her lap, and direct her to open it. As she carefully tears away the wrapping I begin my explanation of the gift, hoping she finds some comfort in my words.

“When I was in the system, my life was a series of landings. I never knew where I would be landing next, and I was both hopeful and nervous about the idea of possibly finding a permanent home. What if I didn’t live up to their expectations? Adoption meant that a family would love me forever and help to give me a new life, what if I let them down?”

Her shoulders sag as she grips onto the box. “Exactly,” she exhales. “I don’t want Carly to be disappointed in whoever I eventually become. I want to make her proud. Make her not regret taking a chance on me.”

She opens the lid and uncovers my necklace that Sharon had once given me. I pick it up from the box and move her hair from her shoulders so that I can clasp the piece of jewelry around her neck.

“This necklace was a gift from one of my foster parents on the day I was leaving her house. We remained close, her son even saved my life once, but I was never adopted by her. She gave me this to remember that no matter where I landed, no matter what direction life took me, there were people who loved me and to not lose myself in the journey.”

As soon as the necklace is in place, I turn her to face me once again. “You see, Leah, life is going to be filled with good and bad, proud moments as well as times of disappointment. Carly is taking a step on this journey knowing that. So yes, the world that you know is ending but the journey toward a new beginning is within your grasp.”

She grips onto the pendant, just as I had once done, evoking the emotion of a time I have worked to forget. “Let this necklace be a reminder that the path will be filled with uncertainty and hard times, but that nothing you have or will experience will diminish the love that this family has for you.”

Leah smiles and wraps her arms around me. “Thank you, Campbell.”

“It’s time, it’s time,” Liv exclaims, rushing up to us and tugging on the hem of Leah’s dress. “It’s our turn to make you my sister!” Liv jumps up and down with excitement, and Carly follows behind her, placing her hands on Liv’s shoulders to calm her down.

Carly stretches her hand out to Leah and smiles brightly at her. “It’s our turn. Are you ready to make it official?” she asks.

Leah looks to me momentarily before accepting Carly’s hand and standing up next to her. She takes a deep breath, adjusts her dress one last time, and takes a step toward the courtroom.

I watch as Leah takes Olivia’s hand in hers, and with a look of confidence and determination announces, “I’m ready.”