“Mr. Norman—”
“Get out! You’re the reason she’s here. If it weren’t for you and your ridiculous fans, my precious Dee wouldn’t be fighting for her life right now.Look at her. This is all your fault, you ignorant son of a—”
“Ford, stop it! Can’t you see that he’s hurting just as much as we are?” Dee’s mum, Liz, says, cutting him off.
The enormity of guilt weighs down on me when I realize what he’s saying.
“I know this is my fault, sir.Trust me.It’s all I’ve thought about for the last two days. Don’t worry. You can hate me all you want, but it still won’t add up to anywhere near as much as I hate myself!” I reply and run my hand through my hair, closing my eyes so I don’t cry in front of Dee’s father.
“Oh, Colt. Don’t hate yourself, darling. It’s not your fault. It was an accident, and as long as she is getting better, that’s all that matters,” Liz says, and I swallow hard before resting my head on Dee’s bed.
“No, I don’t care how guilty you feel. You don’t belong here. Now,get out,” Ford exclaims harshly.
I try to contain my anger. “I’m sorry, Mr. Norman, but I’m not going anywhere. I told Dee I wouldn’t leave her, and I never will. So you can hate me all you want, and I don’t blame you. But I amnotleaving under any circumstances.” I return my focus to Dee’s beautiful face.
“No, I don’t accept that. Get the fuck out of my daughter’s room, or I’ll drag you out myself,” he berates, walking over to me and pulling me up by my collar.
“Ford, stop this right now,” Liz exclaims loudly.
“Hit me! Go on, I know you want to,” I say.
Ford pushes me, causing me to stumble backward slightly, but I manage to catch myself before I fall.
“Don’t tempt me, boy,” he bellows, and I rush back over to him and look him square in the eyes.
“Hit me! Do it!” I urge, needing the punishment.
He grabs me by my collar. “I swear to God, if you don’t get out now, Iwillbloody hit you,” he states through gritted teeth.
“Well, I’m not going anywhere, so give it your best shot,” I taunt.
He pulls his clenched fist back, and then, in slow motion, his fist comes forward, and I smile slightly just before his hard knuckles connect with my face.
“Oh my God, Ford,” Liz screams as I fall back, hitting the floor, blood pooling from my nose.
For a second, the pain is so bad that I forget where I am, and I start to laugh—a deep, harrowing belly laugh.
Ford and Liz look at me strangely as I sit on the floor and bring my knees to my chest. I wipe the blood from my face and look up to see that Dee is still the same, not moving, just there, sleeping. She might as well be gone. I guess I was hoping that maybe if she heard us fighting, she might wake up and stop us. My manic laughter quickly turns to sobs as I rest my head against my knees and fall completely apart in front of her parents.
“Jesus, Ford, look what you’ve done to the poor man,” Liz scolds, sitting beside me on the floor. She wraps her arm around my shoulders, blood still dripping from my nose.
“I’m so sorry… I’m so sorry… I’m so sorry—”
“Hey, hey, stop that now. Stop feeling guilty, Colt. You are not the reason Deliah is here. Don’t listen to Ford. He’s doesn’t know how to deal with this,” Liz says, waving her hands around. She pulls my head up, examining my nose, then winces before turning to stare harshly at Ford.
“Sorry. I shouldn’t have punched you. I’ll get a nurse,” Ford apologizes and walks out of the room, rubbing the back of his neck.
I try to control my tears. Falling apart in front of Dee’s parents was the last thing I wanted to do.
Ford walks in with Shannon, the nurse from earlier, and she grimaces. “What on earth have you done now?” she asks while walking over to kneel in front of me.
When I look up at Ford, he’s purposely not looking at me.
“I walked into the wall.”
Shannon glares. “You’d have had to have hit the wall pretty darn hard to do all this damage and have this much blood,” she says.
Ford’s gaze shifts to me.
