you truly believe I belong there?”
Baz pinches the bridge of his nose and lets out a frustrated sound. “That came out wrong. I don’t think you’re crazy. But the subject of the guys, the mere mention of any of them, including Marcus, sends you into a tailspin.”
“They killed my sister!” I snap. Jutting my finger out, I take a threatening step forward, and my heart drops when I hear the scream. It’s not one of those screams that is used when playing around. It’s real, filled with pain and fear.
Without sparing Baz another glance, I run from the bedroom, down the hall, and back into the living room. My feet skid to an abrupt halt, just over the threshold, as I stare at Ava. There’s blood. So much blood. I place a trembling hand over my stomach and try to stop the sudden bout of nausea. I’ve never been good around blood, least of all not after my accident.
Baz jumps into action while I stand there, frozen in place, ice filling my veins. Taking a bleeding and crying Ava into his arms, he applies pressure to the wound on her head. My body, still thoroughly stuck in shock, won’t allow me to move forward and be productive. Baz barks at me, telling me to grab the keys and start the car. That’s the only thing that snaps me out of it. I hit the corner quickly, scrambling to find my purse and car keys.
Snatching them off the end table, I run outside, leaving the front door wide open and throwing open the driver side door and starting the car. Baz and Ava follow closely after. He’s cradling her against his chest, as he climbs into the back seat, a towel and his hand applying pressure to the slit in her head.
“Drive to the hospital.”
I pause for another long moment, as I stare at Ava’s sobbing form.
What have I done?
They’re never going to let me keep her.
How did I ever think I could take care of a child?
“Drive, Mackenzie!” Baz shouts, snapping me out of my fear-induced trance again.
The drive is thirty minutes long. Thirty minutes too long from my house to the hospital. I pull straight up to the emergency doors, allowing Baz to carry Ava out of the car, before I pull off, looking for a parking spot and trying to control myself.
I’m not usually this skittish or idiotic when it comes to someone with a serious injury. But seeing someone I love? Someone I’m supposed to protect? It tripped me up. It’s fucking with my head, and the only thing I can think about is losing her. Losing Ava. Either to the loss of blood or to the state. They’ll see I’m an unfit mother, and they’ll take her from me. They’ll take my one piece of happiness. My bright light in all this darkness.
Steeling myself, I walk into the emergency room, scanning the area, and I’m not surprised when I find Baz carrying Ava over by the admissions desk. Sucking in a lungful of air, I step up behind them and close in on her, needing to see that she’s okay. Her beautiful little lashes fan her cheeks when they flutter open, and she stares at me with tears glimmering in her eyes. I sniff back the pressure in my nose and take a step closer to Baz and her.
“Everything is going to be okay, sweetheart. I promise.” I rub my hand along her arm, needing to feel the warmth of her skin beneath mine, just so I know she’ll be okay. The doors leading into the back exam rooms open, and with a scowl on his face, Baz trudges through with Ava, and I follow closely.
Placing her onto the patient bed, he takes the seat closest and keeps the pressure to slow the bleeding. The towel is soaked with blood already, and I may not be a doctor, but even I know that isn’t normal. Some pressure to the wound should at least be slowing it down, but it doesn’t seem to be helping in her case. An older man in a white lab coat pulls back the curtain and stops just bedside the bed.
“What seems to be the problem today?” the doctor asks, taking a step toward Ava.
“I-well…” I pause and then frown, not really sure what happened. One second, she was fine, painting in the living room, and then the next, she was screaming and bleeding everywhere. Once again, a better mother would know