Chapter 37

37

Tyrion

I sat next to my wife’s hospital bed with my head down, praying for what seemed like the umpteenth time. This had been my routine for the last five days. I hadn’t been home. I hadn’t been to work. All I’d done was sit here and wait for my wife to wake up. It had been touch and go when we first got to the hospital. Evenie had coded three times behind the gunshot wound she sustained to the chest.

She’d lost a ton of blood and needed a transfusion as well. I felt like my world was falling apart at the seams. On top of this, I was dealing with my mother recovering and my daughter dealing with the trauma. Summer Rose refused to leave my side. She slept on the pull-out couch next to me. If she had to use the bathroom, she made me wait outside the door. Right now, she was curled up in bed next to her mother, holding my hand.

My heart broke for her.

She’d witnessed her grandmother get shot, she was kidnapped, and almost lost her mother all in the span of twenty-four hours. That was too much for her young psyche. I didn’t have the words to make things right or make her feel better. All I could do was hold her.

“Baby,” my mother said softly from the other bed.

When Evenie was in stable condition, I had her moved to the hospital closest to home. I’d had them house her in the same room as my mother to make it easier on us with visits. I looked back at her with bloodshot eyes.

“Yeah, Ma?”

“You two should really go home and get some proper sleep.”

I shook my head. “No. I need to be here when she wakes up. I don’t want her to be alone.”

“She won’t be alone,” my father said. “I’ll be here, and when I’m not here, her parents will be here.”

Speaking of her parents, I had the hardest time looking my in-laws in the eye right now. I felt like they blamed me for what happened, even though they never said that. It was the guilt eating me up.

“I just feel like I need to be here,” I said, looking back at my wife. I kissed her hand. “It’s the only thing I can do right now.”

They let me be. I rested my head on the bed and closed my eyes, saying another prayer. I needed a miracle right now.

The news had been flooded with highlights of the story. The police had been here several times to take statements. For a moment, I thought they were going to charge me and Evenie with Iona’s death. Luckily, there were police reports to establish a pattern of behavior leading up to this.

Mrs. Cambridge had done an interview, trying to clear herself of any backlash. She knew she was wrong for not disclosing her daughter’s mental status to me. When she learned that Iona was dead, she’d shown up at the hospital crying and pleading for forgiveness. I had nothing for her. She contributed to all of this by not doing her due diligence as Iona’s mother. Now she had to bury her child and live with that guilt.

I wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but I knew I’d fallen asleep. The nurse had come to take my mother to physical therapy, and my father went with her. Her parents had called and said they were on their way as well. I’d came out of my slumber when the feeling of a hand stroking my head alerted me. My eyes popped open, and I looked up to see Evenie smiling weakly at me.

“Hey, you,” she said faintly.

“Baby…”

I couldn’t say anything else because I was overcome with tears and emotions. I grabbed her hand, kissing it repeatedly as tears streamed down my face. Standing to my feet, I leaned in and cupped her face, kissing her lips.

“Stop crying,” she said, wiping my tears away.

“I thought I lost you, love.”

“It’s gonna take…” she cleared her throat. “It’s gonna take more than a bullet to get rid of me.”

She looked down at Summer, sleeping next to her. Gently, she stroked her hair. My baby stirred slightly before her eyes fluttered open. I nodded toward her mother, causing her to look back.

“Mommy!”

She scrambled to sit up and threw her arms around Evenie. Her mother winced in pain but took it like a champ to comfort our daughter as she cried on her shoulder.

“Mommy, I was so scared you were gonna die!” she wailed.

“I know, baby,” Evenie said, kissing her cheeks. She cupped her face and looked into her eyes. “I told you I would never leave you again, didn’t I?”

Summer nodded. “You did. You came back to me.”

“I’ll always come back to you. I know what happened was really scary, but you were so brave.”

I remembered sitting with Summer as she gave her statement to the police. When she recalled how she’d tried to fight Iona off, it broke my heart that she even had to do that. I knew it hurt her because she loved her. To know that Iona had been secretly pulling her into her office and telling her not to tell me because I would be upset enraged me just as much her taking my child.

She knew I wouldn’t have approved of that, and the fact that the school allowed it to go on for weeks made me pull my baby out of enrollment. My mother-in-law was going to homeschool her until the next school year began. I wanted her to feel safe and not have to deal with the backlash of everything that was going on. She had enough trauma.

The door to the room opened, and in walked Nina, Jersey, and Jaime. When she saw that her best friend was awake, she ran over, politely pushing me out of the way.

“Oh my God!” She cried audibly as she hugged her.

When she got the news, Jaime said he had to pin her down so she could gather herself. She’d grabbed her own gun and was prepared to finish the job if Iona hadn’t died. I’d almost waited to tell her because I knew they were expecting. However, I knew that not telling her would warrant me a cursing out and probably an ass whupping because she didn’t play about her best friend.

“I’m so glad you’re awake,” Nina said, wiping her eyes. “You scared me, Ev. I just got you back. I couldn’t lose you again.”

“I’ve got a lot more fight left in me.” She reached out and rubbed Nina’s belly. “How is my baby?”

“Giving me the blues.”

Evenie giggled as she reached for Jersey. “Hi, Jersey boo.”

“Hi, Auntie Ev. I’m glad you’re okay. We’ve been to see you every day in case you woke up.”

“I appreciate that, baby. Hey, Jay.”

Jaime made his way through us to hug her. “Welcome back, sis… well, again. You aren’t gonna make this a habit, are you?”

That was Jaime’s way of making light of the situation.

Evenie shook her head. “No. Let’s pray this is the last time.”

We sat around talking and catching up until my parents came back in. Of course, they both had to love on Evenie. My mother jokingly told her they had matching war wounds. Her parents came in, and I immediately retreated to my corner. I watched them hug and love on their daughter with my head hung low.

It had been hard to look them in the face since everything went down. Whenever they were here, I planted myself in a corner to give them privacy. The guilt was eating me up. As I tried to leave the room, Mama Cheryl stopped me.

“Stop this, Tyrion,” she said, grabbing my arm. “You’ve avoided us for days. Why?”

I hung my head, but she gently grabbed my chin and lifted it.

“I’m sorry, Ma.”

“Sorry for what?”

“Everything. Iona… if I’d never… this is all my fault.”

“Oh, baby.” She pulled me into a motherly embrace. “Tyrion, David and I don’t blame you for any of this. No one could have predicted this outcome. You don’t have to avoid us because you feel guilty. I don’t want you putting that on yourself. You’re our son, and we love you. If you hadn’t gotten there when you did, we might not have Evenie at all.” She pulled away and cupped my face. “Stay. You’re family, and my daughter needs to feel the love of all of us right now. No more talk of this being your fault, do you understand me?”

I nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”

She kissed my cheek and pulled me over to the rest of the family. Evenie sat staring silently at her father. For a moment, she reverted to that little girl when he hugged her. That man was her soft spot. She could hold up in front of everybody else, but for him, she would break down every time.

He climbed his ass right in bed with her and let her cuddle with him while Summer cuddled with her. It was quite the sight to see. I was glad to see that my wife wasn’t in a somber mood. She was more than a victim. She was a fighter and one of the strongest women I knew. While I was sure she would have her moments in the days to come, I knew she would push through and come out her best self.

A Week Later

“Watch your step,” I said, guiding Evenie up the front steps.

“Tyrion, I know how to go up the stairs,” she fussed.

“The doctor said take it easy, Mommy,” Summer Rose reminded her.

“I know, baby, but—”

“Paw Paw said you better let us take care of you, or he’s coming over with his belt.”

That made me laugh and caused my wife to throw me a dirty look.

“You would snitch on me to my daddy?” she asked.

“I absolutely would.”

“Traitor.”

“I love you too.”

Evenie allowed us to guide her into the house with no further resistance. Summer ran ahead to fluff the couch pillows for her. I guided her into the seat, and baby girl propped her feet up.

“Comfortable?” she asked.

“Very. Thank you, my love.”

I headed into the kitchen to make Evenie a snack, coming back with all her favorites on a tray. Summer had set up a little table beside her, so I placed the tray next to her.

“You guys…” Evenie said, looking around. “I love that you want to take care of me, but I don’t need catering to right now. All I want is to cuddle with you both. We can watch a movie or a show or something. I just want to be close to you. Can I please have that?”

Summer and I looked at each other, then at her.

“Okay, Mommy,” she said.

Evenie smiled as she made room for us. I sat next to her, while Summer sat on my lap with her legs thrown across Evenie’s. She reached for her mother’s hand, and Evenie didn’t hesitate to give it to her. Just like with me, she had to be in her mother’s skin. Her need to be near us or touch us in some form or fashion was like reassurance that we weren’t going anywhere.

Dr. Stewart, who she was now seeing, said it was a normal trauma response. We were more than happy to give her the reassurance she needed. In a way, I needed that shit too. To go through having a loved one kidnapped not once but twice was triggering as fuck for me. I knew, eventually, I would snap out of it, but for right now, I needed the comfort as much as both of them did.

I turned on a movie, and for the rest of the day, we occupied that spot on the couch. Our parents had agreed that Evenie’s first day home should be spent with us, so they left us alone… mostly. Every so often, I got a text asking how she was doing, but that was the extent of the conversation.

Darkness fell, and I cooked dinner for my girls. We ate and watched another movie before getting ready for bed. Once all three of us were showered and I’d dressed Evenie’s wound, we climbed into bed with Summer Rose between us. She cuddled up next to her mother and closed her eyes. It wasn’t long before we heard her light snores filling the room.

In the light from the television, Evenie and I stared at each other. I reached out and stroked her face.

“I’m so glad you’re home, love,” I said quietly.

She smiled. “Me too.”

I hesitated for a moment before I spoke again. I felt like I hadn’t apologized enough for everything that went down. There weren’t enough words to express my deepest sympathy, yet I tried to find them. As though she could read my thoughts, Evenie placed a finger to my lips.

“Tyrion.” She cupped my chin and guided my lips to hers, kissing me slow and sensually. “You don’t have to say it again,” she said when she pulled away. “I don’t blame you. I’m not mad at you. I’m not going to leave you. Get the thought out of your head.”

I chuckled. “You know me well.”

“Like the back of my hand.”

“Do you think she will be okay?” I asked, looking down at Summer.

“She will, because she has you, me, and a bunch of other people that care for her and her mental. We will make sure she’s okay. We will make sure she is and feels safe. We won’t allow what has happened to traumatize her any more than it already has. You and me are her parents… the people who love her most in the world. We won’t fail her.”

I nodded, understanding exactly where she was coming from. Mrs. Cambridge failed Iona in so many ways. It was almost laughable that she was a mental health professional. It was my opinion that she blurred the line between mother and professional when it came to her own child.

She was an award-winning psychologist, yet under her care, she’d allowed her child to go untreated for far too long. It was one thing to threaten to commit her to get her help. It was another to follow through with it. Had she followed through sooner, Iona might still be here, and none of this would have happened.

“I love you, Tyrion,” Evenie said.

“I love you too.”

I leaned in and kissed her again before snuggling closer to wrap my arms around both of my girls. Moments like this had been a long time coming. We had each other, and finally, we had peace.