Page 28 of Never Forget You

I leave all my work behind, not even worrying about it. It can wait until another day, and I leave with Ella in tow. I don’t know if this is the right protocol, but I really don’t give a shit. I just have a feeling that Georgia needs me, and I’m more than willing to risk everything to go and check in on her… oh, God, what if something has happened?

“Did you enjoy class today?” I ask Ella as we walk, needing some noise and conversation to distract me from the terrible way my brain is spinning. “Was there anything in particular that you liked?”

She talks, but not as rapidly as she normally would which just shows how freaked out she is as well. I need this to all turn outokay for Ella much more than myself. This poor girl must be losing her mind right now.

“Right, here we are.” I don’t know why, but I feel even more panicked when we get to the front door. There aren’t any obvious signs of something going on, but that just makes it worse. “Let’s go and see what’s going on.”

I bang on the door. I bang on it a few times and no one answers. I’m pretty sure that I hear someone a few times, though. There are definite noises going on inside there. The worst images possible flow through my brain as I try to picture what could be happening now, all of them involving Georgia hurt and unable to move.

“Mommy?” Ella weeps beside me, giving up the image that she’s holding it together. “Mommy?”

“Ella, come back.” If I were here on my own, I would be able to kick the door down, but I know that will make Ella worse. “Let’s get away from the house a minute and I will give someone a call to help get us inside.”

“Where is Mommy?” Oh, God, this is a question that I absolutely can’t answer. “What’s happening?”

“We’re going to find out.” I take her across the road to stand on the other sidewalk. I stare at all of the windows, trying to see any sign of life, but there isn’t anything. There doesn’t seem to be anyone around, and I don’t know why. “I’m just going to see who can get the door open, then we will find out. We just need help.”

Ella bends to her knees and sobs hard. First, before I can do anything else, I need to calm this poor girl down. I can’t even begin to imagine what the hell is going on in her head, but it must be a nightmare. I feel so bad. If there were anything that Icould do to make it better, I would, but there just isn’t. I can’t see a solution aside from getting into the house. Once we’re in and we know what we’re dealing with, it will be easier… I hope.

“You just sit on this wall here.” I feel horrible leaving Ella by herself crying, but I don’t think that it will do her any favors to know that I’m contacting the cops. Once she hears the word ‘police’, it’s bound to send her into a tailspin. “I will be back in a second, I promise you. I just need a bit of quiet to make a call.”

She doesn’t say anything. She doesn’t even acknowledge me, but I step to the side anyway because I don’t have any choice. I dial nine-one-one and press the phone to my ear as I nervously listen for the ringing sound.

“Hello, nine-one-one, how can I help you?” The operator is sharp and serious, no messing around here.

“Er, yes, I need the police to come to the address of my girlfriend…” I hate that’s the first time I’ve referred to Georgia as my girlfriend to someone else. “She isn’t answering, but I’m pretty sure she’s inside but hurt.”

“So, you need an ambulance as well, sir? And can you give me the address, please, so I can send an officer?”

“Er, yes, that might be for the best.” Bile fills my throat. An ambulance makes it that much more serious. I feel a weird ice-cold shock overcoming me as I reel off the address. “Thank you. Please, hurry.”

I can’t stand this. I can’t take it any longer. Emotions buzz and fizz through me. This is wrong, and I can’t just stand out here and not let Georgia know that I’m here for her. I don’t want her to think that she’s alone, so without thinking any longer, Itake giant strides across the road and begin banging on the door loudly.

“Georgia, I’m out here with Ella. I just wanted you to know that everyone is okay and the cops are coming with an ambulance as well, so whatever is going on here… well, it’s going to be okay soon enough. But I will take care of?—”

Holy shit. The door is opening. Something deep in my gut tells me to stagger backward, which I do. I nearly fall over in the process, but somehow, I just about manage to keep upright, which is better because now I’m staring at a man who has to be nearly six feet tall, not much shorter than me, and he’s glaring at me like I’m the devil.

“Who… who are you?” I demand harshly. “What’s going on here? Where is Georgia?”

“Who am I?” He’s so enraged. I don’t think that I’ve ever seen someone so angry before. I have to admit that it scares me a little bit. Someone who is this full of anger can be unpredictable. “Who the fuck am I? Who the hell are you? And you’re with Ella?Mychild? You are some fucking stranger and you’re aroundmykid?”

This shocks me to the core. It doesn’t take a genius to work out that this is Georgia’s ex-husband and he’s a terrible person. She’s told me that she was pretty much coerced into marrying him, but I can’t imagine it. Nor can I picture Ella coming from him, but I guess that must be the case. And now… now he’s here…

“Georgia didn’t turn up to the school,” I inform him seriously, “at the end of the school day, so I thought that instead of leavingElla with no one there for her, I would bring her back home. It’s simple, really.”

I dart my eyes backward toward Ella and spot her knees curled up to her chin. She’s terrified of this man, I can see it shining in her eyes. This isn’t a way a child should feel around her father. I need to do whatever I can to calm this situation down for Ella. She doesn’t need to see things get out of control.

“Is Georgia here? Because once I’ve seen her, I can drop Ella off and go back to my real life.”

“Leave her here with me. I’m her father.” He squares up to me, clearly not in the mood to be reasonable.

“But I don’t know that. You aren’t on the list of people who are allowed to take her, so I’m afraid that without seeing Georgia, I can’t leave Ella here.” I shrug, helpless, glad of these rules. “So, can you get her out here?”

Honestly, with him all riled up like this, I’m afraid that if he doesn’t let her out, it’s because he’s done something truly dreadful to her. I don’t want to imagine it. It brings a massive ball of terror to my throat, making it challenging to breathe, but I don’t break eye contact. I can’t let him see that I’m fearing anything. He will take it as weakness.

“I’m not doing anything for you,” he sneers nastily. “You should be the one not allowed around my child. What sort of world is it when a goddamn stranger is allowed to be near my child and her own father isn’t?”

“I don’t make the rules,” I reply honestly. “But as I said before, the police are on their way, so we can all wait until they arrive to say what’s best for Ella. I don’t think any of us are in the right place to make a decision.”

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