CHAPTER TWELVE #3
“Mr. Bryant, I’m sure this is all a shock to you as it is for us. We just wanted to make sure she was doing okay and be here if they needed anything until you got here.” Olivia puts on her charm but I don’t think it’s penetrating this man.
He looks behind him, as two security guards are standing outside the waiting room.
“I think it’s best if you both leave.”
“I’m not going anywhere except to the room they place her in after the recovery room.” I force myself to keep my voice level, but am failing. Olivia tries to squeeze my bicep to rein me in but it’s not working. No one is going to keep me from my angel, especially her father.
“For all I know you were in on this attempted homicide and until Everly is awake and can make the choice, you aren’t going anywhere near my daughter.
” Mr. Bryant looks over his shoulder and calls to the security.
“Make sure these two aren’t allowed anywhere near my daughter’s room or else I’ll have your job and sue the shit out of this hospital. ”
He leaves, going in the opposite direction of the nurses’ station and I imagine that he’s headed to the recovery rooms, where Everly is being kept. This is a fucking mess. Now I can’t even get updates on how she’s doing.
“We need you both to come with us,” the pudgy security guard says.
“Don’t make a scene, Lincoln, we’ll get this worked out,” Olivia tells me, and then gives me a push towards the exit, as she pulls her phone out and starts texting someone.
They lead us down the hall to the nurses’ station and from the evil looks we get, I’m sure Mr. Bryant chewed their asses out. We go down on the elevators and back to ground level, where the elderly lady at the help desk gave us our passes.
“This is as close as you can be unless you get on the approved visitor list,” the other security guard says as they strip us of our badges.
I throw myself in a chair and place my hands over my face, leaning on my thighs.
“I’ve got a friend who works on Everly’s floor. She’s coming in for her shift in an hour and will get you in to see her.” Olivia reads the message from her phone.
I perk up immediately. I swear, Olivia has connections in every corner of this state.
“Thank you,” I say then launch myself at her, giving her the biggest hug. Olivia isn’t one of those touchy-feely people so when she embraces me back, I know that she’s got my back when I need it.
Two hours and fifteen long minutes later Sam, Olivia’s nurse friend, is weaving me down the halls on Everly’s floor. She’s asked another nurse to distract Mr. Bryant outside the room to give me some time with her.
“You’ve got twenty minutes tops. I’ll knock twice if something comes up and see him coming back early,” Sam informs me.
“Thank you for doing this.”
“I owe Olivia everything, so this is nothing.” She shrugs, then opens Everly’s door and we walk in.
The room is sterile, white and the smell of disinfectant permeates in my nose.
Sam goes over to the foot of the bed and checks her chart as I take in Everly laying in the middle of the hospital bed.
She’s so tiny compared to the bed; she almost looks like a child.
Her head is bandaged and she’s got a row of stitches across her cheek.
Her left arm is in a sling, propped up on a pillow at her stomach.
Bruises are already formed on her upper body and it makes me want to kill someone.
How could Linley do this to her, to my angel? Everly would never hurt a fly and for something like this to happen to her is a travesty. I’ll make this right. I’ll make sure Linley is punished for doing this to Everly, then we can put all this behind us and never think about that awful woman again.
“You’ve got some time, she’s been sedated but could wake. Remember, when I knock be ready to leave,” Sam tells me and then leaves me alone with Everly.
I go around to the side of the bed, where she’s not beaten blue or hurt, and perch myself on the mattress.
She’s got the sheet and blanket pulled up to her waist, with her untouched hand laying at its side.
Reaching for it, I place it against my cheek, wanting to make sure she’s really here; I feel warmth against my face. She’s alive.
“I love you, angel,” I say knowing she can’t hear me or maybe she can, either way I want it out there. I do love her, maybe even from the first time we met. She’s changed me to want to be a better man and that’s what she’ll get from me, from here on out.
Everly’s lips start to move and a jumble of soft-spoken words whisper out of her pink lips.
It’s something I noticed last night she does when she sleeps.
After the best night of my life, I stayed awake and watched her sleep until the sun began to rise.
I wanted last night to never end; for us to live in our little bubble for as long as we could.
Never did I expect my past to come back only a few hours later and try to destroy my entire world.
“What are you doing in here!” A voice booms from across the room and a door hits the wall, making the pictures on the wall shake.
“Mr. Bryant, I—”
“I told you to stay away from her,” he yells and takes a step towards me.
Surely, he wouldn’t try to start a fight here at the hospital.
“What is going on here?” Sam makes her way in the room and she’s a little out of breath, almost like she ran here. “Our patients are trying to recover and yelling and screaming isn’t what they need right now.”
She throws an apologetic look my way then goes over to check Everly’s vitals.
“I gave orders that this man wasn’t to be given access to my daughter under any circumstance.” Mr. Bryant shoves his finger over to me.
“Well, I just got on shift and have heard nothing about who is, or isn’t, on the visiting list. You’ll have to take it up with the night manager.” Sam stands up to him and doesn’t back down.
“I want you out of here. NOW!” He demands, his voice slightly raised to a deathly tone.
“Linc?” A soft voice speaks and if there wasn’t a pause in between Mr. Bryant’s rampage we’d have almost missed it.
“Baby,” I gush, as her perfectly beautiful hazel eyes open with a flutter. “Oh, angel, I’ve been so worried.”
I turn away from Mr. Bryant and give all my attention to Everly. She’s looking around, lost but as her eyes focus a little more, she starts to tremble.
“Linc, I had the worst dream. Linley, she tried—” her voice sounds loopy like she’s drunk and her eyes are glazed over.
“I know baby, but you’re safe now and she can’t hurt you ever again,” I reassure her.
She looks down at her hurt arm and her eyes widen. She starts to take in her surroundings and she must realize that it wasn’t a dream at all but did happen in real life.
Everly clutches my hand with her healthy one and starts to sob.
“She-she…I thought she was going to kill me.” She wails and I carefully pull her to me and hold her close. We rock for a few seconds before an annoying voice interrupts us.
“Sweetheart, how are you feeling? The doctor is on his way,” Mr. Bryant pipes up and I wish I could ban him from the room.
“Dad? What? How’d you get here so fast?” Everly questions.
“Sweetheart, it’s almost nine in the evening. You’ve had surgery and are just coming out of it.” Her dad informs her.
“Surgery?” She gasps then looks down at the gap I’ve left between us, as I didn’t want to crush or hurt her any worse.
She takes stock of her wounds and I can tell she’s still high from the pain medication and the anesthesia.
The doctor comes in, and must feel the tension in the room.
“Ms. Bryant, I’m Dr. John Brewer. I was the surgeon who worked on your arm.” He comes to the other side of the bed opposite of me.
“Maybe we should wait until everyone leaves before we discuss her condition,” Mr. Bryant suggests, implying for me to leave and it makes me want to punch the man in the throat. He’s looking right at me but it’d take a team of gladiators to get me to move from my spot.
“What? Noo dad, Linc can stay,” Everly finally speaks up after seeing what her dad was proposing. We lock fingers and I can tell it doesn’t make him very happy that he didn’t get his way. I kiss each of her knuckles, so glad she’s awake and talking.
The next ten minutes, Dr. Brewer goes over her case and all the repairs he had to make; the metal plate he had to put in, the recovery time and the physical therapy that she’ll need after making sure everything is healing properly.
To her credit, she takes it all in even though I can tell she’s a mess and wants to break down.
Dr. Brewer starts to leave but turns at the door.
“Ms. Bryant, there are some officers out in the hall that would like to ask you some questions. I’ve told them that you needed your rest but if you’re up for it I can send them in.”
“Oh. Umm, I think that would be fine I guess.” She’s overly tired. I can tell by the way her eyes can barely stay focused and open.
“Let’s wait until the morning, once you’ve had some sleep,” I offer gently. “You’ll have a clearer head, once you’ve had time to rest.”
“Sweetheart, I think you should talk to them now so that way you don’t have to deal with it later,” Mr. Bryant chimes in, making me narrow my eyes at him trying to undermine my suggestion.
“She needs some rest,” I snap, trying not to bark at him. I counsel people for a living and this is the worst time to question someone. She’s loopy and in the morning, she’ll have a better recollection of what happened to her.
A warm small hand is placed on mine and I turn to see my angel staring back at me.
“It’s okay, Linc. I’d like to get this over with.”
“Okay angel, let me call Olivia to come up here to make sure everything is handled correctly.”
I’m already texting Olivia when Mr. Bryant grunts his disapproval. Less than five minutes later, Olivia comes in with a handful of balloons and flowers.
“Thought we might need to spruce this place up.” Olivia smiles at Everly and I move slightly out of the way so she can give Everly a small embrace.