Chapter 34 Flynn
FLYNN
“Talk to me doc.” I stand next to Amanda, terrified of whatever her assessment of Eva has found while she sits quietly in the next room, just watching Frank as he gently ties the laces of her shoe.
“She’s malnourished and dehydrated, but with proper care over the next few weeks there won’t be any lasting effects for her.
I noted several contusions across her body, namely her arms and legs and a couple on her back consistent with multiple beatings, but nothing is broken and the age of the bruises suggests the last impact was at least a week ago.
No broken skin, no broken bones, and my initial scans suggest there’s no internal injuries, but I’ll know for sure when we get the imaging back. ”
One question burns in my throat like a mouthful of acid and I turn to her, meeting her gaze. “What about…was there any sexual abuse? Did he—.”
“No,” Amanda cuts in immediately with a soft smile. “No sign of that and she wasn’t reactionary during my inspections.”
“Oh, thank god.” Relief pulses through me from head to toe and a shiver follows.
Since Eva returned to me, I’ve been plagued by the horrors she could have endured at the hands of that monster, but it seems some part of him feared me enough to keep his hands off my daughter.
Mostly.
“I recommend she has regular visits with a psychiatrist, whoever you choose, and we can do another medical check-up in six weeks if you’re concerned about anything else,” Amanda continues. “All in all, your little girl is as healthy as she can be.”
“I’ll book her in.” I nod, then pause. “Can I get her the same psychiatrist as Angie? Is that weird if I also take her to your friend?”
“Each psychiatrist is different,” she replies. “Run it by him first when he comes to visit later, and if not, then I can recommend a couple who specialize in dealing with taken and stolen children.”
“Thank you.”
She pats my arm and steps away. “I’ll have Frank show me out. Go. Be with your daughter.”
She doesn’t need to tell me twice. Thanking her again with a smile, I step into Eva’s room and her eyes snap to me, then she slides off the bed and runs straight toward me as Frank picks himself up off the floor.
“Daddy!”
“I’m right here, baby. Right here.”
“I m-missed you.”
“I missed you too.” I embrace her so tightly that my elbows ache and it’s never going to feel like enough.
No amount of hugs or kisses will ever make up for our time apart. “Frank, could you see her out for me?” I jerk my head back toward the doctor and Frank nods, hurrying away.
Keeping Eva in my arms, I move to her bed and sit with her in my lap. She huddles against me and grips onto my shirt with one hand.
“Eva, sweetie.”
“Mhm?” She looks up at me and the slight gauntness of her face hits like a punch in the gut.
“Honey, I want to talk to you about what happened.”
Her face falls immediately.
“I just want to say I’m sorry,” I say softly.
“Daddy should have tried harder to reach you after the crash and I’m so, so sorry.
I never stopped looking for you; you have to understand that.
I looked every single day and I did everything I could to find you and I’m sorry, baby.
I’m sorry it took me so long to find you. ”
“It’s okay, Daddy.”
“It’s not. It’s not okay. I’m so sorry. I promise I’ll do everything I can to make it up to you and I’ll never let you out of my sight ever again, okay? I’ll keep you safe, I promise. I’m so sorry.”
“Daddy, it’s okay,” Eva insists and when her eyes meet, they’re filled with large tears that roll down her cheeks. “Don’t be sad. I’m okay!”
My heart breaks and I embrace her tightly. “Don’t be silly, I’m fine. You shouldn’t be reassuring me, silly. I’m trying to apologize.”
Eva tucks herself in against me and sniffles. “You won’t send me back, right?”
I freeze. “Send you back?”
“He said…he said you’d send me back to him if I was b-bad.”
“Eva.” I lean away until I can grasp her shoulders and hold her just far enough to face me. “Listen to me. The man who stole you? Nothing he said was true. He’s a bad, bad man and he says evil things and does evil things, but do you remember what I said about bad men?”
“You make them go away,” she whispers, blinking and sending fresh tears down her cheeks.
“Exactly. I make them go away. And now that you’re home and safe, I can do that and everything will be alright, okay?”
“Okay.” She nods quickly and leans into me, so I take her back into my embrace and bury my face against her freshly-washed hair, breathing her in.
“Okay,” I repeat softly. “We’re going to be okay.”
We remain like that for the better part of an hour until Frank appears with Jordan, Amanda’s therapist friend.
While he’s technically Angie’s therapist per her recommendation, they haven’t spoken much since her voice returned to her, but he’s the only one who could come on such short notice to oversee their reunion.
“Afternoon.” Jordan enters with a smile and Eva immediately tenses in my arms. “You must be Eva, it’s lovely to meet you. Angie told me a lot about you.”
“Angie?” Eva perks up immediately and she turns to face me. “Can I see Angie?”
Her hours of asking and being denied until after her all clear from the doctor have led to this moment and I smile warmly down at her. “Yes, baby. You can. Jordan’s here to help with that.”
“Is Angie okay?”
“Yes. She was just very sad when you were gone, so I had some special doctors keep her company.”
“Now I keep her company,” Eva says and she bounces slightly in my lap. “Can we go?”
I glance at Jordan who nods quickly.
“Yes, let’s go.”
With Eva in my arms, I follow Frank down the hallway to the studio where Angie’s been spending a lot of time since Kaia left.
When we’re a few feet from the door, Jordan stops me with a light hand on my shoulder.
“You should go in first and prepare Angie. Nothing heavy, just a light introduction.”
“Okay.” Gently passing Eva to Frank, I swallow down a sudden pulse of nerves. “Then what?”
“Then call Eva in. If it goes well, it’s best if you step back and let them assess each other on their own terms. You’ll see immediately if there are any issues in which case we’ll remove Eva and try again later.”
“Okay.” I nod and move next to Frank, kissing Eva’s temple. “Be right back.”
I never imagined there’d be issues between them.
Every reunion I fantasized about had them running into each other’s arms, over-excited to be back together, but reality seems harsher.
Knocking gently on the door, I let myself into the studio and Angie glances up from her painting.
“Daddy!”
“Hi sweetie, what are you drawing?”
Upon entering, Florence makes a quiet exit past me and leaves me alone with Angie.
“I’m drawing the ducks, see?” She uses her brush to point at her painting and ends up splotching another dollop of brown on what I assume to be the blue lake.
“Oh I see! That’s very pretty. Maybe it’s time I started getting you some proper lessons.”
“Kaia can teach me!” Angie declares. “When she’s back.”
When she’s back.
Those words cut deeply and I bite back a wince. “Angie, someone’s here to see you.”
“Who?” She doesn’t look up.
“Eva.”
Angie freezes, then her head snaps up and her face breaks into a big smile. “I knew it.”
“You did?”
“I did.”
“Alright.” Half-turning back to the door, I call out. “Eva? Do you want to come in?”
For a few seconds, nothing happens and then running footsteps give way to Eva as she bursts into the room and flies directly toward her sister.
“Angie!”
“Eva!”
They collide hard and immediately burst into tears, which makes my chest ache and I ache to sink forward and gather them both up in my arms.
I almost do until Jordan’s words ring in my mind to give them space and time, so I step back.
“You came home!” Angie weeps, messily patting her sister’s hair.
“I did,” Eva gasps wetly. “I did. Thank you for sending Kaia to get me.”
Angie’s eyes widen into saucers. “She came to get you?”
“She did! She told me you sent her!”
Their reunion floods my chest with warmth and relief, but underneath it all, a coldness still stirs.
I retreat to the doorway and stand with Frank who lightly pats my back.
“You did it,” he murmurs. “You got her back.”
“No,” I say quietly, watching them. “I didn’t. Kaia did.” I lift my gaze to meet his. “And we’ve no idea what happened to her.”
Angie and Eva’s reunion spills over into dinnertime, where we spend over an hour making very messy pizzas together.
Jordan remains quiet in the corner, observing everything from afar until it’s bedtime and at both their requests, they head to bed together in Angie’s room.
Jordan leaves not long after with some gentle words that Eva may be performing rather than feeling, because of everything she went through, so we need to keep a close eye on her until her first therapy appointment, which he is happy to take.
I spend even longer that night watching my twins sleep side by side, tangled together exactly like how they used to sleep as toddlers.
It’s enough to bring a fresh tear to my eye that lingers as I eventually retreat to my office and bring their room up on the CCTV so I can watch them sleep.
“Drink?” Frank enters my office and walks straight to the drinks trolley as I nod.
“Please.”
“How are you feeling?”
“Happy,” I say softly. “Elated that my girl is back.”
“But?” Frank prompts, glancing over his shoulder while he pours. “I can hear the but.”
“Kaia. She was supposed to come back and we’ve heard nothing. Seen nothing.”
“Maybe she ran?” Frank offers as he hands me my drink. “She freed Eva and then ran.”
“No. Eva told Amanda that Kaia fell and told her to keep running, so she did.”
“You think her uncle got her?”
I nod. “You saw her before she left. She wouldn’t have abandoned Eva like that unless she had no other choice.”
“So what do you want to do?”
I fall silent, staring at the screen while turning my glass in my hands. Kaia’s absence is louder than I expected.