089
I went downstairs, made sure the doors were all locked and the alarm was on. If not for my guests, I might have left them open, hoping Jack would come back, the bastard. I used to kind of like the guy, back when he'd been my neighbor. Not particularly close, but okay. I had nothing but hate in my heart now.
Shit! I wondered if Julia's and Lisa's parents had been informed of the crime and their children were in the hospital. I started with Julia's, Harold and Mary.
Mary answered the phone. She frequently had dates on the weekends, as did Harry, with other people.
"Hey, Mary, Scott here. I have some bad news. Julia and Lisa were attacked tonight by Jack McManus. He hurt them both. They will be fine, but they're both in the hospital tonight for observation. Julia suffered damage to a cheek bone and a slight concussion. Hopefully, they'll both be released tomorrow. I think they're both asleep now, taking some strong pain killers, but they might want to hear from you."
"Oh, dear, is the baby okay?"
"I think so, Mary. It's okay so far. I'm sorry to cut this short, but I need to contact Lisa's parents too, and my own."
"Of course. Thanks for calling me first."
I repeated the call to Reggie and Marge Lloyd, Lisa's parents. I told them their daughter had suffered cracked ribs and a broken nose and their ex-son-in-law was responsible for it.
"That Goddamn bastard. I always thought he was a prick and I never said anything because it wasn't my place. I was so happy she divorced that shit."
"I'm sorry I wasn't home to protect her, Reg."
"Not your fault. Put the blame where it should go. Have they caught him yet?"
"Not yet. Julia stabbed him with a meat fork and Lisa got him with a knife, but not deep enough. Hung up on his ribs."
"That's my girl. I'm only sorry she didn't finish the job."
"Me too, Reggie."
The last call to my parents. Mom frantic the baby had been harmed.
"To the best of our knowledge, the baby is fine. They're keeping them both overnight. Hopefully, I get them both back home tomorrow morning."
After hanging up with my folks, I went to bed and realized it's the first time I'd been in bed alone for several years. The bed seemed monstrous without at least one other person in it.
I'd set my alarm for six-thirty. When I got up, everyone else was up too. Zoe and Sam were making breakfast. Marcia and Lucia were straightening up.
"I only planned on getting a breakfast sandwich on the way to the hospital," I said.
"Nonsense, it's almost done," Zoe replied. "We're going with you, except Lucia. She wanted to stay and ensure the house was clean before they returned."
Sure enough, she and Sam were plating bacon and eggs in no time, scrambled, because they didn't know how I liked them fried. I packed some clothes for Julia and Lisa as they might not have had anything on when taken to the hospital. They were usually naked around the house.
Sam took their car so we'd have enough room for everyone. I hoped both of them were coming home. When we got there, Jerry and Reneé were already in the lobby.
"Jesus, Jerry, I should have called you again last night. You didn't know what happened last night after I sent you to the house. I'm sorry. How did you know they were here?"
"It was on the news last night, which we watched to find out what happened."
I introduced them to everyone. Before I finished introductions, Edward, Rob, Regina and Chen also arrived, though not together.
"What the hell happened?" Edward asked. "We were watching the news last night and saw both of them were injured and at the hospital. They're looking for Lisa's ex?"
I explained what I knew, leaving out they'd been raped. Apparently, that was left out of the news report.
"Janet will come by this evening after work," Chen said. "She was very upset by the news."
"I'm hoping they'll be released today. It only sounded as if they wanted to keep them overnight for observation."
We all couldn't go in to see them at once. The nurse limited it to two people per person, though with both of them in the same room, four of us could go. I picked Zoe, Sam and Marcia at first. There was still a police officer outside the door. It made me comfortable knowing he was there. When I entered the room, Dr. Sturgis was there, checking Julia out. I assumed she was there due to the baby.
"No problems with the baby is there?" I asked, nervously.
"Everything seems fine, but I'd like to keep Julia one more day and run some more tests."
"Doctor," Julia complained. "I want to go home. I haven't seen my husband for a week."
"One more day, Julia. One more day won't kill you and it might protect your son."
Julia put a pout on her face. "Fine, just tell me we'll be able to have sex immediately after I get home."
"The tests might help determine it one way or the other."
Her pout deepened, but she turned her attention from the doctor to the others.
"Marcia, Sam. Lisa told me you drove Scott here so he could get here faster. Thank you so much. Zoe, why did you come?"
"Brianna thought it might be helpful if someone needed legal representation. We didn't know what happened before we left."
"Thank you as well. I shall thank you all appropriately later. Where's Lucia? Didn't she come?"
"Only four in the room at once," I said, "but Lucia wanted to stay and clean up the house for you so it wouldn't look like a crime scene when you returned."
"She got your card, Julia," Zoe said. "That was very thoughtful and lovely. She cried when she got it. So did Scott and I," ratting me out.
"Very kind," I reiterated. "You're the best, honey. Jerry, Reneé, Ed, Rob, Regina and Chen are all waiting to see you, so we'll give way in a few minutes to let them wish you well, then I can come back and spend more time with you."
"How did they know? Did you tell them?"
"You made the news last night."
"The news didn't report we were raped, did it?" Lisa asked.
"Apparently not. At least they didn't speak of it, but maybe they were hoping to spare my feelings. I don't know. I sent Jerry to the house last night trying to find out what happened to you. He saw the cop cars and crime scene tape, so he was checking the news for information. I think the others just saw it."
"I'm so sorry, Scott. I feel I've let you down."
"You could never let me down, Julia. Don't worry about it. You were the victim of an attack. You didn't precipitate it. You were in your own home, for God's sake, not prancing up and down the street naked. You didn't deserve it."
"We can arrange counseling for them if they require it," Doctor Sturgis said. "It's always helpful in cases of sexual trauma."
"We can talk about it when we get home, Scott," Julia said. "Right now, going home is my first priority."
"Okay. We're going to let the others visit briefly, then I'll be back to see you some more. Dr. Sturgis, do you know if Lisa will be released today?"
"Doctor Andrews is in charge of Lisa. Let's see what her chart says." She read Lisa's chart. "She's to be released at 10:30 today if her heart rate, blood pressure and breathing are normal. She'll be given a prescription for Vicodin for her ribs. Watch your dosage carefully, Lisa. Don't overuse them. You can take Tylenol or ibuprofen to help if they don't last long enough."
"I brought clothes for you both. I didn't know how you were brought into the ER."
"Nothing but a blanket," Doctor Sturgis said.
I set them on Lisa's bed. "I'll put Julia's away when I come back."
We went out, even Dr. Sturgis, and sent the others in.
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
