“No. We got here shortly before you. I was the first one in the store and didn’t step on any of the money coverin’ the floor. The second I saw Taleah, I was at her side. I’ve known her fora very long time. The only time I touched her was to brush the hair out of her face,” I answer him honestly as everyone from the club stands near the door so they’re not in the way of the cops or paramedics.
“Do you know who could have had a motive to attack this girl?” Reynolds asks and my mind immediately goes to TJ. He’s a pathetic piece of shit and I wouldn’t put it past him to do this because of something Taleah did to protect herself.
“TJ Bond. She’s been tryin’ to get him out of her house for a few weeks now. They’ve been together for a few years and he’s a useless piece of shit,” I tell him while watching the paramedics put a neck brace on Taleah very carefully while they try to get her blood pressure. I listen as they talk to one another and can hardly understand what they’re saying. It’s all a jumbled mess I can’t focus on with my gaze on her beaten body as I imagine everything TJ did to her. There isn’t a doubt in my mind this is him.
“We’re gonna have to call her next of kin,” Officer Reynolds says and I quickly turn my attention back to him.
“No. I need to be the one to call them. Her parents travel for business and I’m not even sure if they’re in town right now. If a cop calls them, it won’t turn out good. I’ll make sure they’re contacted. I’m pretty sure my sister, Elara, is her emergency contact because it was when we were younger. My sister doesn’t leave town very often so it makes sense for her to be there for Taleah,” I tell him, hoping he’ll allow me to make the calls so no one else has to deliver this news to the most important people in Taleah’s life.
“Okay. I’ll let you make the call, Master,” Reynolds agrees and I can see the pity in his eyes as he looks at me. I still have tears falling from my eyes as the paramedics begin loading Taleah on a back board.
I answer the rest of Reynolds questions about Taleah’s personal information while the paramedics prepare to wheel Taleah from the store. They cover her with blankets to preserve her modesty. Something I should have done but I was paralyzed by the sight of her so broken on the floor of her store. The security alarm didn’t even go off. If she hadn’t pressed the emergency button, no one would have shown up to help her. I don’t even want to think about what that means. Once she’s covered, they strap her down and begin to roll her out of Fantasy Realm. I follow closely behind and keep an eye on her so no one does something they’re not supposed to.
Officer Reynolds walks just behind me and continues to ask me questions. The very second they get her loaded up in the ambulance, I’m climbing in behind her. No one tells me I can’t ride with her as Count leans in very quickly.
“I’ll make sure the shop is locked up tight once the cops have left and that the alarm is set. We’ll keep some Prospects here to watch over the place so no one comes back. They can also let Taleah’s employees know the store will be closed until further notice. You focus on your girl and I’ll make sure her store is secured,” Count says before ducking out of the way so we can leave and get Taleah the help she needs before something worse happens to her. I can’t lose her. If I’m feeling this way, I can’t even begin to imagine how Elara and her parents are going to feel when I make those calls.
The doors are slammed closed on the ambulance as the sirens start blaring and we take off. There are two paramedics in the back with me as I sit out of the way so they can continue working. My eyes are locked on Taleah’s lifeless form as my heart continues to break and my soul is ripped to shreds. They’re talking back and forth as I watch intently for the rise and fall of Taleah’s chest. It’s barely moving, but it is. My gaze is completelyfocused on her chest so I’m the first one who knows if she stops breathing.
“Sir, we’re almost to the hospital. You’re going to have to go to the waiting area as soon as we pull in. Please don’t cause a scene and make us call security. Your friend is in critical condition and needs the staff to focus on her and not you,” one of the paramedics says as he continues working.
“I’m not gonna get in the way and will head directly toward the waiting room. Taleah comes first. I have calls I need to make anyway,” I assure them as they pull into the hospital and I prepare to see Taleah for the last time for now.
By the time they back in, I’m ready to leave Taleah to get the help she’s in desperate need of. Neither one of the calls will be easy, but they have to be made. Just before the doors open, I carefully lean over and place a gentle kiss against the top of Taleah’s head. I’m not sure if she has any injuries there, but she doesn’t move a muscle before I lean closer to her ear.
“I love you, Doll. I’ve always loved you and that won’t ever change,” I whisper to her so no one else hears me.
I back up just in time for the doors to whip open and the paramedics begin to pull her from the ambulance and head inside the hospital away from me. I don’t move from the doors until she’s completely out of sight. That’s when I finally let myself fall apart more than what happened in the store. My head drops down so my chin is pressing into my chest and my eyes slide closed. Breathing is almost impossible as my heart races and every instinct in me is saying to rush into Taleah’s side.
Instead, I take a minute to compose myself before calling Taleah’s dad. His phone number is still in my phone even though I haven’t used it in years. He sent me a message just after Bhodi’s funeral to assure me he wouldn’t change his number and I’dalways have him when I was ready to talk. This is not the call I was planning on making, but it can’t be helped. They deserve to know their daughter is in the hospital after being beaten and robbed. Pressing send on his contact information, the phone rings several times before he answers.
“Rex, is that you?” Mr. Winslow answers his phone as I cry once again. “Son, what’s goin’ on?”
“Mr. Winslow,” I begin, my voice breaking so bad I have to stop speaking for a minute. “There’s been an accident. Someone broke into Fantasy Realm and Taleah was just rushed to the hospital. She’s really hurt. I don’t know how much damage has been done to her and she didn’t wake up once from the time I got to her until she was wheeled into the hospital.”
I can’t say another word. I’m sobbing like a baby once again and I wait for him to respond. Mr. Winslow doesn’t say a word for a long time. Then he completely loses it. The man I admired growing up sobs harder than I am and I can hear his wife questioning him in the background.
“Stay with my baby girl. We’ll be on our way home today. I don’t care what it costs or how long it takes, but we will be home today,” he promises me. “Rex, don’t let anything else happen to Taleah. You stay with her. Please, Son. I know you’ve pushed everyone away, but don’t leave her right now. She needs someone she knows at her side.”
“I promise,” I manage to get out before he hangs up the phone and I know it’s so he can book flights home and tell Taleah’s mom what’s going on.
By the time I’m off the phone with Taleah’s dad, I’m at the front of the hospital. Members of the club are pulling in and Count rushes to my side. He remains close as I stare at my phone like it contains all of the answers in the world. Like it’s going tomagically heal Taleah and bring her back to me. That it can erase the damage that’s been inflicted mentally and physically to her. If I could take this from her, I would trade places in a heartbeat and not think twice about doing so. She doesn’t deserve to be treated this way by anyone.
“He’s gonna get his, Master. We all got your back and will be there every step of the way. Make the calls you gotta make so you can get inside in case they need somethin’ for Taleah,” Count says as more guys step up to surround me even though they have no clue what’s going on or what Taleah means to me.
Taking a deep breath, I continue sobbing as I pull up my sister’s contact information. Elara answers on the first ring.
“Rex, why are you calling after so long? Are you okay? Did something happen to someone we know?” Elara questions me, her voice full of fear and concern. I can imagine my sister pacing whatever room she’s currently in.
“Lar,” I begin, using her nickname from childhood. The tears fall faster because I know this is going to break my sister and she’s pregnant. This is the last thing she needs to hear right now. “It’s Taleah. She was attacked at her store. I’ve just gotten off the phone with her dad. It’s, um, it’s bad, Lar. She didn’t wake up at all. There’s, um, there’s so much blood.”
“What?” she screams and I can hear her crying. “What hospital are you at? You are still with her right, Rex?”
“I’m still here. Rode in the ambulance with her. We’re at Glendale Unity Hospital. This is where they brought her. Had the cop let me call her dad and you so you’d both hear the news from someone you know. Someone she knows. Lar, she’s gonna need you.Ineed you,” I say, becoming vulnerable for the first time in so very long it’s a foreign feeling to me.
“I’m on my way, Rex. I’ll be there as soon as possible. You’re not alone. Never alone,” my sister says through her tears before hanging up on me.
Count takes my phone and leads me in the hospital. I give Taleah’s name at the desk so they know we’re here for her. She won’t ever be alone if I can help it. I’ll watch her from the shadows for the rest of my life if that’s what it takes to ensure nothing like this ever happens to her again. Count leads me to a seat as we wait for someone to come out and give us an update on Taleah. I have no clue how long it will take for her parents to get here to be with her, but my sister will be here in less than a half hour if I know her. She’ll speed all the way here because Taleah is like a sister to her and she knows it’s bad if I was sobbing on the phone with her. For now, I stare straight ahead at nothing with Count on one side of me and Manic on the other. No one asks me any questions or says anything as I remain silent. My only thoughts are of Taleah and only her. I’ve missed so much fucking time because I made the decision not to allow myself to become vulnerable again. This is so much worse than I ever dreamed it would be. The pain I feel is worse than when I lost my grandma and Bhodi.
