Страница 73 из 107
“She’ll make it.” She had to.
“And how are you so sure of everything? Mr. Glass-Half-Full, everything honky-dory,” tears pricked his eyes, “And why is he here?” Scott turned to Lynch. “Why the fuck did you bring him? You will risk everythin—
“He knows,” Lynch interrupted.
It turned quiet after that.
I couldn’t sit still. The smell of the emergency department did nothing to ease the sickness eating away inside as I wordlessly prayed to any god who would listen to take care of my love. Every doctor, nurse, and worker who walked by, I’d asked the same bloody question, and the only answer I’d received was the same, “Her doctor will come to talk to the family as soon as they can.”
Milliseconds turned to minutes. Minutes turned to hours. I’d walked over every inch of the small room, sat in every chair, touched every surface of the glass wall. I’d prayed, cursed, and replayed that moment in my head over and over, condemning myself for letting her out of my sight.
“Mia?” A doctor a
I was the first to appear before him as the other two surrounded me. “She’s okay?”
“She pulled through,” the doctor said and exhales let go like a domino effect between the three of us. “Now … ” his eyes darted between the three of us, “Who’s family?”
“I am,” Lynch and I said in unison. “I need to see her,” I added through gritted teeth.
“She’s being transferred to a room now, but the pain meds have her out cold at the moment. She probably won’t wake for another hour or so. In the meantime, I have a few officers coming to take statements.”
“Of course,” Lynch breathed, dropping his tense shoulders and relief visible in his expression. Me? Not yet. Not until I saw her with my own eyes.
“What room?” I demanded.
The doctor looked up from Mia’s file. “Excuse me?”
“What room is she in?”
For the first time, the doctor examined my wardrobe. His eyes fell to Jinx’s shoes on my feet, up to the blood smeared across my arms, then down the front of the white tee hanging loosely around me.
I cleared my throat.
“It’s best you stay here for the police to take your statement.”
I narrowed my eyes and took a step forward. “I’m not doing shit until I see Mia.”
“Oliver,” Lynch warned with a hand over my shoulder. “What room?” he asked the doctor from behind me.
“Nine-sixty-four.”
My shoulder bumped the doctors as I moved past him and jogged down the hall. The numbers beside each door declined, falling into the eight hundreds, and I whipped around to run back the other way. Each step felt like a thousand-pound weight had been anchored around each ankle, not able to get there fast enough.
I’d reached the room and didn’t slow down until I was face to face with Mia.
Tangled hair. Perfect lips. Twelve freckles.
My hand eagerly laced in hers by her side, and it was cold to the touch. Though the monitor showed a steady heartbeat, I dropped my head over her chest, needing to be reassured. The steady rhythm allowed me to breathe, and the moment that one long breath escaped, so did the tears. I held them for far too long, imprisoned and undeserving to relieve my heavy heart. “I’m so sorry … ” I cried, kissing her cheek, her temple, her forehead, her nose. My thumb smoothed across her forehead. “Open your eyes, love. I need to see your eyes.”
“Oh, she’ll be out for a while,” a nasally voice said, closing in from behind. I didn’t bother turning around, knowing the casual tone could only come from someone who dealt with situations like this on an everyday basis. My entire being stayed focus on Mia, taking notice in the way her lashes fluttered under a dream coursing through her beautiful mind.
“How is her condition?” I finally asked now that I was able to feel, breathe, see Mia.
“Who are you to her?” the brave nurse asked, appearing at Mia’s other side and looked over the information from the monitor. I gave her a hard look, trying to decide for myself how to answer. What answer would be good enough to reveal information? “Let me guess … ” she continued, “boyfriend?” I turned my gaze back to Mia, emotions having a tight grip around my throat, and the burn returned behind my eyes. “She’s in good hands,” she finally said, trying to relieve the noticeable pressure.
I sucked in a breath and wet my lip. “Her condition?”
“Stable.” The nurse’s eyes wandered to the blood smeared over my ink. “You found her,” she concluded with a nod, “You know she’s lucky you found her when you did. She could have easily bled out. You did the right thing by stopping the blood flow.”
Air blew out of my nose as I shook my head, rubbing my thumb over Mia’s.
“She could wake up at any moment now. I’ll be back in about an hour to check on her.”
The nurse left as Lynch and Scott appeared in the doorway.
“I’m not leaving,” I said without turning back to face them. “I have to be here when Mia wakes.”
“The police are waiting for your statement,” Lynch said as he drew nearer.
“Bring them in then. I’m not leaving her side.”
Two sets of footsteps sounded. My eyes stayed locked on Mia.
The impatient click of a pen sounded.
Click. Click. Click.
I dragged a nearby chair closer to Mia’s bedside, pulled her hand into my lap, and faced the men in uniform as my knee bounced.
“Name?” the older officer asked.
“Oliver Masters.”
“Mr. Masters, can you tell us the events of this morning leading up to the time you found Ms. Jett.”
My teeth clenched. “Mia always takes a shower as soon as the doors unlock at six. I felt something was off—
“You felt?”
“Yes. I felt,” I a
“Was there anyone else in the bathroom?”
“No. She was alone.” I should have been there.
“How would you describe your and Mia’s relationship?”
I kept my eyes trained on the officer asking the question, but four sets of eyes burned a hole into me as both officers tried figuring me out, profiling me. “This is ridiculous. I could never hurt her. I love her.”
“You attend Dolor Reformatory, for what crime?”
“Is this about me, or Mia?”
“It’s a simple question.”
“It’s an irrelevant question.” I looked over at Scott. “Did you ask him?” I asked with a head nudge. “Where were you when Mia was attacked?”
“We’ve already questioned Officer Scott,” the officer stated, redirecting focus back onto me. “Have you ever physically hurt Mia?”
“Fuck no,” I shook my head, unable to believe this was happening. “I’d never fucking hurt her.”
“It was reported Mia had bruises?”
My eyes jerked to Scott for the second time as my jaw clenched, a headache building.
“Ollie,” Mia suddenly spoke at my side.
Jumping to my feet, I sca
“Hi,” she whispered.
Again, that single word engulfed me then broke me into a million pieces like it did every other time. I dropped my head into her neck, and her fingers combed through my hair.