If I Never Knew You Trilogy Bundle Page 9

  "We have to get Madison," Andy burst out. "We can't leave her there. Something really bad might happen and then it will be too late to save her from that creep."

  "What's going on?" I asked. I knew Andy knew something important about Madison, but he wasn't telling me. "Andy you've got to tell me. She means a lot to me, just like she does to you."

  "I..." Andy said.

  "If you don't tell me, then I can't help her," I stated.

  "Madison's pregnant!" Andy said. I froze and stared at him. "And she thinks it's yours, because the doctor said she was two months along, and two months ago she was with you."

  I felt completely numb as I stared at Andy. He looked as if he had run a mile-he was perspiring and his face looked exhausted. Then he finally said what I knew he wanted to say all along, but was too fearful to admit to me.

  "Damian's been beating her."

  I got up and instantly went to get my shoes on. There was no way in hell I was letting that motherfucker hurt either of them!

  "Where does he live?" I asked.

  "I'll come with you," Andy said.

  "Alright, fine, but you stay back, no matter what happens," I said.

  There wasn't time to argue about it and Andy, to his credit, didn't try. He simply got his shoes on, and we quickly went out the door. He

  gave me directions as I sped through the streets of Knightsbridge. As soon as we drove around the corner on Damian's street, we saw the flashing lights from multiple cop cars. Andy went pale.

  "Aw, shit! Don't tell me it's what I think it is," I uttered.

  We pulled over behind one of the cop cars and sprang out, running towards all the commotion. Andy made a sound that I wasn't sure was a whimper or groan, but it made me know that this indeed was the right place. We stood at the police barrier blocking the driveway, not sure what to do next.

  "Oh God, please help her." Andy whispered. I looked at Andy, and put my hand on his shoulder. He shrugged it off, and hurried over to a cop nearby.

  "Andy!" I said, following after him.

  "What happened?" Andy asked, looking at the cop.

  "Not now, boy," the cop said.

  "Excuse me, sir, but that's my sister in there. Would you tell us what is going on?" Andy asked in exasperation.

  The cop ran his eyes over Andy like he was trying to decide if he was telling the truth.

  "What is your sister's name?" he asked.

  "Madison Summers. She's eighteen, a couple months pregnant and her boyfriend's been beating her," Andy blurted out.

  The cop held up a finger to us and turned around to mumble something in his radio. Andy fidgeted and tried to listen in on the radio chatter.

  "The ambulance left several minutes ago. Your sister has sustained several severe wounds and was unconscious when we found her. Her boyfriend has been taken into custody," the cop reported.

  "Oh God," Andy said.

  "They'll be waiting for you at the hospital-Knightsbridge Presbyterian," the cop said.

  Andy ran back to the car and pulled out his cell phone to call his mother, who said she would meet him at the hospital. Barbara was usually very cool-headed and calm in serious situations, but I could tell there was panic in her voice while Andy talked to her.

  We didn't talk the whole way to the hospital. I drove as fast I could while Andy sat frozen like an ice sculpture. For a kid who's prone to fidgeting when he's nervous, his stony demeanor frightened me. In addition, he must have felt tremendous guilt for not letting me know sooner about the danger Madison was in.

  This time he didn't run when we got out of the car. He walked as if the hospital held his death. We entered the emergency entrance and were instantly met with a cop who took Andy aside. I went into the waiting room, looking out for Barbara. She arrived ten minutes later, only to be escorted by another cop to where Andy was. I was by myself for almost an hour when Barbara and Andy finally came out and sat next to me, looking exhausted. They told me that Madison was stable and out of danger. The doctors would be running some tests on her, mainly due to her pregnancy. I felt relieved to hear that the situation was under control, but I was so anxious to see Madison as soon as possible. Andy said that the doctors would let us know when we could see her.

  After a few minutes of silent thought, Barbara admitted, "I should have kept my eye on her so much more than I did. You know, with her being 18 and working, I considered her an adult, but even adults need guidance sometimes." She began sobbing hysterically and I held her in my arms and reassured her that everything would be alright.

  "He asked me how long this had been going on," Andy said, staring at the blank white wall of the waiting room. "How long he had been hitting her, how long he had been with her. I didn't know how long he had been hitting her. He could have been doing it the whole time they were together, for all I knew. I only found out after I learned she was pregnant."

  "It'll be okay, buddy. Don't beat yourself up too much," I comforted him.

  "Then he told me how bad the situation was when they got there," Andy revealed. I waited, but I didn't think he was able to repeat what the cop had said. "She looks pretty bad, apparently, but she is out of danger, at least. They're going to take a test to see how the baby is doing." He sighed. "We should call Uncle Jack."

  "Okay. Until the tests are done, though, we can't do anything but sit and wait," Barbara told us. "Orion, I feel so much better with you here. You do love her. It's so obvious, and I think she loves you, too."

  She began crying again and I pulled her in close to me again. She needed to release her own guilt and frustration with Madison, which had been building for so long. Barbara was in many ways the polar opposite of her daughter. While she was calm, low-key and almost overly-cautious about so many things, Madison was impetuous and often made split-second decisions that she regretted later.

  Half an hour later, we were quiet once again. The vending machine diagonal of us was humming away and a nurse was scribbling furiously at a clipboard. After a while I just couldn't take it anymore.

  "Do you want anything from home?" I asked Barbara and Andy, standing up. "I can't stay here and just wait. This place is creeping me out."

  Barbara shook her head and Andy asked for a sweater to battle the drafty waiting room. He had an open news magazine on his lap, but he didn't seem to be attempting to read it. I nodded and told them that if they needed me, or if anything came up, to call my phone.

  I drove around for a while, lost in my thoughts and feelings about Madison. The first thing I did when I returned to her house was go to Andy's room, grab a bag and put some things it including a sweater, his Game Boy, some batteries and a few games. Then I stood in front of Madison's room and hesitated before opening the door. If I knew that girl at all, she would want something to do once she was feeling up to it. I put her sketch book and art kit into a bag. Then I grabbed some clothes, toiletries, her brush and some hair ties. I threw the bags into my trunk and Andy's sweater into the front seat, before returning into the house. It was eerily quiet and empty.

  "Wonder if this is how Andy felt every night Madison worked and his mom was visiting their aunt," I said to myself.

  It must have been, at least at first. I'd never known it to be that way. Andy had always been in the house whenever I was here and if he or Madison weren't here, I had no desire to be in this old Victorian house alone, with its creaking floors and drafty windows. I shivered and left quickly.

  We didn't learn anything that night. When I got back, Uncle Jack was there with Andy and no one was talking. Jack seemed pretty upset, which I found surprising because, from what I could tell, the only feeling he showed for his niece was disappointment. We weren't allowed to see her yet because she was on morphine, which had made her sleepy, and the doctors didn't want us waking her. None of us left for the rest of the night. We just napped in the waiting room, trying to catch a few winks on the scratchy brown chairs. I was having an exceptionally hard time trying to adjust, seeing as how I hated hospitals. I ha
ted the smell of chemicals and rubber and bleach that seemed to cling to your clothes even after you left. I hated the eerie feeling of looming death that seemed to hang over your head. I hated knowing that if you were there, it meant either yourself or someone you love was in serious trouble.

  It wasn't until noon on the following day that we were able to see her. The four of us followed the nurse to the room.

  When we entered, we saw a thick wrap of gauze stretched across her forehead and around the back of her skull. She had a black eye, a cut on her lip and more bruises up and down her arms, as well as about a hundred minor cuts and scrapes. Luckily for her, her wounds were superficial and would heal in time. Also, the doctor said, there appeared to be no internal damage.

  Barbara was the first to recover from the shock of seeing Madison so beaten and bloodied. She slowly walked forward and took Madison's hand. Her eyelids fluttered slightly and, as I joined Barbara, her eyes cracked open just enough to see the whites of them. I could see her mouth move, but there was no noise coming out. Her small smile was weak and faded quickly. Barbara let out a sob and dropped her head lightly onto her daughter's stomach.

  We had yet to hear about the baby. They only told us that usually, in cases like this, the baby is not harmed because it is protected so well in the uterus. I breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing that. It was starting to dawn on me that that was my son or daughter. I would have been a wreck if my first unborn child died before it had the chance to live.

  "Please be alright, sis!" Andy muttered.

  "Madison will be fine in a while, Andy," I said. "Come on, let's leave her so that she can rest and recuperate. The doctors and nurses here know what they are doing and we should let them do their job. They will call us when they have more information on Madison and the baby."

  I just hoped the update on Madison and our baby was positive.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  YOU KNOW THAT feeling that you think you're awake, but you just can't open your eyes? That's pretty much how I felt when I woke up in the hospital. I heard people talking around me, but couldn't get my eyes to open to see what was going on. Everyone sounded like Charlie Brown's teacher. My arms felt heavy and my head felt warm and sticky. Then I was out like a light again. This happened several times before I felt someone take my hand and I forced my eyes open to see my brother standing over me. I looked past Andy and saw Orion too. Then I saw my uncle, who looked really concerned. I had never seen that look on his face before. My mom then walked into the room and gave me a soft kiss on the cheek. I felt myself blush.

  I fell asleep again and was out for a day before seeing everyone again. The next time I woke up, I heard some woman, probably a nurse, talking excitedly. She sounded confused, but I couldn't make out anything except the word 'baby', which she used a few times. That got my attention and I became a bit more alert and lucid-and somewhat anxious-until a kind doctor came in and told me not to worry because the baby was in great shape, considering the ordeal I had recently endured. I also learned that Damian was in jail, which was a relief. I never wanted to see that bastard again.

  A few days later, Andy and Orion were visiting me.

  "Hey, sis, how are you?" Andy asked.

  "I'll be better once I leave this hospital." I said.

  "You gave us all a pretty good scare there, Mad," Orion said.

  "I know," I said. I laughed with frustration. "I risked my life and my baby's for that creep. If he weren't already in jail, I'd tell you both to go and kick his ass."

  I tried to look at my lap, but my eyes fell onto my now-puffy stomach. I realized what I had just said. "Did you say anything?" I asked my brother.

  "About what?" Andy asked. I looked back at my stomach and Andy's face gave away his guilt.

  "So you told Orion?" I asked, looking at both of them.

  "I blurted it out because we took off to try and save you," Andy admitted. He frowned slightly. "Anyway, it's better for him to know, so he can make plans for his life and yours. Admit it, you both care very much about each other and now that Damian is gone, you are going to be together, aren't you?"

  Orion and I looked at each other and smiled. Little brothers could be annoying sometimes, but, man, when they were right-they were so annoyingly right!

  We were quiet again for a while, before I decided to lighten the mood. "Hey Andy, check this out." I pushed a button and the top half of the bed rose up. Andy laughed at the spectacle of the bed rising up like a lift bridge behind me.

  "So what do we do now, then?" Orion asked.

  "Find a doctor and ask about my progress?" I suggested.

  "It could say on this." Andy said, grabbing the clipboard hanging on the end of the bed. He read through the pages. "It just says all the damage done to you."

  "There was a nurse," I said, "A little while ago-I think it was yesterday or the day before. She was in my room and she sounded excited, but also confused. She mentioned the baby every so often."

  "I'll go see if I can find your doctor," Orion said.

  "So, what now, bro?" I asked.

  Twenty minutes later he was sitting next to me on the bed and we each had a controller in our hands. He had brought his game system and had finally managed to plug it into the TV in the room. I can't believe I had never bothered to play with him-it was fun.

  "Kick, kick you stupid thing!" I shouted.

  "You're pushing the wrong button," Andy said, looking at the controller in my hands.

  I smirked and started beating up his character when he put down his controller to help me.

  "Hey! That's cheating!"

  "It's not my fault you didn't bother to pause it," I said.

  "It's your fault for making me think you sucked."

  "No, you thought that all on your own," I teased, sticking my tongue out at him.

  "Ahem."

  Both of us looked over at the person clearing their throat. Orion and the doctor were standing a few feet away, both looking quite amused at the sight of me and my brother arguing.

  "I found him," Orion said.

  "Yes, we see that." I said, smiling. I looked at the doctor. "I have a question."

  "Go ahead," the doctor said.

  "I know what...what... he ...did to me. But I can't remember the cops arriving, for some strange reason."

  "Selective amnesia," the doctor explained. We all looked at him. "It's when a person in such a position as yours blocks out a painful memory. In this case, you were badly beaten and then blacked out. Even before the police arrived, your brain started to block out the traumatizing experience; hence, you cannot remember anything from that point on. Now, young lady, the best remedy for you is to keep resting and taking care of that strong little one inside of you." The kind doctor then left my room after he excused himself and told us that he had many patients to see.

  "I'm so relieved my niece or nephew is still alive!" Andy said. "That makes me an uncle, right?" He backed away a bit. "You won't do it again, will you?"

  "No," I said, after a moment, somewhat shocked that Andy would even think I would abort Orion's baby, knowing how much I loved him. "This baby is staying." Andy hugged me again and together we laughed. I looked at Orion and motioned for him to join us. "Hey, Daddy, come join the family!"

  Andy laughed more and held out his arms, too. Orion gave us a huge smile, walked over and sat on the other side of the bed. We all hugged one another for what felt like forever. Then Andy made some excuse about wanting food and he left, once again leaving me and Orion alone.

  "So, do you know for sure it's mine?" Orion asked. "Are you absolutely certain that it's not Damian's?"

  "You're ruining this for me," I whined. "I don't want it to be his. I don't want to have the child of some guy that my brother's terrified of and that I have reason to believe is the biggest asshole this side of the goddamn solar system." Orion chuckled and put his hand on my cheek. "I must look really bad, huh?" I dared to ask.

  "You're still damn beautiful," Orion said and plant
ed a kiss on my bandaged forehead. I refused to let myself wince. Thankfully, he pulled back after a second, out of consideration for my wounds. "Wonder when your brother's getting back."

  "Why?" I asked.

  "Well, I've got to go and get you a gift, don't I?" Orion asked, smirking. I smiled as best I could with my injuries and he hugged me. "You need some rest, Mad."

  "Really?" I asked, kind of whining.

  "I'll be here when you wake up, unless, you know, you wake up while I'm still trying to find you something," Orion said. He kissed my forehead and stood up. "Get some sleep, babe. You missed out on a lot of rest this past couple of months and just coming in and out of consciousness while in a hospital does not count." I stuck my tongue out at him before be pushed the button to make the top half of the bed go back down. "Sleep!"

  "Make me," I said.

  "I'm trying," Orion retorted. He started out of the room.

  "Orion..." I called after him. He turned back to me. "Will you move in with us now?"

  "Of course I will-why would you think otherwise?" Orion asked.

  "After what happened last time you were there?" I reminded him. Orion came back to the bed.

  "Forget about it, alright?" he said. "We'll start over."

  "From where?" I asked.

  "Um, how about after the time you made your friend think I was your boyfriend?" Orion asked. "You remember that?"

  "No-the best day of my life and I don't remember," I replied, sarcastically.

  "There's the old Madison," Orion said with a smirk.

  I smiled and got comfortable. It was hard when my arms were still so sore, but I closed my eyes and soon drifted to sleep.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  I WAS ALLOWED out of the hospital after another two days when the doctor finally proclaimed that I was ready to go home. Orion had to get another bag to pack up with because of all the stuff everyone had given me during the last ten days. It was mostly stuffed animals and there were a few balloons that I wound up popping as we tried to secure them on the bag. Also, there were loads of flowers that we put into a box. Everyone fussed over me on the day that I got to leave. I kept saying I could do things for myself, but they wouldn't let me, so I wound up getting to sit in a wheelchair, with Andy pushing.