Page 95 of Hating the Boss

I swallowed hard before introducing myself. It wasn’t quite how I pictured meeting Sarah’s only family, but I went on to explain what had happened. Jessica listened intently, worry melting away the anger. I could see how much she loved her sister. How protective she was of her. I knew the two of them were all they had.

“I’m so sorry,” I said softly, kneeling on the ground next to Jessica. She looked reluctant as I reached for her hand, but when she didn’t pull away, I squeezed it gently and looked her in her eye.

“I love your sister,” I said softly. “I won’t let anything happen to her.”

“Again…” she corrected me.

“Again,” I repeated. “I vow to protect her and take care of her.”

“And the baby…” she said.

“And our baby.”

She studied my face before softening her own, as if realizing she believed me. I stood up from the sidewalk.

“I have to go to her now…”

“Not without me,” said Jessica sternly.

“Of course not.” I shook my head.

Jessica called for her nurse, who was still sitting in the van, saying we needed a ride. I quickly called Mount Sinai to make sure the EMT had followed my instructions of taking Sarah there. When I received confirmation that she had arrived, we said goodbye to Brittany. She was heading upstairs to meet with a detective who was coming by to collect the note and brick for evidence.

On the ride to the hospital, I called Anton.

“Hello?” he asked breathlessly. “Did you find her?”

“Yes,” I said. “There was an incident, but everyone is okay.”

“An incident?” he asked worriedly.

“I’ll tell you all about it. I’m heading to the hospital now.”

“Jesus Christ…” he murmured.

“We’re okay,” I assured him again. “Heading to Mount Sinai.”

“I’ll meet you there,” he said before quickly hanging up.

I could feel Jessica looking at me as I put my phone into my jacket pocket, her worry filling the air that sat between us in the backseat.

“She’s going to be okay,” I said.

“She’s all I have,” she said, voice shaky.

“I know,” I said sadly. “She told me what happened to your mother…your father…”

She nodded slowly, wiping a tear from her cheek. I could see the same strength Sarah had tried to show on the gurney now with her sister who had gone through her own hell. If there was one thing for certain, the Atkinson sisters were a different breed of strength.

I felt my own worry begin to seep in as we sat in silence for the rest of the ride. If anything happened to our baby, I didn’t know what I would do. It was all still so new, but I knew I would die to protect him or her. It was then I knew that I was meant to be a father.

Chapter 37 Sarah

Beeping sounds filled my ears. I struggled to open my eyes that felt gritty with sandpaper. As they slowly opened, they adjusted to the glow of small, colored lights flashing around me. Pale beige walls encased me as I tried to sit up in bed. A hospital bed.

I groaned as I remembered why I was here. I must have fallen asleep on the ambulance ride over, exhausted from the attack from Angela as I tried to fight for my life. My baby’s life. I shuddered at the thought, instinctively grabbing my stomach for any clue as to if my baby was okay.

Clamped around my finger was a sensor that was attached to a long cord, feeding information to a computer monitor. I tried to make sense of the lines that moved across the screen. Some jagged like mountain tops, some smooth like a pencil gliding along paper. None of it gave me any reassurance that the precious life I carried in me was okay.