Chapter507Bringing Martin Home
Patricia madly reached for the knife in her hand.
Jade, visibly agitated, threw the knife to the floor, her voice growing louder without her noticing.
"Patricia, what on earth are you doing?” Jade hollered. “Have you lost your mind? Doesn't slashing your wrists hurt?"
Silent, Patricia bent down to pick up the knife from the floor.
Jade was frightened, and a chill sweat drenched her back. She hugged Patricia, breaking into sobs. “What's wrong with you, Patricia? How did you end up like this? Don't you realize that you're hurting yourself?"
Patricia allowed herself to be embraced, not struggling, not resisting, her hand not reaching for the knife again.
Jade had never seen her like this. No matter what had happened before, Patricia was always strong; never had she resorted to self-harm.
Regrettably, despite Jade’s frantic questioning and tears, Patricia remained silent.
Sniffling hard, Jade let go of Patricia, admonishing with concern. “Stay put right here; don't move; I’ll grab the first aid kit!”
Patricia didn't respond.
Worried, Jade fetched the first aid kit in record time, took out rubbing alcohol and iodine, and started treating the wounds meticulously. As she cleaned the cuts, Jade counted.
Five in total; each one was deep and long. The skin was flayed open, almost exposing the bone beneath.
Looking at the wounds on Patricia's arm, Jade started crying all over again. Tears flowed like a breached dam, uncontrollable and relentless.
How did things end up like this? The sight of this Patricia frightened her.
Ariel, who had been worried about Patricia, hadn't slept well. At the first hint of commotion, she rushed out, and upon seeing the wounds on Patricia's arm, she clasped a hand over her mouth in shock.
Glancing at the knife thrown on the ground, she had a gut feeling about what happened, so she said nothing and asked no questions. Quietly, she picked up the knife, returned it to the kitchen, and cleaned up the blood from the floor.
Jade's eyes were swollen from weeping. She was consumed by guilt for not taking better care of Patricia and self-reproach for sleeping so soundly that she hadn't noticed someone getting up right beside her.
"I'm so sorry," she whispered.
Even without turning around, Jade could sense Ariel standing right behind her. She gently tended to Patricia's wounds, murmuring with her head bowed, "I'm sorry. I should have taken better care of Patricia."
Ariel walked over and softly patted her back.
"It's not your fault," she said. "I know you're exhausted these past few days. Why don't you look after Maria and the others tonight? I'll stay with her."
Jade had initially insisted on caring for Patricia, but after watching the self-inflicted harm under her watch, her lips parted to protest, then closed again in silent agreement with a nod.
After bandaging Patricia's injuries, Jade returned to the room Ariel had just left.
Ariel didn't rush Patricia to her room; instead, she just sat quietly beside her, keeping her company throughout the silent night. The two of them sat without speaking until dawn broke.
Worried for Patricia, Ariel remained vigilant while Patricia tilted her head, gazing out the floor-to-ceiling windows.
Charles was the first to wake up, finding Patricia and Ariel in the living room and greeting them with a sweet, "Mommy, Auntie. You're up early."
Ariel nodded with a smile. "You're up early yourself, aren't you?"
Scratching his head, not sure how to respond, Charles gave a sheepish grin. Truth be told, he had been quiet all night. His thoughts were with his Daddy, whose whereabouts were unknown, and his Mommy, who was visibly downcast.
As the eldest child in the family, he felt the weight of responsibility, knowing he should stand tall for his family. However, he was at a loss, uncertain how to begin to tackle the situation.
"Go freshen up, then wake Randy and Fannie," Ariel instructed. "Uncle will take you to preschool today."
Charles obediently nodded, about to leave, when his eyes accidentally caught sight of the marks on Patricia's arm. He was taken aback, about to ask what happened, when he noticed Ariel signaling to him with her eyes.
Clenching his hands into fists, Charles swallowed the question that nearly escaped his lips, forcing himself to turn and walk away.
As he turned, the usually stoic boy's eyes reddened, his small frame shaking with the effort of holding back.
During breakfast, while the three little ones were causing a typical morning ruckus, Shane and the rest of their group arrived. Jeremy dropped the kids off at preschool. Shane brought Patricia a bowl of chicken soup from the hotel, hoping to nourish her a bit, but almost dropped it upon seeing the bruise on her arm.
"What... what happened here?"
Ariel shook her head, signaling with her eyes to drop the subject.
Tightening his grip on the bowl, Shane fought back the urge to press further and sat down beside Patricia, saying softly, "Patricia, I had the hotel kitchen prepare this soup for you. You've been eating so little these past days; you really need to build your strength."
Patricia seemed not to hear him, her attention elsewhere.
Shane tried again. "Patricia, I know you're hurting, but no matter how much it hurts, you need to eat something. We're all worried about you."
Still, Patricia remained silent, her gaze fixed vacantly ahead.
Seeing that this was getting nowhere, Riley gestured for Ariel to go have breakfast and took the seat next to Patricia, whispering, "Let's go to Country M!"
Shane, Patricia, and the others all turned with a surprised, "Huh?"
Riley continued, "Let's bring Martin back home."
A flicker of reaction crossed Patricia's expressionless eyes.
Riley added, "After all, Martin is from Ivara City. It's time to bring him back to his roots."
At the mention of "bring him back to his roots," a ripple of emotion began to stir in Patricia's calm gaze. She turned her head towards Riley, her eyes slowly welling up with tears.
Riley took her hand and said, "I'll go with you. Let's bring him back together."
Patricia, who hadn't spoken in two days, moved her lips, and with tears in her eyes, she called out softly, "Bro..."
Her voice held a mix of grievance, sadness, pain, despair, and confusion about the future.
Riley wrapped his arms around her, gently patting her back, "Let it all out. No matter what, your brothers are right here behind you. It was our oversight that led to this. It won't happen again."
Patricia didn't burst into loud cries.
Instead, she just leaned her head on Riley's shoulder, letting her tears flow unchecked.
Without delay, Riley and Ariel took Patricia and set out for Country M immediately.
Patricia hadn’t been able to sleep all night. The stress and mourning clung to her, making the hours on the plane stretch endlessly as she stared out the window, her fingers relentlessly twisting the fabric of her pants.
The plane touched down at an airport. No one had managed to rest.
Riley had arranged for a driver to take them directly to the cemetery Carter had mentioned. They arrived without incident and found Martin’s grave.
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