32. He Stays
He Stays
Luke
I find Dani sitting by the windows. Shoulders slumped and head ducked as she fills out a form. I sit next to her, making her jump.
"It’s just me."
"I thought…I thought you left." Her extraordinary eyes wide as she looks at me.
"I was parking the truck. I’m not leaving you here to deal with this alone."
She opens her mouth but snaps it shut and nods. Her chin wiggling. She’s going to break down.
I drape my arm along the back of her chair, touching the nape of her neck lightly. Dani hisses and pulls away. I move the collar of her shirt and find a bruise forming on the back of her neck that look an awful lot like fingers. As if someone had their hands wrapped around her neck.
Unadulterated rage flows through me. No one should ever put their hands on another person. However, when I find out who did this—and I have a really good inkling of who it might be—I will return the favour ten-fold.
Dani stands and walks over to the triage window, handing back the clipboard and walking into the room. She sits next to me a few minutes later, purse clutched in her small hands.
"Sweetheart—"
A sob hiccups out as she breaks down. Body curling inward as she cries. Gathering her in my lap, I brush her hair off her face and her small hands curl into my shirt. I do my best to sooth her, however, it doesn’t seem to be working.
"Talk to me, Sweetheart."
Dani cries harder, wrapping her arms around my neck. I let her cry. She’ll talk when she’s ready.
The nurse calls her name a while later. I help Dani to her feet and walk with her through the ER doors and into the room. "The doctor will be with you in a moment." The nurse says with a sad smile, shutting the door behind her.
"I’ll be out in the hall," I say, reaching for the door handle.
"Stay. Please." Dani twists her hands in her lap, keeping her eyes straight ahead.
I only nod and take a seat across from the bed. I can feel the shame pouring off Dani, it’s so thick it nearly chokes me.
"It wasn’t your fault."
She flinches but doesn’t look at me.
"Dani, it’s not your fault," I say.
She starts shaking her head.
I cross the space between us. "Sweetheart," I lift her face so she’s looking at me. "It’s not your fault."
"I asked for it." She whispers.
"How?"
"I…I…" she starts crying again. "I asked for it by opening the door. I asked for it by fighting back," she hiccups as I wrap my arms around her gently. "I brought this on myself. This wouldn’t have happened if I had just given Mason to them." Dani admits.
I pull back when she confirms my suspicions. I push my anger deep down, now is not the time to fucking lose it. I take her shoulders, causing her to cry out again. I move her shirt down her shoulder on one side and find another nasty bruise and a deep cut. How did I not notice this when I cleaned her up?
"Josh attacked you, didn’t he?"
She nods this time.
"Look at me, Sweetheart." Her eyes meet mine. "It is not your fault. You did not ask for this. You did what any mother would do. Kept your child safe."
There is a knock on the door, then it opens.
"Ms. Carter. I’m Dr. Singh," the female doctor steps in, shutting the door behind her. She looks through the papers on her clipboard, before glancing at me.
"Would you mind stepping out in the hall while I speak with Ms. Carter."
"She asked me to stay." I respond.
"I will call you back in when I’m done with my questions." Dr. Singh eyes me with suspicion.
I know she thinks I’m the one who did this. Instead of fighting this, I step towards the door.
"He stays." Dani breathes.
"Are you sure? I’m going to be asking some very personal questions and doing an internal exam." The Doctor says.
"He. Stays." Dani says again.
I could see the doctor fighting with her ethics. A woman, who is beaten and bruised is brought to the hospital by a man twice her size, and she doesn’t want him to leave the room. I understand where her mind is at, but I could give two shits about what she thinks. I’m here because my Sweetheart needs me to be.
"Very well," Dr. Singh says.
I sit as Dr. Singh places her clipboard on the small counter behind her. "Ms. Carter, can you tell me what transpired."
As Dani explains what had happened, I clench my fists in my lap and grind my teeth to the point of pain. Dr. Singh reaches into a cupboard under the counter and pulls out a paper hospital gown.
"I wasn’t raped." Dani interjects.
"I'm sure you weren't. However, you don’t know what he or someone else might have done while you were unconscious, and I want to make sure an assault didn’t happen." She hands over the gown. "I’ll be back in a moment." She smiles and steps out.
Dani climbs off the bed and starts undressing. Bruises and cuts and road rash come into view. My blunt nails bite into my palms. Marred skin covers her body. With the gown on and Dani sitting back on the table, we wait again in silence for Dr. Singh to return. Dani watches every movement I make, every tick in my jaw as I grind my teeth together. I am beyond furious at this point.
The door opens and Dr. Singh enters. "I’m going to get you to lay down Ms. Carter," she says softly.
"I’ll be in the waiting room," I say to Dani as I stand.
Her eyes glisten with tears but she nods once. I walk out and close the door behind me.
The ER waiting room is quiet as I wait while Dani has her exam done. I check the time again. Twenty to three in the morning. Dani has been in the room for forty-five minutes. I flex my hand, it's stiff but the bleeding has stopped and the swelling isn't too bad. After listening to what had happened, I may have went outside and punched the wall.
"Mr. Archer," I turn to find Dr. Singh.
"Is she okay?" I ask, standing from my chair. My heart thumping inside my chest.
"She will be."
I relax. "Thank fuck. Will she need surgery or more medical attention?"
"I can't reveal personal information with you, Mr. Archer. You are not her family. I can tell you that you'll be able to take her home tonight."
I rub the top of my head. "I understand. Thank you."
Dr. Singh nods and head back through the ER doors.
Dani is wheeled out ten minutes later by a male nurse. I meet them by the triage window, and I’m handed a bag of medication.
"The gauze pads can be removed in twelve hours, then she needs to apply Bacitracin to her stitches every four hours," the nurse informs me. "We have also included some pain medication in case she needs it. We’ve given her some already."
"Thank you," I kneel next to the chair. "I’ll bring the truck around."
Dani nods once.
I take her chin between my fingers. "I’ll be right back, Sweetheart. I’m not leaving you."
I wait until she looks at me before heading out and bringing my truck to the ER doors. I help Dani out of the wheelchair as gently as I can and lift her into the truck.
"Archer, put me down. I’m too fat for you to be picking up." Dani swats at my hands.
"You’re not fat, Sweetheart." I tell her.
She slumps in the seat as I buckle her in. "You’ve seen me naked. I shake like Jell-O when I walk." She wiggles in her seat.
"You are not fat, Daniella. And I happen to love Jell-O." I admit.
She snorts as I shut the door and round the truck, climbing behind the wheel. I drive her to my place. I’m not taking the chance of staying at her place and have Josh show back up. It wouldn’t end well for him.
"This isn’t my house," Dani says slowly as we pull into my parking spot.
"You’re staying with me for the weekend," I say.
"I have to text Mason and Mom." Dani slurs.
"Already done. I used your phone, introduced myself and explained what had happened. Not in full detail, just enough and your Mom said she'd pick Mason up from Axe's tomorrow and stay with him."
She looks up at me with a small smile on her face. "Thank you."
I lead her into my room, helping her onto the bed. "She wants you to call her tomorrow when you get up."
"Yeah." She starts pulling at her clothes, getting stuck in her shirt. "I need to change."
I grab one of my t-shirts. She’ll swim in it, but it’ll keep her covered. I help her change and tuck her into bed.
"Will you stay?" Dani asks.
"I’ll be in the living room," I inform her.
"Will you stay…with me?"
"You sure? I don’t want to accidently hurt you while we’re sleeping." I confess.
"I don’t want to be alone right now."
I hesitate. Her body is battered and broken; she needs rest. "I’ll stay until you fall asleep, then I’ll move to the couch."
She sighs, blowing baby hairs off her face. "Stop being a ding dong, Archer. Get in the bed."
I climb under the covers, because I can’t say no to this woman. "If you start to feel uncomfortable, just say the word and I’ll leave."
Dani nods and curls into me. "Thanks, Luke."
My heart skips a beat at the sound of my name on her lips. "Anything for you, Sweetheart. Always."