Page 119 of My Vows Are Sealed

“That was his daughter. He’s just getting back out on the streets and I think he’s still a little raw,” he told me. “But you don’t know that.”

Damn. I couldn’t even imagine having to do a police officer’s job after having something like that happen to my family. I felt for the guy, but I was still upset. He had to understand that not every boyfriend out there was an abuser and not every father was a hero. And I would have assumed that a licensed therapist had to sign an officer off as fit for active duty after they went through something that traumatic. Lying and saying what that therapist wanted to hear didn’t help anyone, especially when saying what they wanted to hear just so they could get back out on the streets resulted in him misreading situations like this one because he was projecting his own personal experiences on it.

“I’m sorry for what he went through,” I murmured. “But right now, I really just want to get to the hospital and try to tellsomeonethe truth so they can arrest Darla’s father.”

“I know,” he assured me. “I’ll get this paperwork done and get you out of here as fast as I can, and I’ll call the detectives at the hospital and let them know what’s going on. I promise.”

I just nodded and buried my head in my hands again, trying to hold back more tears.

I felt like I wanted to crawl out of my own skin or climb up the walls, because I couldn’t stand just sitting still. The woman I loved was in the hospital and the man who had almost killed her was still a free man, able to terrorize her and throw sand in the officers’ and doctors’ eyes so they wouldn’t figure out what was really happening. He’d been kicking her in the stomach when I walked in the door, and it was still so early…God, what if the trauma had made her lose the baby? What if we had to mourn the loss of our child before we ever even got to meet it?

And here I was, stuck sitting in this police interrogation room because some asshole cop had projected his personal experiences onto the call he’d responded to and come to all the wrong conclusions. She was going through all of this completely alone, and she might have been grieving the loss of our child on her own too, while I was stuck here and couldn’t leave until Saul cleaned up the mess that the other officer had made.

God, if You’re listening, please protect Darla,I prayed.Keep her and our baby safe. Or if You can’t save the baby, at least save her. Please. Give her comfort and peace. Let someone at that hospital see the truth and care enough to help her. And please, Lord, help me get out of here so I can get back where I belong: right by her side.

Chapter 32

Darla

Open Wounds

“Hi, Darla. I’m Dr. Leonardo,” a woman who looked like she’d just started her residency said as she walked into the room. “Sir, can I please ask you to leave the room so I can examine her?”

“Like hell I will! I want my daughter’s pregnancy terminated! She was raped!” my father exclaimed before I even had a chance to open my mouth.

“No!” I sobbed in spite of my fear. “I’m not killing my baby!”

Jesus, please don’t let them kill my baby,I prayed.Please.

“She’s a minor! You have to do asIsay!” He shot me an ice-cold glare that promised pain as soon as we were alone again.

A shiver of terror went up my spine, making a jolt of pain go through my body as it jarred my probably-broken ribs. I knew I’d just made things worse for myself by saying anything to contradict what he was telling the doctor, but I didn’t have a choice. My unborn child didn’t have a voice yet, so Ihadto be the voice for her.

But the fact remained: my father and Iwouldbe alone again, because the policewouldlet him go. He was my father, and they wouldn’t be able to believe that a father could do such awful, horrible things to his own daughter. Especially not when he’d handed them a much more convenient suspect and was keeping up this Father of the Year act. I didn’t understand how anyone could fall for it, because he was obviously completely unhinged, but not a single person other than the paramedic, Allie, seemed to see through his lies and faux concern.

“We can talk about that in a little bit,” the doctor said calmly. “Darla, can you tell me what hurts?”

How in the world could she stay calm at a time like this? Couldn’t she see what I saw? Couldn’t she tell that he was completely unhinged? Or was she as blinded by his power and his position as everyone else was? Was I doomed to a life of pain, and was my child doomed to die before she even had a chance to live?

“She’s exaggerating,” my dad bit out, his face turning dark red with his fury. “She’s fucking fine, other than carrying that cretin’s spawn!”

Right. Andthatwas why my arm was in a splint and I was literally shaking and sweating from the sheer agony.

“Sir, I’m going to need you to let your daughter answer my questions,” she insisted. “What’s hurting you, Darla?”

“My arm,” I sniffled. “And my left side. I know my arm’s broken, and I think at least one rib is too.”

“Okay, we’ll get you in for some x-rays. Anything else?”

“My baby,” I choked out. “Is my baby okay?”

“It doesn’t matter, young lady! You’re not fuckingallowedto be pregnant!” my father spat, then looked at the doctor. “She’s a minor. I’m her guardian, and I’m telling you that I want this pregnancy terminated!”

No. Please, Jesus, no. Don’t let them kill her,I begged silently.

I knew it was way too early to know for sure, but ever since Brendan had said “her,” I couldn’t get the idea out of my head. I just had thisfeelinghe was right. It was a girl. And I knew we were young, but I had faith that God would provide a way for me and Brendan to care for her. I couldn’t let anything happen to her.

“We’ll check on your baby, Darla,” the doctor said. “Can you tell me how you got hurt?”

---