“Where is she? Is she okay?”
“She’s okay.” Harrison’s voice croaks next to me. “Are you okay?”
“H? Where are you? I can’t see you.”
He walks around, and his horrified face stares down at me, and I burst into tears. “Is Claudina okay?” I sob, tears blinding my eyes. “I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry.”
“Sir, I’ve asked you multiple times now to take a step back. I’m almost done here.” June says as she waves someone over, then turns toward me. “Juliette, do you remember what happened here today?”
“Yes. Amber tried to take Claud from the playground,” I utter, the vision fresh in my mind.
“Okay, that’s great. Now, I need you to please lay still while we get you to the hospital.”
“What? Why?”
“You’ve taken a hard hit to your head, and you have an open wound that needs to be cleaned out. It will also need to be stitched. They will probably want to do a CT scan while you’re there to be safe.”
“I’m not in pain, though,” I tell her.
“That’s because of the adrenaline. Give it some time,” she says and then begins to push the stretcher that I’m lying on over to the ambulance, Harrison following along.
Before they put me in, Claud comes into view. She is crying hysterically, trying with all her might to remove herself from Sebastian’s arms.
I recognize him now from the pictures—he’s the one who saved her from Amber.
“Seb, give me her so she can see Juliette. Otherwise, she’s going to freak out more.” Harrison puts his arms out, and Sebastian takes a step back.
“Absolutely-fucking-not. Over my dead body, is she going near that woman.”
My heart drops at his words.
He blames me…and he has a right to.This is all because of me.
My cousin, my fucked-up leg…none of this would have happened otherwise.
My head is secure, so I can’t turn, but I move my eyes toward June and ask her to please put me in the ambulance. I need to get out of here.
Harrison is screaming at Sebastian, Claud is crying, and I feel like my life is falling apart right in front of my eyes.
Claudina could have been kidnapped today because of me…
“So, what you’re telling me is that she has a disabled leg, and you left Claudina in her care? You jeopardized Claudina’s lifebecause of a fucking woman?” Sebastian shouts. “She could have been kidnapped!”
“Stop it!” Claud cries.
“Come here, sweetheart.” Leo’s voice suddenly appears, and I hear Claud’s cries move further and further away.
“It is my fault, not Juliette’s,” Harrison bellows. “It’s not because of her fucking leg. How close-minded can you be? How are you not seeing the bigger picture here.”
I screw up my eyes and weep. I don’t want to hear anymore. “Get me out of here, please.”
A hand rubs my foot, and my eyes fly open to see Rosa’s sad face staring back at me. She looks at June and asks if she can ride with me. “No, Rosa. Be with your family.”
“Sweetheart, you are my family now. Let me come.”
I have no fight left in me. “Can you call my mom, please?” I cry and wish away the tears.
“I did. She was downtown near Battery Park, so it will take some time for her to get up here. She’s going to meet us at the hospital.” Just as June closes the doors, Harrison screams to wait, but luckily, June does not listen.I can’t face him right now.
