Twenty-Nine | Eva
Twenty-Nine
Eva
It was after midnight when I checked my phone again, looking to see if I had a text message from Ethan. I had no idea where he went or what he was doing, but something told me that I wasn’t going to like it when I found out. The monitors beeped steadily next to me as they confirmed that they were still working to keep my baby sister alive.
Lucy had been moved to the ICU and had yet to wake up. Her injuries were severe, with internal bleeding that required surgery. Her face was shades of blue and purple as the bruises started to set, along with the stitches across her cheek from where he split it open. My fingers were achy from holding her hand for so long in an awkward position, but I couldn’t find the strength to let go.
My parents had found someone to watch Jackson as he slept, completely unaware that anything had happened. For now, he thought that his momma was working another graveyard shift at the hospital instead of worrying about how she was fighting for her life after his daddy tried to kill her. He was too little to have to worry about any of that, and we were determined to keep him from finding out if he didn’t have to.
Brittany had been by my side while we were in the waiting room, but after Lucy was moved to the ICU, only one person was allowed to be with her. Even that was an exception the staff made for us, given how well they knew Lucy. I begged my family to go home and get some sleep, promising them that we would all take turns being with her until she woke up. There was no way that I was leaving her, and they all knew that.
My eyes felt heavy, desperate for sleep in the quiet, dark room. The margaritas had worn off the second I heard she was in trouble, but the after-effects were lingering pretty heavily. My body was sore and achy as I shifted my position in the uncomfortable chair beside her bed.
I was watching TV with the sound off when I heard my phone vibrate on the table next to me. I quickly slid my hand out of Lucy’s and grabbed it before it could wake her up, which was silly, given how hard I was praying for her to wake up. I slid my finger across the screen to unlock it, relieved to find a text message from Ethan.
Ethan: Sorry, I got tied up. How’s Lucy?
Me: She’s been moved to the ICU but hasn’t woken up. The surgery went well, but she’s still fighting for her life.
I felt the tears slide down my face as I pressed send. How did the night turn so dramatically? We went from celebrating her new job and having a girls' night to me sitting in the hospital, praying she wouldn’t die.
Ethan: Are you allowed to have company?
Me: No, they only allow one person in the room at a time—hospital rules.
Ethan: You know I don’t follow the rules very well.
I rolled my eyes and felt guilty about the smile that was trying to spread across my face. Now wasn’t the time or place to be smiling and feeling happy.
Me: So I’ve seen...
Ethan: I’m on my way up. What room is she in?
Me: They’re not going to let you in. You have to have them unlock the door, and they’re not going to. You should go home and get some rest. I’ll text you an update tomorrow.
Ethan: What room?
He was persistent, to say the least. I was too exhausted to argue with him about this. He would have to find out on his own that they weren’t going to let him up here.
Me: 1041
Ethan: On my way.
I put my phone down next to me and rubbed Lucy’s hand before turning my attention back to the TV. A few minutes later, I heard the door open and expected to see a nurse coming in to check on Lucy. Ethan ducked his head in and smiled before slipping inside, holding the door as it gently closed. He gave me a quick head nod with a smile before he walked over and sat by me. I blinked a few times, convinced that I must have been so tired that I hallucinated that he was in the room.
“What are you doing here?” I hissed quietly at him.
“I told you I was on my way up.” He shrugged as he quietly pulled the other chair over and sat beside me.
“Did you sneak up here? You’re going to get in trouble, and they’re going to kick you out...”
“They let me in,” he said as he leaned back and rested his ankle on his knee. “How are you holding up?”
I sighed heavily, feeling the weight of the world on my shoulders.
“I’m tired.” I leaned back to relax when the light hit his face, and I saw the outline of a black eye. “What the hell happened to you?!” I asked in a harsh whisper.
“It’s nothing.” He shook his head and looked away.
“Ethan...”
“I took care of the problem, okay?”
“No. Not okay.” I blew out a heavy breath and gently let go of Lucy’s hand as anger rushed through me.
“We need to talk. Now.” I stood up and walked over to the corner of the room. It was far away enough from Lucy’s bed that we wouldn’t disturb her, but it was close enough that I could still see her.
I waited impatiently as Ethan stood up and followed me over. He shoved his hands in his pockets and leaned against the counter behind him. His head was lowered as if he were afraid to look at me.
“What did you do?” I asked again, my arms folded over my chest.
“I went to visit Lance. It just took a little longer to find him than I’d thought.”
“How did you even know where to look? All you had was his name.”
“I have a friend who owed me a favor,” he said and looked away.
“What kind of favor?” I asked, raising my eyebrow.
“Does it matter?” he responded, raising his eyebrow in return.
“You bet your ass it does,” I said with exasperation. “I need to know what happened so I can protect my sister!”
“Trust me—Lance won’t put a hand on your sister ever again. I can promise you that.”
“Would you please just stop being difficult and tell me what happened?” I was starting to lose my patience and sanity, all at the same time.
“Eva, you don’t need to know the details. Okay? The less I say, the better.”
“You’re really starting to worry me. Is Lance dead?”
“No.”
“Then how do you know that he won’t come after her again?” I asked.
“Because I promised him that if he ever laid a hand on her again, I would be the one to dig the hole that his body would be thrown in.”
“You threatened him?” My eyes were wide with shock.
“No. A threat is something you say but don’t mean it. I meant every word of what I said.” He pushed off from the counter and went to sit down.
I wasn’t done with the conversation and had a thousand questions for him. As I marched back over to where he was, I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw Lucy’s eyes flicker open.