Stephen
I ’m pacing in the waiting room, unable to stay still as we wait for Vanessa to get out of surgery.
Ava, Ryder, Reese and Jesse are sitting on the chairs, their eyes trained on me. They’ve been shooting me questioning looks all night but I’ve been unable to get a word out.
All I know is my wife is currently laying in an operating room after having been stabbed by the same guy who assaulted her in the hotel room.
It took me a few minutes to make up my mind to follow her out having watched her sneak away. At first I thought she was simply hiding out in her office but when I didn’t find her in there, a fear like no other took over me. I just knew she wasn’t okay. I had a gut feeling that something happened. I pinged Ben on my phone and a few minutes later they found her face down by the trash, bleeding out into the pavement.
We rushed her to the nearest hospital and she was immediately ushered into an operating room. After which the nurse started asking for immediate family and I blurted out that she was my wife just as my sisters had arrived.
I feel soft hands enveloping both of mine and immediately I know my baby sister is there lending me strength. My back hits the wall and I slide down, taking her with me. She envelops me in a hug, letting me sob onto her shoulder.
I am so scared. I am so damn scared I’m going to lose her before I’ve even had her.
“Why didn’t you tell us?”
That’s Ava. She sits herself slowly next to us, her hand going to her shoulder.
There’s not an ounce of anger on her face. Only concern.
“Did you think I would be mad?”
“Vanessa did.”
She nods, a small smile pulling at her lips.
“I’m not, just in case you were wondering. I’m more concerned about the reasoning behind your marriage.”
I’ve never hidden anything from my sisters. The three of us only had each other for the longest time. We shared everything and in that moment, I wanted to tell them and I did.
Every single thing.
From when I met Vanessa in La Jolla to when we met again in the precinct after Ava got assaulted.
I tell them everything and when I’m done, they simply hug me close and Reese assures me that my wife will be okay.
I nod my head, conviction lacing my tone, “She will be. My wife is the strongest woman I know.”