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I wake up feeling groggy, disoriented, and totally confused. I lift my arm to cover my face as the blinding sun shines down upon me. The side of my face is horribly swollen and bruised and I flinch as the day’s events all come rushing back.
“Erin, honey. Can you move?”
I turn my head and stare into the green eyes of the man who owns my heart.
“It’s really you? You’re here?” I cry.
“I’m here, sweet cheeks and I am so sorry. God, I am so fucking sorry.”
I swipe away the lone tear that starts to roll down Adam’s perfect face.
“Adam. It’s not your fault. It’s not my fault either. It’s Joel’s. Is he really dead?” I ask with uncertainty.
“He’s dead, honey. Shelby’s gun went off before his did. She killed him, sweetheart.”
I sit up suddenly and my head starts to spin as I look around for my sister. In spite of the fact that she despised Joel, I have to make sure she is all right.
“Erin, be careful. Don’t move. Let me go get the paramedic to look you over.”
I squeeze Adam’s hand tightly. “No. Not yet. Where’s Shelby? I have to make sure she’s all right.”
“She’s fine. She’s over there giving her statement to the cops and Antonio is with her.”
Adam stands up and calls over the paramedic, who checks me out to his satisfaction before helping me up and guiding me toward the ambulance. I turn just in time to see a big white ball come barreling towards us and I squat down to love on my true hero, Muppet.
“Oh, Muppet! You’re such a good boy!” I coo at him as I check him over and pull him in for a huge hug. He immediately tries to lick my face and even though they have cleaned off the blood he had on him earlier, I just can’t bear him licking my face with the sight of Joel’s dead body still lying covered with a sheet on the front porch still in my vision. Instead, I scratch him behind his ears which he loves so much.
“Come on, Ms. McIntyre. Let’s get you to the hospital so you can get a thorough examination,” the paramedic orders.
“Wait. I need to talk to my sister before we leave here.” I turn to Adam beseechingly. “You have to let me see her.”
“Okay. I’ll be right back.” He places a tender kiss on my lips and saunters over to where Shelby is standing with Antonio’s arms wrapped securely around her. She quickly turns her head my way and takes off running in my direction.
She playfully swats me on the arm as she climbs in.
“Erin, you scared the crap out of me when you passed out. Don’t ever do that shit again.”
“Don’t joke at a time like this Shelby. God, I’m so worried about you.”
“About me?” She wrinkles her nose. “Why would you be worried about me, for Christ’s sake? You’re the one who went through hell and back today.”
She runs her hand down the side of my swollen face.
“I’m fine. Just a little bruised up. I’m worried about you because you killed Joel, honey. You shot him. I need to make sure you’re going to be okay with that.”
I search my sister’s face for any sign of trouble or worry and I come up empty handed as I sit there waiting for her to answer. She exhales slowly.
“I can’t say what tomorrow, or the next day, or even the next month will be like for me, sis, but the way I feel right now is that I did what was necessary to save my sister from years of physical, emotional, and verbal abuse from a man who never deserved her.” She clasps my hands and leans her forehead up against mine. “I would do it all over again if it meant you would never have to go through anything like that again.”
We both let out a heavy sigh and even though my heart is breaking for what she had to do, I sit there and hold on tight and hope that all of our nightmares are over.
I take one last look at the scene before they close the doors to the ambulance and I see them loading Joel’s body into the back of the coroner’s wagon. My heart breaks for Joel’s family; this is going to tear their world apart. No matter what Joel has done in the past to any of them he was their son and brother. I can’t help but cry as we drive away with Adam by my side. I cry for their loss and I cry for myself, I cry in fear for my sister and I cry for the fact that I will never have to be a victim at the hands of that man again.
By the time we get to the hospital and the doctors start their exam, my body has begun to relax, but when I look over at Adam I see pain written all over his face.
“Hey.” I reach my hand out for him to take hold of it. “What’s wrong?” I ask with trepidation.