Echo of a Bird's Cry

THE HERO ANGEL OCTOBER 21

We were asleep in the recliner beside Emily's hospital bed. Eden slept on top of me, curled in my lap. I held her as she cried in my arms. Emily woke screaming because of the pain and a nurse rushed in and gave her a shot of something through her IV that instantly calmed her. Nurses popped in and out of the room every few hours to check Emily's vitals and to give her more pain medication.

Easton and Elizabeth arrived around six thirty A.M. Their arrival came with a flurry of activity. Eden's parents brought Hollywood glamour to the small town of Ravenwood. Easton and Elizabeth will never be without designer labels and luxury. Casual attire doesn't exist to them. The only thing casual about Easton's tailored charcoal gray Armani suit is the missing tie. His salt and pepper hair curls away from his chiseled face and the platinum Cartier watch gleaming around his wrist is worth half the nurse's yearly salary. Elizabeth has on an emerald green Prada dress. She's draped in a thick black shiny fur coat and there's a web of glittering diamonds around her throat. They wrapped me and Eden in a massive hug. I was expecting them to smell like champagne and caviar and saltwater from yachting on the Mediterranean. They didn't. They smelt warm and clean and familiar. Elizabeth kissed Emily's cheek and Easton held Emily's hand. They had a team of bodyguards. Easton assigned everyone at least one personal bodyguard. I had to talk him down to none for me. He only accepted because he didn't want to argue in front of his daughters.

It's midafternoon when Emily's eyes flutter open. She coughs and groans. Everyone perches up. Elizabeth and Eden rush over to her bedside while Easton and I hang back.

"Do you need more pain medicine?" Eden asks.

Elizabeth grabs Emily's hospital bed remote and presses the button for the nurse. "Let's get the nurse in here."

Emily blinks. She rubs at her eyes and stares down at the IVs in her arm. "Did Abel survive?"

"Yes," Eden says. "His room is right next to yours."

Emily's blue eyes swell with tears. "I want to see him."

"Alright, honey," Elizabeth says.

A nurse comes in and checks her vitals. Dr. Camilla comes in next with her mint green scrubs and stethoscope curled around her neck.

She smiles at Emily, flashing white teeth against rich brown skin. "It's good to see you up. How are you feeling?"

"I hurt everywhere. When can I see Abel?"

"You will see him soon. On a scale from one through ten, how bad is your pain level with ten being the absolute worst."

Emily trembles. "I want to see Abel."

"Calm down, sweetie," Elizabeth says, brushing Emily's hair away from her face.

Eden wipes at Emily's cheeks with Kleenex. "He's sleeping, Emily. When he wakes I'll make sure you see him."

Emily nods at her sister.

"I'll make sure you see Abel as well," Dr. Camilla says. "He's recovering just as much as you are. You both are very lucky to be alive. You and Abel were hemorrhaging when the medics brought you in. You lost a lot of blood."

Easton's jaw clenches "What did that freak do to her?"

"She was stabbed in her right shoulder, left forearm, and right thigh. There were lacerations on her radial artery and femoral artery. I went in and sutured both arteries closed. It's a miracle that both arteries weren't completely destroyed. She has no nerve damage. But recovery may take a while. Now back to my question. On a scale from one to ten how bad is your pain?"

Emily's head falls back against the pillows. Her gaze goes distant. "Ten."

"We're going to get you some more Dilaudid and it's going to make you drowsy and sleepy. You're probably going to sleep. But before I give it to you, do you think you can talk to the detectives? Do you think you can answer a few questions for them?"