Fight or Flight(82)

Caleb lunged between us and shoved Vince hard enough to send him sprawling to the hardwood floor. “You stay the hell away from her,” he warned. “Jamie, watch him while I help Ava get Harper.”

Jamie nodded. “He isn’t going anywhere.”

Pulling my eyes away from Vince, holding back my desire to physically attack him, I hurried over to the fridge with Caleb and together we hauled it out of the way. Hands shaking, afraid of what I’d find beyond the door, I hesitated just a second before I threw it open.

I heard Vince behind me whimpering. “I just didn’t want her to leave me. I’m sorry. I just didn’t want her to leave me.” The sound of a struggle brought my head back around to the living room and I watched as Vince tried to get past Jamie to the bedroom.

With a grunt of annoyance, Jamie let him go for a millisecond before knocking Vince out with a right hook.

Vince crumpled to the ground and Jamie stepped over him, hurrying across the room to us.

With Vince unconscious and no longer sobbing and pleading, I finally heard her whimpers and groans.

Heart squeezing in alarm, I hurried into the bedroom, my eyes searching the small space, and panicking when I couldn’t see her. Relief flooded me as I caught sight of her head behind the far side of the bed.

Rounding it, feeling the brothers’ presence at my back, I stumbled to a stop at the scene that greeted me.

My best friend was slumped on the floor cradling her wrist. She sensed me and lifted her head slowly. Her left eye was swollen shut, her nose was bloodied, there was a cut on her lower lip, and her T-shirt was torn with splatters of blood on it.

I felt my knees tremble so hard they nearly took me to the ground, and I had to stifle the sob that rose in my throat.

My hands and legs shook as they took me toward her.

“Where’s Vince?” Harper slurred.

“He’s in the living room. He’s out.” I lowered to my knees, reaching for her, my hands hovering over her because I was afraid to touch her and hurt her more. “Sweetie, we need to get you to the hospital.”

“No, no.” She shook her head and I finally saw the matted, blooded hair near her temple. Her slurred words made sense and fear took hold of me.

“We have to, baby. You might have a concussion. Hospital and police.”

“No, no,” she kept repeating.

“Let me, wee yin,” Caleb said, gently pulling me up out of the way. And then he was even more gentle as he lifted Harper into his arms. She cried out, a shrill sound that made my stomach sink.

Caleb’s gaze flew to me, his countenance grim. “Her ribs,” he surmised.

“Broken?”

“Maybe just bruised.” He looked ready to kill Vince.

I was right there with him.

“Ava, please, no.” Harper began to cry pitifully as Caleb carried her out of the room. Jamie held the door for them and I hurried at Caleb’s back only to hear her whisper mournfully, “I’m so ashamed.”

Tears filled my eyes as my gaze connected with Jamie’s.

Empathy shone out of his eyes and he touched Harper’s arm, drawing Caleb to a stop. “You have nothing tae be ashamed of,” he said to her.

“Who are you?” she whispered.

“My brother Jamie,” Caleb answered. “Now let’s get going.”

“Hospital, police,” I repeated.

“I’ll call the police and wait here for them,” Jamie said. “I’ll make sure the bastard doesn’t get away before they get here.”

“I’m surprised someone hasn’t already called the police,” Caleb muttered.

I gave the room one last sweep. Everything was in its place except for that vase—and Vince’s sprawled body on the floor. “There’s not a lot of damage, so maybe not a lot of noise.” And if Harper had fought back, made noise, a neighbor would surely have called the police. Which means my friend had taken this beating without a fight.

I knew her history.

I knew her.

She blamed herself for staying with him. I feared she’d taken his beating as a punishment—a thought that made me feel sick. If that was true, we had bigger problems than bruised ribs and a concussion.

I squeezed Jamie’s shoulder as I passed him. “Thank you.”

He gave me a tight smile and nodded.

“Ava, keep talking tae her,” Caleb said as we hurried out of the apartment.

“What’s going on?” A belligerent voice stopped me on the landing while Caleb kept hurrying down the stairs.

I jerked around at the sight of Harper’s elderly neighbor, Mr. Haggerty, standing in his doorway scowling. “Mr. Haggerty, Harper’s hurt. We’re taking her to the hospital.”

“I’m calling the police.” He glowered at us.

“My friend already has,” I assured him. I didn’t have time to stick around, though, so I gave him a nod and rushed down the stairs after Caleb and Harper.

The entire drive to the hospital I made my friend recite recipes to keep her awake. When we got there and handed her over to the nurses, it took everything within me to hold it together.

Harper Lee Smith was my only true family and I had let her down. If I had just kept on at her about Vince—damn the consequences—there was a huge possibility we wouldn’t be at a hospital and Caleb wouldn’t have my friend’s blood on his T-shirt.