“Why won’t they answer me?” I turn to Ashton in a panic.
His hand clasps my cheek, his eyes worried. “They’ll be right back. They’ll tell you if something is wrong.”
Stefen’s talking to the officers closest to the house and I feel Raf before I see him. When I turn, his eyes make the slow perusal down my body, his eyes darkening when he sees Ashton’s arm around me.
“Do you know what’s going on?”
“There was an intruder, and they won’t let us inside.”
“Where is my mom?”
He puts his hand on my arm and I go completely still at the contact. I’ve never felt so much terror in all of my life.
Just then the front door opens and a stretcher is carried out. I run to be by her side and am held back by another cop.
“That’s my mother. Let me see her,” I yell.
“Sorry, miss. She’s being taken to St. Francis. We’re going to need the room in the ambulance. Are you able to get a ride?”
I look around wildly and Raf and Ashton are both standing there. Raf steps forward. “We’ll drive you.”
I nod and step as close as I can get to my mother. Her eyes are closed and there’s blood everywhere.
“I love you, Mom. I’ll be right there. Hang on.” My voice drops to a whisper. “Please. Please hang on.”
Raf drives and I sit in the front, Ashton in the back. Raf doesn’t say anything, but he watches every move we make. Ashton is sitting in the middle and has his hand on my arm, trying to get me to calm down. I feel the weight of Raf’s judgment and turn to him, exhausted before we ever even get to the hospital.
“I need peace tonight. A break in whatever this war is we’ve got going between all of us. Okay?”
He gives me a brief nod and glances back at Ashton. They convey something unspoken, but some of the tension dissolves.
Stefen is already in the waiting room when we arrive, pacing the floor. He glances at me and stops, moving toward me but not knowing what to do. He holds his arm out and ends up patting me on the shoulder.
“What do you know about what happened?” I ask.
“Very little. We were supposed to see each other tonight and she canceled over text, which wasn’t like her. I didn’t think too much of it. She said she wasn’t feeling great and I offered to bring food over. She didn’t want me to, in case she had a bug. But then she called, panicked, hours later and said someone was in the house.”
My eyes fill with tears and when I blink they spill over. Ashton’s arm tightens around me.
“How badly is she hurt?”
“She was beaten pretty bad, but I don’t know how extensive the injuries are. I called the police as soon as she called and I was still too late when I ran over there. I didn’t see anyone.”
“Did she say who it was?” I whisper.
“She kept saying Hugh over and over again.”
I bury my head in Ashton’s chest and sob.
“Gabriela? Is it possible that your dad did this?” Stefen’s voice is a cold, leveled rage.
I start shaking, hard.
“Dad, enough.” Raf pulls me out of Ashton’s arms and wraps his arms around me, holding me tightly until I settle. “You don’t have to talk right now. We’ll figure this out,” he whispers.
“Do you know if she said anything else?” I whisper. “I need to talk to my mom. She wouldn’t want me to—”
His body tenses and he pulls back, brushing my hair away from my face and wiping the tears away. His face is pure agony and I don’t stop to question why he suddenly cares. I bury my head in his neck and let his soothing strokes calm me.
It feels like forever before we see a doctor and when he comes out, he heads straight for me. We’ve moved to the chairs and Raf and Ashton are on either side of me. I stand up and they do too.
“You can come see your mom now,” he says. “She has a few broken ribs, a broken nose, and some contusions that are being stitched up now, but no concussion, no other serious internal damage. We’ll watch her for the evening. The police want to ask you both questions and I’ve held them off as long as possible. Just wanted to give you a heads up on that.”
He motions to the doors behind him and I see two officers standing outside a door.
“Thank you. I’m ready to see her.”
I walk back with the doctor and start crying all over again when I see my mom. She’s sitting propped up on pillows and looks terrible. But she smiles and holds out her hand for me to take. I lean over and kiss her hand.
“I’m so sorry this happened.”
“I’m okay.” She grasps my hand harder and dread sinks to my toes when she stares intently at me. “I need you to stay with Stefen tonight. You can’t go home, Josephine,” she whispers. “Your father…I had to talk to him about all of this with Luke and he’s in town. I pushed things with him. I told him I’d moved on and—you know how he gets.”
My lips tremble and a tears drips into the crevice of my mouth. I blink when I can’t see anymore and nod. “It was him then…Mom, Stefen suspects Dad.”
Horror fills her face and her hand is shaking as she holds on tighter. “He can’t. Why would he?”
“Because you were saying Dad’s name over and over again when you were found.”
She exhales and winces, touching her ribs. “I can explain that away. Don’t say a word.”
“Why would he do this, Mom? I thought he’d gotten help and…he promised me.” It sounds weak even as I’m saying it, but I believed this time would be different. I thought the trauma we went through with Luke got through to my dad
