Page 10 of Four Times Saved

My chest rattled in response. "What? Dad? No one. Why don't you go back to bed?" I rested my hand on his shoulder. It was a gentle gesture, but not a welcome one.

"Do you want to be slapped upside the head, boy?!" He barked at me, and for a second I experienced what it would be like to be under his command in the army. He and mom weren't fans of physical discipline, so for him to threaten hitting me now must mean that he's pissed, or he's on the verge of a flashback. "I'm not a toddler. I'm not a demented old man either. Don't treat me like I'm an idiot, damn it. I know what I heard!"

At the sound of my father's loud voice, my mother slammed and latched her bedroom door down the hallway. Shit! Now, she was triggered and one wrong word might trigger him further to hell knows where. Fuck, I was about to explode. I didn't know how to handle all of this. Both of us looked in the direction of mom's door. My skull was tight and expanding.

Abashed, my father lowered his voice. Running his hand through his short silver hair, he exhaled. "Let me help."

How did I let him know that despite how much I'd love his help right now, there was nothing he could do?

Ethan

Matt left to get his head sorted and I cut the phone call off because the world was closing in on me and I couldn't listen to us go back and forth over the obvious, without finding solutions that would lead us to getting Lily back tonight. I locked myself in the bathroom and broke down like a baby before finding the strength to leave and collect Mrs. Thornbread from the nurse's office where she'd been taken while Matt and I were being interviewed.

"Who are you to this woman?" The nurse asked.

"She's...uh...my girlfriend's mother," I nodded.

"And where's your girlfriend now?" The ignorant woman looked up at me and my eyes filled with more tears.

"Hmmm." I cleared my throat and took a moment to exhale. "She's...um...missing, that's why we're here."

"Hey, man. What's the hold up?" Matt returned. "I've been waiting for you in the car." He reached for Mrs. Thornbread.

"Excuse me, sir." The nurse threw her body in between them. "And who are you?"

"He's uh...my best friend," I said, in order to avoid the judgment of before. "He's the one driving us back."

"Uh huh." She looked between the both of us. "I'm sorry. I can't release her to you unless you're a family member."

"What?" This wasn't a damn hospital. We were the ones who brought her in. "That's ridiculous. She can't stay here with you."

"Hold on one moment," she said, before going on the phone. Moments later, the same stupid cop showed up. Matt and I groaned. She heard it and looked at us with further suspicion. Great! "They're saying they want to take her home."

He nodded and turned to us as if he was going to 'handle it.' He couldn't 'handle' shit. "Is there any other family she can stay with?"

Exhausted, I turned away. I'd had enough of this.

"No. Lily's her only family. She'd want her with us," Matt argued.

"What about a husband?" He asked.

"He's the reason she's in the wheelchair!" Matt yelled and I took a deep breath.

"Sir, please. We've had a long night. We're all she has at the moment." I waved my hand toward him in desperation.

He shrugged. "I'm sorry, there's nothing I can do."

He got that right.

"If you don't know anyone else she can stay with, we'll have to..." He started looking away from us, shaking his head and gesturing. I closed my eyes because the steam was swelling inside me and I couldn't let it show.

"No, it's fine. It's fine. You know what, there's a Women's Shelter Lily volunteers at." Matt's voice grew higher in pitch, his tone short.

However, I breathed a sigh of relief and pulled out my phone, finding the contact number. "You can verify it with them. We'll follow you to the shelter to make sure she gets there as soon as possible. She's catatonic. She needs specific care from people who understand. They've looked after her for Lily before. She's familiar with that place."

To our fucking relief, the cop nodded and didn't offer anymore of his opinions. Thank goodness, because I couldn't stand to be around him or this nurse a second longer.

Chapter 5

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