We arrived at the hospital in less than ten minutes, and I couldn’t say a word to Rosa the whole ride. She just held my hand silently and let me be.
I want to say something, but sorry doesn’t seem anywhere close to good enough.
They rolled me straight to a room, and now I’m laying here, my head and neck braced, while Rosa fills out all the paperwork for me before they take me back for a scan.
I’m pretty positive I heard her threaten staff with words and names like Davenport and donation when we arrived, and then suddenly, I was being rushed around and promised the best doctors.
There’s a knock on the door. I can’t turn to see who it is with my head stabilized, but I’m praying it’s my mom. Rosa gets up and comes to my side. “How can we help you, Detectives?”
“Detectives?” My voice is hoarse.
“We’re here to get a statement from Ms. Caldwell on today’s attempted kidnapping.”
“You will need to come back at a later time. She is about to go for a scan.” Rosa points behind her to the hospital orderly.
The detectives move to the side when I get pushed out. Rosa follows beside us, reassuring me she’s not leaving my side.
When we pass, the detectives stare down at me, and the taller one glares at me with a look of suspicion, causing the hairs on the back of my neck to stand up. What the hell was that about?
“Rosa, I appreciate you being here with me, but maybe while I’m in the scan, you can go back to the room and wait for my mom? She’s going to be frantic, so I don’t want you to miss her. She’ll be the one screaming the house down in a French accent.”
“Of course, sweetheart. Anything you want.” She leans down, kisses my forehead, and then returns to the room.
Miraculously, I’m taken right in for the scan, and it’s done seamlessly. I’m not a stranger to hospital stays. Nothing goes smoothly, especially in a big city hospital, so it only confirms what I thought Rosa said earlier.
While I’m alone, waiting for the orderly to push me back, my mind starts racing, and I now wish Rosa had stayed with me to distract my frantic thoughts.
How is my sugar plum?
What could I have done differently?
Where is Amber? Did she get arrested? Was she on drugs? Did she forget to take her medication? Why did she do this to me? How did she know who Claud was?
But most importantly…how will we ever move past this?
“You jeopardized Claudina’s life because of a fucking woman.”Sebastian’s words play repeatedly in my head, and suddenly, this is all starting to feel like the beginning of the end. There is no way to fix this. Sebastian’s right…Claudina’s life was in my hands, and I failed her.
“Are you ready, miss?”
“Yes. Thanks,” I mumble.
While I’m rolled back into the room, my mind doesn’t stop, and I’m becoming more anxious by the second. Harrison will never trust me again.How could he?
What would have happened if Sebastian didn’t intervene?
“What’s wrong? Are you okay?” Harrison’s worried voice startles me as I’m wheeled into the room. They took off the stabilizer, and although stiff and sore, it feels good to move my head.
I glance over him, and it’s the first time I’m getting a good look at him. He looks so unlike my usual put-together man; his vibrant blue eyes are dull and sad. His hair is disheveled, and his clothes are askew, covered with blood and muck.
“What are you doing here? Why aren’t you with Claudina?”
He furrows his brows. “What do you mean, what am I doing here? Did you expect me not to be by your side after I watched you unconscious on the ground with blood dripping out of your head?” he says, hurt laced through his words.
“Yes. Claud is more important than me. You should be with her.” I reply with no emotion, turning my head away from him. The second I see the disappointment of what I’ve done, it will break me in half.
“Claud is fine. She has no idea what happened today and thought the commotion was because you were hurt. That’s the only thing worrying her right now.” When I don’t answer, he takes my hand in his, and I attempt to pull it away, but he won’t let me. “Look at me, Jules. What’s going on?”
Two women with white coats, who I presume are doctors, walk in the room. “Hello, Ms. Juliette Caldwell?”
