“And you?”
I hate that he even has to question that. Ty has seen and lived through more in his short life than anyone should have to, and it guts me that I haven’t been able to shield him from it. I’m quick to take action, because it’s what I’m good at, but I’m increasingly aware that Ty needs emotional reassurance just as much as anything. He’s already lost one parent and the fear of losing another one seems to be heavy on his mind.
“Yes, buddy. No one is going to get hurt.”
I rub my forehead, hoping I can make good on that promise.
Fortunately, he doesn’t pick up on the uncertainty in my voice. Right now, I can’t really guarantee anything. Not that we’re completely safe. Not that Maddie isn’t going to go away. Nothing.
My answer is enough for Ty, and he gives me a sleepy smile. “I love you, Daddy.”
“I love you, too, Ty. Sweet dreams.” I kiss his forehead one more time before turning at the light and going downstairs.
It’s dark and quiet and lonely in the house tonight. I let out a heavy sigh, rattled both by my conversation with Ty and my lack thereof with Maddie.
Ty surprised me tonight. I’ve been so desperate to move us past this that I haven’t even considered how deeply it’s been affecting him. Clearly, he wants to talk it through, and I’ve tried to sweep everything under the rug, thinking he just needed to forget. I guess that’s just another thing that I wasn’t equipped for when Talia passed away.
The sharp creak coming from the kitchen catches my attention, and I whirl around, just in time to see a flash of black rush past me. Someone’s in my house. Reaching quickly for my gun, I realize it isn’t on my hip. I put it away right before Ty and I called Maddie.
An excruciating pain sears through my abdomen as I stumble back. Blood seeps through my fingers as I press the wound, watching as the intruder disappears out the front door. I lean against the wall for support, stumbling into the kitchen to get my phone as a trail of blood follows behind me. I slump into the chair, grunting in pain and grabbing a towel to absorb some of the blood. The bastard sliced me clean through, deep and long enough that I’m probably going to need stitches.
The blood loss is already making me dizzy, and I clumsily punch Joe’s number into my phone.
“Hey man. I was just about to call you,” he answers.
“Someone was here,” I grunt, applying pressure to the wound, although it doesn’t seem to do much to stop the bleeding. “Broke into the house while I was upstairs with Ty. He stabbed me.”
My words come with labored, uneven breaths, and I wince.
“What? Are you okay? Is he still there?”
“He went out the front door after he stabbed me.”
“Just stay there, man. I’m on my way. How bad is it?” I can hear rustling in the background as he grabs his keys and goes out the door.
“I’m okay.” I clench. “It’s deep, but I’ll survive.”
“Where’s Maddie? Can she help?” Joe asks.
“She’s in St. Louis.”
“Fuck. That’s right.” He groans. “Okay, just relax. I’ll be right there.”
After I hang up, I try to take a few deep breaths to take my mind off the pain, but it isn’t working. It feels like the world is closing around me as I try to keep myself upright.
Why can’t I stop this guy? Why is he always one step ahead?
Chapter Thirty-One
Absolutelynothingaboutthisparty is fun to me. Not the hordes of people I have to put on a happy face for. Not the overpriced and underwhelming catering. Certainly not my father’s acceptance speech, where he referred to the trauma program as his baby, and failed to even mention that he had real human children. Well, at least until he had to brag about my brothers and all the success they’re both experiencing.
The only thing remotely entertaining is watching Ernie pose as one of the hired event servers. I can’t help but laugh as I watch him struggle to balance plates, but when he looks my way, he’s clearly not amused.
I don’t want to be here in the first place, and I especially don’t want to be here after fighting with my boyfriend.
I guess we didn’t really fight, though. That would require us to talk, and that didn’t happen either. Instead, we both skirted around any real conversation, and then I hung up as quickly asI could. After a few tears and a mirror pep talk, I got myself together enough to join my family at the party.
But now I’m counting down the minutes until I can sneak away.
