Page 73 of Counting the Stars

“Mine does too!” Brianna laughs. “I hate it whenever I say I’m hungry and he’s like, ‘Hi, Hungry. I’m Dad!’”

“Yup, mine said that one too.”

“I’m sorry about your family.” Brianna’s shoulders slump. “I guess I’ve been kinda mean to them.”

“It’s okay. I—” A commotion from the hallway has both of us turning our attention to the door.

“Sir, you need to leave!” I hear the panic in Marissa’s tone. Something crashes and scatters to the floor.

“I have a right to see my daughter!” a deep, angry voice bellows.

“Oh no!” Brianna gasps. “That’s my dad!”

“Your dad? But I thought—”

“Tim is my stepdad. Greg is my biological dad. He’s supposed to be in rehab.”

“Brianna!” Greg’s voice becomes louder. Another crash. He’s getting closer. Someone yells for security.

Scanning the room, I contemplate how to keep us safe. Patient rooms don’t lock from the inside and there’s not enough time to barricade us in.

“Brianna, I need you to go into the bathroom. Take the shower chair and try to barricade yourself inside.” I begin helping her out of the bed. “No matter what I say, do not come out until you hear a cop tell you it’s okay. Do you understand?”

Her face pales, but she agrees and stands. Her body trembles as I usher her into the bathroom. As soon as I hear the door click shut, I turn around to meet a set of angry gray eyes that are glassy and bloodshot. Brianna’s biological father towers over me. His dirty, ragged clothes hang off his slender frame, and greasy black hair droops in front of his face. He looks and smells like he hasn’t bathed in days.

“I just want to visit my daughter. I went to the house and some neighbor said they saw an ambulance take her.” His speech is barely comprehendible. “Nobody told me.”

He pushes me up against the door with such force, my head makes a loud thud when it connects with the steel frame. My ears begin to ring and I feel a warm trickle of blood down the back of my neck. At least I’m still standing upright when I look up to face my aggressor. If I can stall him for just a few more seconds, security will get here and everything will be okay.

“Hi. Your name is Greg, right?” My voice sounds like I’m in a tunnel. More yelling comes from down the hallway.Help will be here any moment.“Brianna had to use the bathroom. She’ll be right out.”

“I will see her now,” Greg growls.

“And you will. In just a—”

“I said now!”

A sharp pain sears through my abdomen and my vision blurs before everything fades to black.

39

Alex

“Man, this storm is brutal.” Carter stares out the window just as another flash of lightning illuminates the sky. It’s not often we get rough storms out here, and this one seems to be a doozy.

“Yeah, I’m glad I’m not working tonight.” Gabby is at work, but thankfully, she got there before the worst of it hit. I know she’s safe.

“I think I’m gonna go down to the gym and blow off some steam. You want to come too?” He grabs his sneakers from the pile of shoes next to our front door and begins lacing them.

The phrase “blowing off steam” and “Carter” is an unusual pairing. My roommate is the calm, cool, and collected one of our bunch, but lately, he’s been getting agitated about every little thing. I should go with him to see what’s up, but I’m not the Dear Abby kind of guy, and I know he won’t talk until he’s ready.

“Nah, tonight is the perfect night to work on a project of mine.” I rub my hands together.

“A project?”

“Yup! Hold on a sec!” I run into my bedroom and pull out the black velvet box that’s hidden in my sock drawer. I can barely contain my excitement when I come back out to show my friend the secret I’ve been keeping.

“Dude—” Carter’s eyes widen the minute he notices the box in my hand. “Is that what I think it is?”

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