My heart breaks for her, but I love to see the fire and determination burning in her eyes. That determination is what will get her through this.
“Good. He doesn’t deserve to be around you.”
The next few hours pass by quickly with different doctors and tests. I stay by her side as much as I can. Slowly, as the minutes pass, she seems a little more relaxed.
She has bruising all over her body, a mild concussion, and cracked ribs. How anyone could do this to another person is beyond me. It’s honestly surprising she didn’t sustain any internal bleeding with the extent of her injuries.
“I’ll never understand it,” Becks says, echoing the very thought rolling through my head.
We both stare at the closed door separating us from Leah and a pair of police officers. Now that we have her pain under control, they’re taking her official statement.
I was relieved when she said she wanted to press charges. I’ve seen so many cases of domestic violence where individuals don’t want to go down that road.
While I would never judge someone for the choices they make, I’m so proud of her for standing up for herself and putting her foot down.
“Neither will I,” I say on a heavy exhale.
The male officer steps out of the room, walking toward us. “Is she going to be released or will she be staying here overnight?”
“With her concussion, the doctor said he wanted her to stay for observation overnight,” I say. “She’ll be moved up to a room soon.”
He nods. “Good. That’s good.” We wait because it seems like he has more he wants to say. “Can you ladies put me in contact with the head of hospital security?”
He obviously can’t say anymore, but the need for security to be involved is pretty clear. They haven’t been able to apprehend Leah’s boyfriend. It feels wrong to think of him in that way because of what he did to her.
Becks hands over a card with the information the officer needs. He disappears outside with his cell phone already pressed to his ear.
“Are you good to cover things for a few minutes?” Becks asks.
“Oh, sure,” I say, surprised she’s stepping away right now. It’s very un-Becks-like.
She grabs her phone from her station. “I’ll try to figure some things out to help her once she is released tomorrow if….” Shetrails off, but we both know what she means.If they don’t catch him by then…
I have no idea who she’s going to call or what she’s trying to arrange, but whatever it is, I’m on board. There’s just something screaming inside of me to help Leah.
I want her to walk away from this and find the light at the end of the tunnel.
I want her to look back on all this years from now and see it as a stepping stone in making her a stronger, more resilient person, not as something that destroyed her.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Wyatt
I haveno interest in these teams, but here I am lounging on the couch watching Thursday night football anyway.
Kane is working at the bar tonight, so I offered to stay home with Oliver. I love hanging out with him. He’s my little buddy and has been since he was tiny.
He’s fast asleep now, and I’m all alone downstairs. I like football, but the Broncos aren’t playing tonight. Therefore, I don’t really care that much.
My phone vibrates on my lap with Becks’ name popping up on the screen. I can’t come up with a positive reason why she would be calling me, especially at this time of day.
I mute the television and answer the call. “Hey, Becks. What’s up?”
“Your brother isn’t answering his phone,” she says, bypassing any greeting and getting right to the reason for her call.
I have to laugh a little because that’s just her. Some might think she’s abrasive. I just think she isn’t full of bullshit.
“Don’t laugh, Wyatt Taylor,” she scolds in a motherly tone. Becks is older than me, but I don’t actually know how old she is.
