Page 119 of Fracture
“Where were you?” I look down at Dylan, who won’t meet my gaze.
“I was… I was dealing with something. I… I should have been…”
“You told me you were at the club!” I lean over him, and his gaze flashes up to me. “You told me you were at a meeting! Where the fuck were you?”
“Levi, enough,” Zee says gently, rising to their feet. “This isn’t going to help.”
“I’m sorry.” Dylan murmurs, his head dropping to his chest. “I… She called me, and all I could do was listen…” His shoulders start to shake. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
I exhale heavily and drop to my knees, wrapping my arms around him. He slumps against me as he cries.
“I’m sorry,” I murmur, pressing a kiss to his neck as he grabs me tightly. “I’m sorry, baby. It’s not your fault.”
“I had to listen,” he murmurs, his voice strained. “I heard all of it, heard them beating her and heard her screaming, it was… I’m… I’m so sorry.”
“Hey, it’s not your fault.” I draw back and cup his face in my hands. “It’s not. You couldn’t have known this was going to happen.”
“There was so much blood,” he gasps, fingertips digging into my arms. “I was so fucking scared she was dead. They’d-”
“She’s going to be fine.” I interject, clutching him close again and meeting Zee’s alarmed eyes over his shoulder. I want to believe it. Stella has to be alright. There’s just no other option. I won’t accept anything else other than her walking right on out of this hospital with us.
But I know it was bad.
Zee’s face when they came to find me at the garage - I never want to see that look on someone’s face again. I feel sick just thinking about it. And then that horrific drive here, hearing how Dylan had found our girl on the floor of her bedroom, barely breathing and beaten to within an inch of her life…
“Mr Fenton?”
I spin to face the doctor behind me, a middle-aged man with dark hair and glasses perched on his nose.
“Yes, that’s me.”
“Hi, I’m Dr LeRoy, I’m looking after Stella right now. I understand you’re her brother?” He says, and Zee and Dylan rise to their feet.
“Is she OK?” Dylan asks.
The doctor looks back and forth between us, his brows knitting together lightly. “Are you all family?”
“We all live together,” I snap. “Please, is Stella alright?”
“She’s suffered from internal bleeding, and her spleen did rupture.”
Dylan collapses, resting his hands on his knees, shoulders heaving as Zee rubs his back, their eyes filling with tears.
“She’s going to be fine,” the doctor goes on quickly, raising his hands. “We managed to stop the bleeding, and she’s recovering now. The injuries were focused on the abdomen, so she’s got some fractured ribs, but nothing that she won’t come out of.”
I run a hand over my mouth, fury and anguish pooling in my stomach. “Oh my fucking god.”
“The police are on their way.” Dr LeRoy looks from Dylan back to me. “This is obviously a serious crime, they’re very concerned with what happened here.”
“Yeah, so are we.” Zee helps Dylan back into his chair, shaking their head and glaring at the doctor. “When can we see her?”
“She’s sleeping right now, but I’ll keep you informed.” He gives me a reassuring smile. “Your sister is going to be just fine.”
I don’t even tell him she’s not my sister, I’m too wound up in grief and anger to even reply. I simply nod and watch him retreat down the corridor back to Stella’s room.
“Something’s not right here,” I mutter, shaking my head as I look down at Dylan. “Something is very, very fucking wrong.”
“Oswald had dirt on her,” Dylan says, tipping his head back to rest against the wall behind him. He runs a hand over his tear-streaked face and sighs. “He had a video of her on his phone, he was blackmailing her, I’m sure of it.”