Chapter Twenty Seven
Ω Bronx Ω
I stare as Mason walks through the door like he owns the place. He looks frantic before his eyes land on Blakely. His body physically relaxes.
“Are you okay, princess?” Mason walks over to where we’re sitting on the couch.
“I’m okay, Dad. What’re you doing here?” Blakely asks before she gets up and gives her dad a hug.
“Charlotte called me and said that you guys were on the phone. She heard a crash, and then you didn’t respond to her. I tried calling you, and you didn’t answer. I wanted to make sure that you were okay.” Two paramedics walk in behind him as he finishes.
“You rolled an ambo?” I should be surprised, but I’m not.
This man plays no games when it comes to his daughter.
“Of course I rolled an ambo. What’s wrong with you?” Mason glares at me.
I raise my hands in surrender. I look at the medics who are just standing around. “She’s good. You can go back to the station.”
I don’t want my neighbors coming over here to see what's going on. The paramedics look over to Chief Knight. “Mason. She’s fine.”
Chief Knight narrows his eyes at me. “Who do you think you’re talking to?” Chief Knight asks me.
“I’m not on the clock.” I glare back at him.
I’m still sitting on the couch having to look up at him. He looks much more intimidating from this far down. My heart beats faster. He looks like he wants to kill me and hide my body. “Chief Knight… She’s fine. Send the ambo back to the station where they can help someone who actually needs it.”
“Dad, I'm okay. I promise I didn’t fall,” Blakely tells him with the sweetest voice I’ve heard from her.
Chief Knight looks down at her and nods once. “You guys can leave. Thanks.” The paramedics nod once before heading back out to the ambulance.
“I don’t like you,” Chief Knight says to me as he hugs his daughter again and focuses back on her. “I tried calling you, but you didn’t answer.”
Blakely looks around. I don’t know what she’s looking for.
“I didn’t hear it ring.” Blakely takes a few steps away from her dad. “I don’t know where my phone is. I was talking to Charlotte through my earbuds on the ladder while I was painting.”
I rub my hand down the side of my face. Chief Knight looks like he wants to kill me again. “You’re making her do work on your house? On a ladder? Why don’t you get on the ladder? Not my daughter,” he growls.
I don’t have an answer for that. I know no matter how I respond to him, he’s going to be mad at me. Pretty sure he’s going to be mad at me no matter what I say or do.
“He didn’t make me. He was sleeping, and I was bored, so I thought I’d start finishing the living room while he was sleeping in,” Blakely tells him without shame.
Part of me loves that she’s not afraid to talk about us to her dad. The other part of me still views him as a father figure that I hate disappointing.
Chief Knight crosses his arms and nods silently. Blakely laughs nervously. “He also… didn’t make me spend the night.” She smiles innocently up at her dad.
He’s a good foot taller than her, but they look identical. Same dark brown hair. Same dark brown eyes. They even have matching dimples when they smile big enough. His only ever comes out when Blakely’s around. She’s his entire world, and it’s obvious.
“I’m not mad at you, princess.” Chief Knight sits on the opposite couch making himself right at home. “Him on the other hand, I’m not so sure about.”
Blakely sits beside her dad, and I cross my arms. Of course she’d pick to sit beside him instead of me. “I didn’t do anything other than catch her so she wouldn’t fall on the floor.”
I should be getting points.
“She wouldn’t have been on the ladder if she wasn’t here.” Chief Knight smirks like he’s got me right where he wants me.
I start to talk again, but Blakely shakes her head. “You two can stop arguing. I’m okay. I didn’t fall. I didn’t need to go to the hospital. I’m safe. I’m okay. Yes, I wouldn’t have been on the ladder if I wasn’t here, but also, yes, Bronx caught me so I wouldn’t crack my head open on the floor.”
I feel like I’m going to be sick. My vision swirls in front of me.
Everything in front of me changes to me on shift.
My hands are covered in blood. The smell of it burned into my nose.
I see a young woman in front of me on the floor.
Her boyfriend bashed her head into the wall.
We were called in too late. Her daughter's screams haunt me as she cries for her mother.
One I couldn’t save.
One I can’t unsee.
One I won’t ever be able to forget.
I gag before I stand up. I’m not going to throw up in front of Chief Knight. I walk to the nearest bathroom and shut the door. My stomach clenches, and I throw up into the toilet as I try to get the sounds of screaming out of my mind.
“MOMMY! I want my mommy! Don’t take her away from me!”
Another spasm hit me without warning. I gag again, but nothing came out this time. My eyes water as I slam them shut. I hate getting flashbacks of the people I couldn’t save.
A soft knock comes from the door. “B?” Blakely’s soft voice barely filters through the door. “Babe. Let me in.” She wiggles the door knob.
I close my eyes tightly. I don’t want to move. I don’t want to think. I just want the little girl's screams to leave me alone.