Chapter Forty-Three #2
“I know,” he replies immediately, his voice steady despite everything. “We’ll get it fixed. Don’t even think about it right now, okay?”
I nod, but the tears come anyway. Aston pulls me into him, and I sink against his chest, letting myself lean on him as voices drift around us. It takes me a moment to realize what I’m hearing, and when I look up, I notice the police are everywhere.
I hadn’t even seen them arrive.
My gaze shifts… and lands on her.
Loretta lies motionless on the ground, three dark stains spreading across her chest.
I gasp.
Aston’s hand comes up instantly, turning me into him before I can look any longer. “Don’t,” he murmurs. “Don’t look, baby.” I press into him, burying my face against his chest.
“Let’s get you to the hospital,” Dad says.
I nod, the world still slightly tilted. “When did the police get here?” I ask, my voice distant even to my own ears.
“They arrived with us,” Mum explains as we start walking.
“We called them the second we knew she had you. Aston came bursting into our room with blood pouring from his head, saying she’d taken you.
We had no idea how long you’d been gone, and he passed out not long after.
She hit him with a brick… bribed a security guard to get in. ”
I turn to Aston, reaching up to touch his cheek gently. “Are you in pain?” I ask softly.
He gives me a small smile. “Nothing compared to what I felt when she had you, baby. Nothing comes close to that.” My chest aches at the sincerity in his voice.
“Where’s Ella?” I ask as we move toward the car.
“At home,” Mum replies. “I didn’t want both my girls in danger. We told Aston to stay too, but…” She glances at him.
“He didn’t listen,” I finish, smiling faintly.
I’m glad he didn’t.
“Thank you for bringing the police,” I add, then hesitate. “Is Loretta…” I can’t finish the sentence.
“I don’t think she’ll survive, sweetheart,” Mum says gently.
Something breaks loose inside me.
Tears spill over, but they don’t feel heavy.
They feel… light.
“Oh, sweetheart, I’m so sorry,” Mum says, pulling me into her arms.
I shake my head, clinging to her. “No… I’m not. I am crying because I’m happy. She can’t hurt us anymore.”
Mum tightens her hold on me. “Never again, Annie. Never again.”
“Dee,” Dad says, more urgent now. “We need to get her to the hospital.”
Mum nods, pulling back. “Come on.”
I try to walk, but my knees give slightly, the ground shifting beneath me. Aston catches me before I can fall.
“Sorry… I’m okay,” I mumble.
He shakes his head, already bending down. “No, you’re not.” And before I can protest, he lifts me into his arms. I think about telling him I can walk, that I don’t need to be carried, but the moment I settle against him, something inside me quiets.
For the first time since all of this started, everything feels almost… normal.
So I don’t argue.
I just hold onto him and let him carry me to the car.
Not long later, I’m checked into the Oxfordshire hospital, lying in a bed feeling like absolute death.
The doctor had to reset my thumb before putting it into a cast, and even with the pain relief, it was brutal.
They’ve told me it’ll take time to heal, maybe longer than expected, and I’ll likely need physiotherapy to get full use of it again.
That broke me.
Mum held me while I cried about the band, about having to take a break while my hand heals. I told them they could keep going without me, but Aston shut that down immediately. He wouldn’t even entertain the idea.
Ella came down not long after, and now we’re all crowded into my private room, waiting while my body crashes from the drugs.
And it’s… horrible.
I’m burning up, heat flooding through me in waves that make it impossible to get comfortable. My breathing won’t slow, coming too fast and shallow, and every sound around me feels amplified to the point of pain. Machines beep, footsteps echo, voices carry, and it all drills straight into my skull.
I want to sleep.
God, I want to sleep.
But I can’t.
My body won’t let me.
When the nurses brought food in earlier, I couldn’t even look at it, let alone eat. The thought of it made my stomach churn.
Dad explained it all and said, ‘This is what happens when the cocaine leaves your system. The crash can hit hard, so hard that it can mess with your mood, drag you down into a place you don’t want to be.
’ He warned me about cravings, too, and said, ‘Sometimes your body will trick you into wanting more just to make it stop.’ But no part of me wants that, not after this.
I’m lying here shaking, every muscle tight, every nerve on edge, and all I want to do is hide, crawl under the blankets, and disappear into the dark where none of this can touch me. But even that’s impossible.
I’m too hot to have anything on me. Even the light brush of fabric against my skin feels unbearable, like it’s too much, too sensitive.
I hate this feeling.
And seeing Mum and Dad watch me go through this, helpless and worried, it somehow makes it worse.
I only had a small amount—that’s the terrifying part.
If this is what a small amount does…
There is no way I am touching this shit again.
Ever.
***
Dad insisted the hospital keep me overnight, and by the time they finally discharged me, I felt like I’d been dragged through hell and back. My body aches, my thumb throbs constantly in its cast, and even though I’m exhausted, I still don’t feel quite right.
But at least I’m home.
Aston needed five stitches in his head, and I cried while they put them in, even though he barely flinched. He stayed with me the entire time, refusing to leave my side.
Now, as we walk through the front door, I feel… off. Like I’m not quite back in my own body yet.
I’ve told the police everything, answered all their questions, but Mum and Dad still ask if I’m okay every five minutes.
It’s a little overwhelming.
But I get it.
They nearly lost me.
The dogs rush forward the second we step inside, jumping up against my legs, tails wagging wildly, and for the first time since everything happened, I smile. “Hey, guys,” I murmur, patting them with my good hand.
“How about I make us all some lunch?” Mum suggests gently.
I nod, even though I’m still not hungry. Aston takes my hand and leads me into the kitchen,
And I freeze.
“Surprise!” Everyone I know is standing there, smiling, hands in the air, laughter filling the room, and for a second, it’s too much, but then something shifts.
Maybe I don’t need to be alone right now.
Maybe I need this.
“Oh Annie, we’re so glad you’re okay,” Indi says, stepping forward.
I blink, surprised to see her. “Pixie?”