Chapter 89

My back fucking hurts like all hell. My eyes are shut, too, so I crack them open to make out the damage. Jesus. Last thing I remember was Sadie in my apartment.

But the lights are absolutely too bright in here. How late did it get? What time is it?

As my vision comes into focus and the pain shoots through my entire back, I start to make out the scene in front of me.

Is…am I in the hospital?

I turn to my right arm, seeing an IV put in. I stare down at my body, feeling weak and disheveled. I’m still in my work clothes. But I’m also in a hospital bed.

Trying with all my might to sit up, I scream with surprise.

That seems to grab the attention of several people in the area. I think I’m in the ER? A couple of doctors and nurses come to my bedside.

“Esme Thorne?” A few different people speak at once. “Are you okay?”

“What’s going on?” I breathe heavily. “Where am I?”

“You’re in the hospital, sweetheart,” a kind looking nurse assures me.

“Do you know what happened, Esme?” Another doctor asks. He grabs his stethoscope to check my heart and lungs.

I shudder and cry out with more pain crawling through my skin. “Fuck!”

“Esme, what happened to you? You look like you were beaten up,” another nurse jumps in.

“Your baby is being monitored, but you took multiple blows to the stomach and your head,” the first doctor throws in.

“My baby?” I slur out, only now remembering that I’m pregnant. Panicking, I move my hands to my belly. “She’s okay? She’s not hurt?”

The first nurse, Pauline, gives me a tender smile. “She’s okay now. Her vitals are stable, but there was blood leaking into the belly.”

My response is to cry at the drop of a hat, and immediately my eyes run with tears. “Please don’t let me lose her! I can’t lose her!”

The doctor, who introduces himself as Dr. Billy, puts out his hands to calm me. “Esme, your baby is all good. She’s no longer in duress. But we need answers on what happened to you so we can treat your injuries.”

Sniffling, I look at the different faces. “I…my boyfriend’s ex-wife. She attacked me.”

Nurse Pauline nods, pulling out a tablet. “Do you wanna tell us who your boyfriend is? That way we can contact him.”

“Derek Anderson. His ex is Sadie…I don’t know her new last name.” Then it dawns on me. “Wait, if Derek didn’t bring me in…how did I get here?”

The group gives each other a few different glances. “You came in on a 911 call,” the second nurse, Gabby, admits. “Driven in on an ambulance.”

I wipe at my tears. “The last thing I can remember is Sadie,” I explain as I try my best to calm my anxiety. “She…she went after me. I fought back. Kicked my spine. She pulled my hair, and my head hit the floor. I threw a vase at her head to stop her?”

But what happened last? I can’t remember past that. “There was screaming…I don’t know.”

The doctor turns to Pauline and Gabby. “One of you find out where the boyfriend is. The other order a head CT and an MRI of the thoracic and lumbar for her spine.”

The women nod and head off, but I look at Dr. Billy with my eyes narrowing. “Are you sure my baby is okay?” I interrogate him. “And that you don’t know how I got here?”

“No, I’m sorry,” he admits. “But we’ll talk to the police as soon as we can. In the meantime, let us continue to monitor you and give you fluids. We also had to put a stitch in your cheek.”

My hand touches my face without a second thought. “What happened?”

“My guess?” He shrugs. “You had three identical slash marks on your face. Only one needed a small stitch. I’d assume someone ran their nails over your cheek.”

My breathing catches for a moment, thinking about the fact that there’s part of my memory that can’t go past the throwing of the vase. If I was kicked multiple times, even scratched at, was she trying to kill me?

Or was she trying to kill my baby?

“I want to see Derek,” I impulsively state. “Please.”

Dr. Billy nods. “As soon as we can locate him, we’ll let him know where you are.”

He heads off, promising to be back soon.

Someone called 911 on me and I was brought in an ambulance. How the hell did that happen?

It’s another hour before Derek, Bea, and Tris come running through the ER. I hear Tris first, and she’s crying so loud the lights might shatter. I want to hold her in my arms and assure her that everything is okay.

The three approach me as soon as they see me, and Bea and Tris climb into my bed.

“Girls, be careful!” Derek warns.

“It’s okay,” I say, happy to have them with me. “Tris, baby girl, it’s okay.”

She has her hand partially in her mouth. “You’re hurt!” She cries, tears pouring out of her. “We were scared!”

My eyes move to her sister, and Bea’s face is crumpled as well. Then, I see Derek. With his tie all messy, his hair facing in every direction and the red eyes he’s displaying, I can tell he’s struggled to be brave for his daughters.

“I’m okay,” I tell the three of them. My hand moves to the back of Tris’ black hair. “Come here, sweetheart. Give me a hug.”

Bea doesn’t ask to join, but I hold the two little girls gently in my arms.

“I don’t understand,” Derek almost whimpers. “I didn’t even know you had gone home. I got the call as I was picking up the girls from daycare. We got here as fast as we could.”

I shake my head at the man before me. “Sadie came over. We had…a confrontation.”

“What?!” He half-shouts.

“Derek, I don’t know how I got here,” I push on. “Someone called 911. The last thing I remember was Sadie getting hit with a vase.”

His eyebrows arch. “A vase?”

“She attacked me. I fought back. I just don’t know how it ended.”

“Did she…is your baby okay?” I see the worry etched on his face. He looks over me frantically. “Did they do tests?”

I nod. “They want to check my back and my head, but otherwise, I’m okay.”

“I don’t understand, though,” he says, sitting in the chair beside my bed, taking my hand as I hold his girls. “I haven’t spoken to Sadie in days. She hasn’t answered my messages, either.”

“She’s more dangerous than I originally anticipated,” I admit. “She really kicked the crap out of me.”

“Did she do this to your face?” He asks gently, moving his other hand to my cheek.

“Doctor thinks so.”

He grits his teeth. “I’ll kill her.”

I widen my eyes, gesturing to his daughters. “Don’t say that.”

“She put her hands on you,” he shoots back. “Am I supposed to just let her get away with that?”

“No!” I assure him. Bea and Tris pull away from me, watching the two of us talk. “But there’s still plenty of puzzle pieces missing. Let’s not jump to conclusions or do anything rash.”

He growls.

“The staff’s going to talk to the police. Someone will know something. Maybe Sadie will provide more answers than she’s willing to now.”

Bea touches my stomach. “The baby is okay, though, right?”

I give her the best smile I can muster. “That’s what they told me.”

“You’re getting tests?” Tris asks, tears still across her face.

“To check that nothing is injured,” I say, soothing her by running my hand down her hair.

Derek looks at me with pain and fear. “I’m not leaving you again.”

I sigh a little. “Derek, how would you have known what would happen? It’s okay.”

“It’s not,” he repeats. “She’s going to answer for what she’s done. No more believing in anything she says. I’m going to put an end to her tirade tonight.”