My mom walks behind us quietly, not saying a word as we meet an ambulance out front. As paramedics jog towards us, I see Carly being put into a squad car. Well, put in is a relative term. She has her legs spread on the car, preventing her from going through the door. She looks like a nightmare, white wedding gown stained with blood, a face full of anger and vengeance as she screams and shouts into the night.
My father is being held back by a police officer as he shouts at Carly to comply. Of course she doesn’t, though, bucking and screaming as she completely falls apart into chaos. Her head rears back and cracks the police officer holding her inthe face, forcing him to drop her to the ground. She screams in pain as he holds his nose, cursing through his hands.
“She broke my goddamn nose!”
Hey, me too. Twinsies.
The paramedics get me assessed in the ambulance before looking to my mom and Nico.
“Who is going with?”
They exchange a look before she gives me a tight grimace.
“He can. I’ll meet you guys there.”
Nico falters for a moment but my mom is already walking away towards my dad. I don’t know why her disappointment hurts so much, but it really fucking does. Nico climbs into the ambulance and sits beside me, holding my hand as we take off to the hospital.
Not how I thought my day would be ending.
Chapter Thirty Four
Nico
Cassi’s nose is broken and she has a concussion and I’m on a goddamn warpath. The police followed us to the hospital where an officer questioned me and then Cassi for over an hour before finally leaving. When he asked Cassi if she wanted to press charges, she said no, and it took everything in me not to climb the fucking walls.
According to Mary, Carly is currently being processed in jail. It doesn’t matter that Cassi doesn’t want to press charges, she assaulted a police office, resisted arrest and I guess Jake is pressing charges, so in shorthand, she’s fucked.
Henry is currently down there, trying to figure out bail, but it’s a Saturday night and she won’t be able to see a judge until Monday at the earliest. Good. Let her fucking rot in there for all I give a shit.
They won’t let Cassi sleep because of her concussion and they want to keep her overnight for observation due to the severity of the trauma. Her entire forehead has swelled up and is turning black and blue and her nose is currently in a splint and will take weeks to heal. I’m fucking sick over it. I’m sick that I couldn’t get to hersooner, I should have. I let her down and she got hurt, and I have no one to blame but myself.
What I can’t figure out is how Carly knew the necklace was from me. Did she see it before I moved it to the brownstone? Did someone say something? I don’t know who would. It’s my fault nonetheless. I shouldn’t have given it to her during this…tense time. I wanted to do something special, just for us. I wanted Cassi to know that even if we were going through our own version of hell, she was on my mind, she was my priority. And it fucking ruined everything.
I’ve had no less than a dozen missed phone calls from Brittany, all have been sent to voicemail. I don’t have anything to say to her. That plan we had? To keep things quiet, to break apart behind the scenes and spin the story before it hit the streets. Yeah, I blew that to all hell, and honestly, it’s the least of my concern. My entire company could go bankrupt, my accounts could drain in a second and I wouldn’t even bat an eye.
My only concern and focus is the woman in the bed before me, staring at her hands as her mother berates her.
“I honestly just can’t believe this. How could you do this, Cassi? I know that you and Carly have your issues, but to go after her boyfriend? Or fiancé? Whatever. It’s just…it’s not like you. Like her, maybe, but not you. You’re my good girl, my sweet girl. I just…” Mary shakes her head in frustration and I stand up, having quite enough of it.
“I’m sorry, Mary. I mean absolutely no disrespect when I say this, but if you don’t start treating your daughter with the respect she deserves, I will have you removed from the hospital.”
Mary stares at me in shock as I shake my head.
“C’mon, this is Cassi we are talking about. You are going to sit here and shame her for falling in love when your other daughter attacked her? You want to play like Carly is the victim? My mother was cheated on her entire marriage to my father. Believe me, no oneknows the psychological damage it does to loved ones better than me.
“We weren’t together out of some ploy to get back at Carly. We didn’t do it because we didn’t care about the consequences. We fell in love. We met while Carly and I were on a break, and we tried to push our feelings aside. Clearly, it didn’t work, and I am sorry that things got so out of hand, but this is your daughter. Your child is hurt and humiliated, and you need to start acting like the mother I know you are.”
Cassi is staring up at me wide eyed while Mary’s mouth is parted like she’s never been more offended in her life. Let her be, I didn’t say anything that wasn’t the truth.
“I just…this is all very shocking. I knew you liked him, Cass, but I had no idea that feelings ran so deep…on both sides. I, just, I need to process.”
“Then please, go process away from here because she is hurt and needs to heal, more than just physically,” I say.
Mary stares at me like she doesn’t know who the hell I am, but I really don’t care. I stand my ground because she is more than welcome to be here, but not to guilt or abuse Cassi. Gathering up her things, she quietly steps out of the room and moves down the hall.
I turn to look down at Cassi, running a gentle hand through her hair.
“Are you okay?”
