CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE #2
“Let her finish,” Myles demands softly, rubbing his brother’s back. “This is Charlotte. Someone who loves Lily, who loves all of you. She’s not saying this to hurt you.”
“I’m sorry, Uncle Maverick. Dad is right.
I’m not. What I’m trying to say is Lily from a few years ago wouldn’t have fought.
She would have escaped in her head or froze,” she explains and walks over to Maddox, taking his hand.
“She fought for Jaxon, for Rose, and for herself. She fought for the life she is building, the future she wants. I saw it the minute I walked into that room and she was gripping onto the cot. I hate that this has happened to her. I truly do. But don’t blame Jaxon for this.
Not when she fought that man with everything she had.
Not when she was so incredibly brave.” She pauses to face Maverick.
“Don’t blame yourself either. I’m sorry for hurting you with my words.
I just can’t watch people throw blame around, even if that blame is to themselves.
It minimises what she has gone through, how hard she fought.
Life may throw the unthinkable at our family, but we always come out stronger.
We always come out the other side together.
I don’t know what some of those things you said meant, but I do know Mum is stronger because of what she went through.
She has helped so many people with not only her knowledge, but because she cares.
Dad helps families because of what happened to you all as kids.
Lily is who she is today because of her family, and I don’t just mean the Carters.
I hate that this happened to her, but I am so damn proud of her. ”
Maverick tugs her into his arms. “I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry.”
“Is a Mrs Teagan Carter here?” a nurse calls.
Teagan steps away from Maverick on wobbly legs, facing the young nurse who makes her way down the aisle of chairs. “Yes. Is my daughter okay?”
“Mr Hayes has asked for you to come back into the room we have allocated to Mrs Hayes until we can find her a bed upstairs.”
Maverick takes her hand, supporting her when her knees knock together. “Can I come? I’m Lily’s dad.”
The nurse wrings her hands together. “He’s requested it just be Mrs Carter. He was very clear about that.”
“It’s okay,” Teagan whispers. “Stay with Faith and the boys.”
Faith is in a daze, reminding me of the day Isaac was brought in here.
I had been just like that. Here but not present.
I don’t even think she’s heard Charlotte’s speech, her dad’s outburst or heard the nurse.
She has done nothing but stare at the floor.
Not even Charlotte enticing her with Rose has helped.
A few minutes later, the doors open once again as Jaxon storms out, his expression stricken. He doesn’t stop, heading for the main doors.
Only Wyatt and I are here. We didn’t feel like anyone was safe, so besides Mum, who is in with Granddad, everyone else is hauled up at home.
It’s also a good thing Wyatt asked Evie to stay with Becca at the farm.
Tensions are high here, and I don’t think a Carter at the moment would be able to hold back from saying something.
Wyatt and I jerk our chin at each other and I slowly turn to Summer. “I’ll be back,” I whisper.
She nods and moves over to Freya, who turned up with Mark not long after Aiden arrived. I follow Wyatt outside, finding Jaxon leaning against the wall, screaming.
“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” he roars, slamming the palms of his hands into the brick wall.
“Jax?” Wyatt calls out.
Jaxon spins around, his eyes wild and feral. “We have to find him. We have to—”
I’m shoved as a body knocks into me. Maverick moves, slapping his hand over Jaxon’s mouth. “Not here. Not fucking here. Cameras.”
Jaxon struggles, fighting against Maverick, so Wyatt and I step in, pressing him against the wall.
“Jaxon, calm down. Please, calm down,” I rasp, and his murderous gaze lands on me. Veins bulge in his temple and forehead.
Wyatt leans in, his words hurried. “For Lily, Jax. For Lily. Don’t lose it now. She needs you.”
His breathing slows as he takes deep, calming breaths.
His eyes clench shut as he wills his body to quell the storm brewing inside of him.
As his posture relaxes, we let him go, one by one, and take a step back.
I nearly bump into Myles and Mason when I step back to give Jaxon some room to breathe.
I didn’t know the two brothers had followed us out.
“Now tell me why the fuck you sent my wife in there and not me,” Maverick orders, his voice sharp. “She’s my daughter. Please. Tell me.”
“She was pregnant,” Jaxon whispers, his hands clenching at his sides.
“What? What did you say?” Maverick demands, his eyes sharp on Jaxon, like he misheard him.
Jaxon meets his father-in-law’s eyes. “She was pregnant.”
“Was?” Myles quietly asks, stepping away.
Oh man.
“Jaxon,” I start, reaching for him.
“Don’t! Don’t touch me,” he groans out. “Just don’t.”
“I’m sorry,” Wyatt tells him.
“It’s all my fucking fault.” He lets out a dry laugh, glancing at Wyatt. “How the fuck am I going to tell her I’m the reason she miscarried our child?”
“This isn’t your fault,” I assure him over the lump in my throat.
“It’s not,” Wyatt agrees when Jaxon goes to argue.
“Listen to them,” Mason orders.
“It’s my fault.”
“How is it your fault?” Maverick barks.
“Because I should have given him everything. Everything!” Jaxon roars.
“She is worth more than a business or a piece of fucking land. I should have given him what he wanted. Now my wife lays unconscious, beaten beyond anything I’ve ever seen, and she’s miscarried a child she didn’t even know about.
A child she would have loved and will love.
Don’t fucking tell me it’s not my fault.
Don’t.” His voice breaks as he rips at his hair.
“I promised to protect her. I... Oh god. This is my fault.”
“It’s not,” Maddox tells him, and I tense when he reaches the group.
“It’s Black’s. Lily knows that. She will still think the same when she knows about the baby.
And for the record, I blamed you today. I wanted to kill you if I’m honest. But hearing you just now, I see what every fucker here sees.
You love her and would do anything for her. ”
“I would die for her,” Jaxon rasps, his head bowed.
“As much as I wouldn’t cry over it, she wouldn’t survive it. The day Rose was born proves that,” Maddox points out. “Plus, there’s someone else who deserves to die more.”
“She fought for you today,” Maverick tells him, his expression twisting with grief, like the words pain him. “Charlotte pointed out that the destruction wasn’t just what happened to Lily. It’s what Lily did to survive.”
Jaxon watches Maverick for a beat before he slides out his phone, pulling up the app for the cameras. “What are you doing?”I ask.
“I need to see what happened,” he explains, rewinding the footage.
My eyes widen. “Listening to it wasn’t enough?” I choke out. “Jaxon, don’t do that to yourself.”
“She fought. Maverick is right. But her clothing... I need to know so I can fucking help my wife.”
Bile rises in my throat when I hear what he’s suggesting. He hits play. “We finally meet, Mrs Hayes,” I hear and look down at the phone to see the back of Black enter the home. Lily staggers back, her gaze unfocused.
I look away, unable to stomach the sounds or cries. I don’t know how much time passes when I hear, “He took a daughter from me. It’s only fair I do the same. An eye for an eye, right? Tit for tat.”
Wyatt groans deep in his throat when he hears Black repeat the very same line he gave him on his front doorstep after releasing the videos. The pain shines in his eyes before he gazes down at the ground.
Myles moves away, dropping to the ground when Black warns Lily, saying, “I won’t stop coming for you. Not until I have you and that brat upstairs. Or maybe I will drown it and just keep you.”
“Please turn it off,” I plead, unable to bear anymore. She fucking fought like I’ve never witnessed anyone fight before. It wasn’t with precision or strength. She fought with every fibre of her being. She is a warrior and so fucking remarkable.
I startle when I hear an earth-shattering scream so raw, it cuts into my soul, tattooing itself there.
The bloodcurdling scream is so ferocious and intense, it has the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end.
My eyes meet Wyatt’s in horror before moving to the phone Jaxon clutches tightly in his grasp.
Tears run down his cheeks as he watches, torturing himself.
If I couldn’t see the screen, see Lily fighting for her life on the stairs, I would have thought he had. .. Fuck, the words can’t even form.
It takes me a minute to realise Lily is no longer screaming, but talking, sounding nothing like her normal self. No longer is she the soft-spoken woman. Her voice is scratchy, deep and pained. “And my husband will find you. We will never stop fighting until you’re gone.”
The phone slips from his fingers, falling to the ground at his feet. Maverick staggers, before dropping to sit on the flowerbed wall.
“Fucking hell,” Maverick chokes out, still staring at the phone.
“Charlotte was right,” Maddox rasps as he lowers himself to the ground.
“I need to go back in,” Jaxon whispers, picking up the phone. “I... We cannot go back there until this is over. She also cannot go back to the house with it in that state.”
“I will sort it,” Maddox promises quietly, his gaze still locked on the phone. “Concentrate on Lily and Rose.”
Jaxon passes Lake as he heads back inside the hospital.
Lake bites her lip, glancing at us. “I’m really sorry to bother you guys.
It’s, um, it’s just Max said he was going to get everyone a drink and he hasn’t returned.
It’s been nearly an hour. I’ve checked the cafeteria on both floors and the coffee shop. He isn’t there. Have you seen him?”
Maverick groans, slipping his phone out of his pocket. A few seconds later, his expression tightens. “He’s turned off his location. I’m sorry, Lake, but I need to be in there.”
She nods as he passes her to go back inside. Myles takes pity on her. “He will show up.”
“I’m not worried he won’t. He will need feeding soon.
I’m worried about what he is doing. He doesn’t react well to our children being hurt,” she whispers, tears pooling in her eyes.
“Remember when Hayden got hurt? He burnt that corrupt policeman’s house down.
The warehouse Landon was attacked in? He demolished it and I still don’t know how.
” She steps closer, lowering her voice. “And he keeps setting fire to where they buried Scott. They stopped putting a new stone up when he smashed the third one.”
“Shit,” Myles spits before taking a few calming breaths. “Why don’t I get Liam to trace his phone?”
She nods, biting her lower lip, and I feel for the woman. “Hey, he will be okay, Mrs Carter,” I assure her. “It’s Max. It’s not like he will hurt anyone who doesn’t deserve it. And he never gets caught.”
“That is true,” she whispers.
I place my hand on her lower back. “Let’s go back inside. Hayden isn’t worried, so you shouldn’t be either.” We reach the waiting room, and my eyes go to where I last saw Hayden sitting, finding her seat empty. I turn to Myles, who is a step behind us. “Get him to trace Hayden’s phone too.”
Myles pales as he steps back outside. “On it.”
When questions begin to get asked about what happened outside, no one answers. I, for one, don’t want to bring up the baby. I don’t want to see the painful reminder in my sister’s eyes as she relives her own miscarriage. It also feels wrong to talk about it.
Instead, I reach for Summer, wrapping my arms around her. She’s the only thing happening in my life right now that makes sense, which is weird because it wasn’t that long ago that any mention of me and a girlfriend would have been fictional.
Now she feels like the only real thing in my life.