Second Chances (25 page)

“Oh god,” Gary whispered. He looked around and then back at Dylan. “Where the hell is Dustin? Why wasn’t he with her?”

Dylan looked at his parents and then back at Stacy’s. “My brother’s in jail. Someone, who I guess was Mark, planted drugs and a gun in his car. I’m sure he did it to get Dustin out of the way so Stacy would be alone. Once we can see Stacy I’m sure it’ll all be cleared up.”

He watched Renée grab his mom’s hand and squeeze it and then Stacy’s hugged her tight. God, it was just a year ago that the roles here were reversed. Couldn’t their families catch a break? Luke and Bellamy joined them all and his sister looked like she was having a hard time keeping it together.

“This is m-my fault. I encouraged her to go out with that man. I wouldn’t have done it if I knew how unstable he was.” Dylan watched Luke hold her close and whisper in her ear. This was in no way his sister’s fault. The asshole had most of them fooled. He, like Dustin, didn’t trust the guy as far as he could throw him.

***

Dylan stood staring blindly out of the window in the waiting room. They’d been waiting for a little over an hour. A nurse had come out a while ago and said the doctor was waiting on some test results before she came out to speak to everyone. Scott called Dylan and told him that they were processing Dustin’s release and he’d be there soon. He also forewarned Dylan that when Stacy was awake they’d need to speak to her while everything was fresh in her mind. The DEA had also contacted Scott’s boss and would be down to question her as well.

Until Dylan had his brother there, he’d watch over Stacy and would make sure no one upset her. Dylan turned to go sit down by his parents. His mom grabbed his hand immediately, squeezing it tight. Dylan watched Gary make call after call on his cell phone. His heart hurt for them. Gary could be a big, mean looking dude, but the tears running down his face were hard to watch. Renée had been silently crying since they got there. His mom went over to her and held her as sobs rocked her body.

He wasn’t sure how long they all sat there, but a woman in scrubs came towards them with papers in her hands. “I’m looking for Mr. and Mrs. Hutchins.”

***

Gary flew out of his seat as soon as he heard the lady call for them. When he’d gotten the call from Ruth, he’d died a little inside. Gary couldn’t take the idea that someone would hurt his baby girl. In one way he was relieved the bastard was dead, but then again, Gary would’ve rather done it himself. He’d called his brothers, who all informed him they were on their way down, but it was the call to his mom that caused him to break down. Gary had listened as his mom, who had always been strong for her boys since his dad had died unexpectedly, sob into the phone. Gary’s brother Dan had already promised that he’d pick their mom up and bring her down.

Garrett had been eerily calm when Gary had called him. He had told Gary that the kids were going to stay with Ian’s sister and they’d be down as quickly as they could.

Now they stood impatiently waiting to hear how their baby was. “I’m Stacy’s father. How’s our daughter?”

“Well, I’m Dr. Francis and I’ve been treating Stacy. Were you aware that she was in an abusive relationship?”

“She wasn’t in a relationship with that man,” Gary told the doctor “He was her ex.”

“Okay, well, why don’t you follow me and I’ll take you to her.”

Gary put his arm around his wife’s shoulders and they both followed the doctor to the set of automatic doors. Just as they were making their way through them, Dustin came tearing through the ER doors. “Where is she? What do we know?” Dustin looked at Gary with eyes clearly filled with pain. The poor kid didn’t even acknowledge his family first.

“Come on, son, the doctor’s taking us back to her now.”

Gary watched Renée reach out and grab Dustin’s hand, pulling him close as they made their way down the hall.

***

Dustin had been waiting on pins and needles for them to release him. He hadn’t been completely clear on why they released him, but when he heard Mark was dead and Stacy was in the hospital, he became focused on getting to his girl. Scott had been on the scene and had come back to the station to let Dustin know what was going on. Dustin had been beyond relieved when he was told that his brother had stayed by Stacy’s side on the way to the hospital.

He needed to see her with his own two eyes before he’d stop freaking out. To think that the bastard had almost killed her caused an ache so deep in his chest that it made it hard to breathe.

When they pulled up in front of the emergency room doors, Dustin flew out of the car and was inside in seconds. He was going to the information desk when he found Stacy’s parents heading toward the doors to the back. Dustin gripped Renée’s hand as they followed the woman back towards the exam rooms. They stopped right outside the door.

“Stacy is resting comfortably right now, but gave me permission to talk to you. She’s experienced some pretty severe facial trauma. From what we were told, he slapped her several times and then punched her in the face. We did head x-rays and CT scans and luckily there are no broken bones. She does have a mild concussion, so when you take her home you’ll have to wake her often. I’ll include that in the discharge instructions that we’ll send home with you.

“Stacy has some swelling around her throat, but besides a slightly scratchy voice, there should be no real damage since he only grabbed her with one hand. Now, we ran a blood test before we did the x-ray, which is standard procedure. It did show elevated HCG levels which means it’s quite possible that she’s pregnant. She’ll need to follow up with her OB/GYN in about a month. Our social worker has already been in to talk to her and it appears her assailant had purposely sabotaged the condoms in Stacy’s possession. I really recommend that you get her to go see a therapist and talk about this. She became quite upset while discussing everything, which is understandable. Stacy’s going to have to take it easy for a week or two and the possibility of her miscarrying is still high after a trauma like hers.

“She says that he didn’t assault her sexually, so we didn’t do a rape kit, but from the numerous bruising around her legs, he certainly tried. Stacy is going to need your support as she recovers, not only physically, but emotionally. She’s young and healthy, and as long as she gets the help she’s going to need, she should make a full recovery. I’ll let you in to see her. Just remember to be patient with her and don’t push her too fast for answers. Can I answer any more questions for you?”

Dustin felt a wave of nausea rush over him. A baby. Stacy might be having a baby and that bastard tried to force it on her. He didn’t even know what to think about that. Fear clawed at his throat as he thought about everything she had to endure. What if they couldn’t help her get past this? He loved her and would support her, but what if it was Mark’s baby? Would she even have it if she knew it was that bastard’s? In the background, Dustin could hear Stacy’s parents talking to the doctor, but couldn’t make out what they were saying. Blood pounded in his ears as he tried to prepare himself to walk in the exam room.

“Dustin? Dustin?” He shook his head to find Renée smiling sadly up at him. “Are you ready to go in and see her?” Dustin numbly nodded his head and walked in behind her parents.

The sight when they walked in broke his heart into a million pieces. Stacy lay there curled in the fetal position. One side of her face was swollen almost to the point where a person looked unrecognizable. Her eyes were closed and she looked so small and helpless. Dustin felt the tears build up in his eyes as he walked to the opposite side of her bed. With a shaky hand he reached out and stroked her hair. Most of her extensions she had in were gone and it was clear they were removed roughly since the hair was a gnarled mess in those spots.

Dustin looked across her to watch Gary and Renée stare at their daughter with love and sadness in their eyes. He could tell they were trying to keep it together for their daughter so she wouldn’t see them break down.

“Mom? Dad?” Dustin watched them smile down at Stacy.

“Hi, baby girl. Do you need anything?” Gary asked. Dustin could hear the catch in the man’s voice as he obviously tried to keep it together for his daughter’s sake.

“No, I just want to go home. Has anyone heard from Dustin? M-Mark h-had him locked up. I need to make sure he’s okay.”

Dustin’s heart squeezed in his chest. She was worried about him. “I’m right here, sugar.”

She started and then turned towards him. Stacy tried to sit up, but he stayed her leaning down to kiss her forehead instead. She immediately burst into tears.

“I’m sorry, Dustin. I can’t believe he did that to you.” Stacy obviously couldn’t speak anymore, as she cried harder.

Dustin didn’t care. He climbed right into bed with her and held her against his chest as the tears came. “Shh…it’s okay. This is not your fault. You didn’t ask for any of this. I’m okay. I’m more concerned about you. It’s not good for you to get upset right now. Can you just relax for me, baby?” He ignored the way she stiffened at the word baby. They’d talk about that later. All he wanted to do was hold her and reassure himself that she was safe and the whole mess was finally over.

Dustin’s neck was wet from where Stacy’s face was buried, but he couldn’t have cared less. It made him happy that she wasn’t pulling away from him, at least not yet. He’d overheard Stacy’s mom and dad say that they were taking her to their house, and as soon as her family got to town, they were setting up the spare bedroom and making dinner for everyone.

Stacy had finally quieted down and had fallen back asleep. Dustin looked up to see her parents both looking at him with sad eyes. He laid down with Stacy still in his arms.

“Dustin?” Renée whispered. He lifted his head to look at them. “When we take her home, you’re more than welcome to come stay with her. It might be good for her to have you there.”

“Thanks, I’d like that.” Dustin continued stroking her hair as they waited for them to release her.

Almost an hour later a nurse came in with some scrubs for Stacy to wear home. Dustin followed Gary into the hall so the nurse and her mom could help her get dressed. Gary was talking quietly on his phone and Dustin told him that he was going out front to tell his family they were discharging Stacy soon.

His mind flooded with images of what Stacy must’ve gone through and the damage that motherfucker caused to her beautiful face. Now she was possibly carrying his or Mark’s baby because Mark had been a psycho. Dustin didn’t realize it, but he had slammed through the doors until they banged into the wall, causing the people in the waiting room to jump. He scrubbed his hands over his face and felt the anger coiling in his gut until he thought it’d rip him open. Flexing his hands into fists, the desire to pummel something was so big that it scared him if he unleashed it.

“Son? Son?” Dustin looked up to find his dad, Dylan, and Luke standing in front of him with the same concerned expressions. “Son, you need to calm down. You’re scaring your momma.”

He took a deep breath, blowing it out slowly. “You want me to calm down? Really? Do you know what that fucker did to her? She’s hardly recognizable, Dad. He tried to rape her, he punched that beautiful face, and guess what the best part is? He wanted to trap her, so he poked holes in all of her condoms, including the ones we used. They’re about 99% sure she’s pregnant and it could be his baby, but there’s a chance it’s mine. So excuse me for losing it, but the woman I fucking love has had her life ripped apart by a bastard who took the easy way out.”

They all stared at him with looks showing the shock they were probably feeling. He pushed through them and walked out the emergency room doors, taking deep breaths and trying to calm himself as the tears started to fall. Dustin had never really been a crier, but he couldn’t stop them now. He swiped angrily at them and felt a presence behind him. Dustin looked behind him to see his brother standing there.

“What do you want? You wanna call me a pussy for crying?”

Dustin watched Dylan stare back at him.

“I thought she was dead.”

“What?” Dustin asked.

“After we heard the gunshot and I broke in through the back door, we found blood on her table and the floor. When we made it into the living room it was very clear what he’d done to himself. She was lying there covered in blood, her face so messed up. I couldn’t tell if she was bleeding or even breathing. All I kept thinking was
not her
. Not the woman who brought my brother out of the decade long funk he’s been in because some girl broke his heart. I’d never call you a pussy, bro. Just know I’m here for you no matter what.”

He felt Dylan pull him into a hug and didn’t try to stop the tears this time. When Dustin finally finished, Dylan went back inside to give Dustin a moment to get himself together. He looked up at the sky and said a silent prayer asking God to give Stacy the strength to heal both physically and mentally, because though her bruises would fade, he was sure the mental trauma was long from over. Especially if they found out that the baby she may be carrying was Mark’s.

Dustin knew he had a lot to think about himself. If the baby was his, then he knew he’d be there for Stacy, but really, even if it wasn’t, he couldn’t let her face that all on her own. Sure, it scared the shit out of him, becoming a father, but was anyone ever ready for parenthood? It was best not to think about it. For now he just wanted to get his girl out of there and help take care of her so they could try to put the whole thing behind them the best they could.

When he made his way back into the hospital, Dustin’s mom met him with a huge hug. “Are you okay, baby?” she said with her arms wrapped around him.

“About as good as can be right no—”

They were interrupted when an aide, followed by Stacy’s parents, wheeled his girl out in a wheelchair. She was wearing a pair of blue scrubs that hung on her frame. Dustin moved towards her and hated to see her try to cover her face from everyone. Her eye was swollen shut, one cheek was purple and the other had a split in it and was covered with butterfly bandages. Bellamy raced past him and crouched down in front of Stacy. He couldn’t hear what they were saying, but Dustin could see his sister’s shoulders shaking, knowing that she was crying.