Page 12 of Falling for You

A few minutes later, I rush to the nurse’s desk and notice Mindy sitting on her phone. I glare at her and when I am near, I bang my hand down on the desk, making the nurse jump up in shock. Her black hair falls over her face before her dark brown eyes notice me and she scowls.

Before she can say anything, I raise my hand and say, "Unless you want me to rat you out for not doing your job, tell me where Avery Calvins is in now.”

Her jaw ticks as she flips through the paperwork, then snaps, “Room three.”

I don’t thank her; instead, I turn and rush over to the room, opening the curtain without announcing myself.

“Nurse Vine, you cannot,” The charge nurse, Kelly, starts, but I cut her off, completely ignoring my boss, and snap, “This is not okay, Avery!”

Her face is double the size, black and blue. Her cut lip has reopened, and she has a cut on her arm.

“Pen,” she whispers, but I shake my head and approach her.

“No, Avery, this is the second time he’s hit you, and the fact you’re in the ER and that you will most likely go back to him…” I rasp as I gently run my finger through her tangled up red hair, and her tears fall.

This is all because our parents wanted more money to be on top and she wanted the lavish lifestyle. They’ve become selfish and greedy making my sister was the same way, and now my sister is the one who gets the backlash.

Why couldn’t she have gone down the same route as me?

“Uh, Penelope?” Kelly says with confusion, and I wince completely forgetting about her and look her way.

I give her an apologetic look and say, “I’m sorry, Kelly, Avery is my little sister.”

Understanding shines through her light gray eyes, and she nods, “Okay,” she looks at my sister, “your wounds are superficial, and I’ve stitched up your arm,” I scowl and look over my sister as Kelly continues, “I do urge you to speak to someone before leaving. I know I can’t convince you to call the police but just know, there is no excuse for your husband to hit you, none.” She stands, then grabs her chart and says, “I’ll leave you with your sister, and when you are ready, you can go.”

I give Kelly a small smile as she grabs my arm and squeezes it before leaving. As soon as the curtain is shut, I confirm, “He cut out your implant, didn’t he?”

I told her to do and IUD if she didn’t want kids with him or even the contraception shot, something he can’t see or feel, but she thought the implant was best.

She sniffles and says, “Yeah. He grabbed my arm when I went to walk away after an argument, and he felt it.”

I nod and ask, “And what was the argument about?”

She swallows hard, her throat bobbing as she looks my way, and admits, “I told him I wanted to work after finishing college. He admitted that he told Dad to cancel my payments, that I apparently won’t be finishing my degree that our parents forced on me, and I-I couldn’t hold in my anger, my resentment.”

I nod, trying to mask my anger while forming a plan to help her until she’s ready to admit she never should have married the guy.

“Right, did you drive here?” I ask, and she nods timidly. “Okay, drive back to mine; you’ll stay with me for a week to heal while dad has words with your husband, which he will be doing and don’t worry about college; you’ll still attend, and you’ll still go law school, I promise,” I kiss her head then mumble, “As soon as you get your next period, come see me here and I’ll give you the shot because like hell are you having that bastards kids.”

That said, I turn and leave, knowing I’m about to explode. With purpose, I speed walk outside the hospital and grab my phone out of my pocket while feeling an extreme pull to go back inside, not to my sister but to the peds floor, confusing me.

What the?Everything pulls at me, and my heart races as my palms sweat. My gut is telling me to go inside, but I ignore it and swallow hard, knowing I still have time before Kaylah is out of surgery.

Shaking the intense feeling off, I grab my phone and pull up my dad’s number.

It rings a few times before he answers.

“Penelope, this is a surprise,” he answers with confusion and curiosity, and I get it. I never call him. Heck, when he calls me, I end up hanging up within two minutes because, as always, he brings up the ‘contract’ for my supposed marriage, which I refuse to go along with.

I snap, “Ring that bastard son-in-law of yours up and tell him you won’t be pulling Avery from college, that she will be going to law school, and if she isn’t ready for kids yet, he is not to force her.”

“Now, Penelope, I won’t get in the middle of your sister’s marriage, a marriage, mind you, she knew exactly what she was getting into,” he says carefully.

I scoff and remind him, “A marriage you forced on her to suit you and Mom using money against her, and now, because of your greed, my little sister is sitting on a bed in the ER with a swollen face, split lip, and a cut on her arm?”

“What?!” he demands coldly.

“Tell Harry Calvins you are not canceling her schooling, that she will be getting that degree becauseyoupushed that career path on her, and she wants to complete it. You,Father, tell him the next time that he raises a fist to her, you’ll end his career; otherwise, I will go to the press with that nice little marriagecontract you keep forcing down my throat and ensure it is made public. Every news outlet, every paper, I’ll make everyone, including your partners, realize that the rumor is not a rumor that you are trying to sell your own daughters to strengthen your power in the city and while I’m at it, I’ll disown you!”

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