Every Little Thing

Chapter Ten

            It’s been three hours since Eric left and I’m getting worried. He said he’d be home an hour ago and I haven’t heard from her. Normally he’d text or something, but I’ve got nothing. I don’t want to call and disturb her lessons, so I scurry down to the kitchen and make some pancakes. 

            Another half an hour passes and I really start to worry. I’m reading a book in his bed when my phone goes off, but it’s an unknown number. I pick it up and answer quickly. 

            “Hello?" I say into the phone. A deep, manly voice replies. 

            “Hello, is this Bree?" they asked.

            “Yes it is, may I ask who’s speaking?" 

            “Sorry, how rude of me," he starts, “my name’s Officer Ralph Horan. I’m here at Mercy Hospital and I’m afraid to report that Eric Scott has been brought in with serious injuries."

            “What?!" I scream but I try to compose myself to get more information. 

            “From what we’ve gathered, he was in a fight with 7 other men around his age. He was cornered and beaten severally. Someone found him later unconscious and called the ambulance in. We’ve caught 4 of 7 boys involved and they’re all giving statements while he’s going into surgery." 

            “I’m on my way," I mutter before hanging up and racing out to Claire’s house. I bang on the door and she opens with a smile on her face. 

            “Oh! Hello there, Little B, what can I do for you? Did he forget to go food shopping again?" she says with a smirk on her face. 

            “Claire, he’s been mugged. He’s at the hospital now we need to go," I stutter out and her face fell. 

            “SHANE GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE AND DRIVE US TO THE GOD DAMN HOSPITAL!" she screams and I flinch. She sees me scared and engulfs me in her arms while sobs consumed my body. 

            “Don’t you worry darling; he’ll be fine. You know him, he’s a fighter, our Eric," she whispers as she rocks me gently. A tall fit man ran down the stairs looking flustered. 

            “What wrong babe? Your waters not broken has it? It’s too early, damn it!" he stutters out and I pull back. 

            “Your water?! You’re pregnant?!" I half yell and she sighs. 

            “We don’t have time for this! I’ll explain later. Come on," she rushes out and we all climb into the car. The journey couldn’t have been more than 25 minutes, but it felt like years. I was shaking and a million possibilities ran through my head.

            We finally pulled up outside the hospital and I jumped out of the car with Claire. We went straight to the front desk and Claire took control. 

            “We’re here for Eric, Eric Scott," she says as she rubs my back trying to clam me down. 

I couldn’t breathe. My whole world was falling down around me and I felt like my insides were being twisted. I can’t lose him, I only just got him. We were meant to be forever, weren’t we? 

Claire leads me up stairs and through corridors but it was all a blur and I was numb. We stopped outside the operating room while I group of doctors wheeled in what we presumed was Eric’s body. 

            “Oh my god is he okay?! What’s going on?!" Claire demands and a young doctor pulls us to the side while they wheel her out of our view into another room. 

            “You must be his step sister and..?" he asked, referring to me. 

            “Girlfriend," I say shakily. He nods. 

            “Well, I’m afraid to say that Eric’s not looking too good. From what we can see from the x-rays, he’s got 4 broken ribs, a fractured skull, a broken nose, a broken leg, and three broken fingers. He’s got a lot of internal bleeding and unfortunately he’s got a very rare blood type, which we had to get in from a hospital 40 miles away which caused a delay. His body’s very weak and we’ve got him in surgery to try fix the ribs and all the injuries in his skull." He finished and I nearly collapsed. My poor baby had to suffer through that. Whoever did this isn’t going to get off lightly. 

            “Police would like for you both to make a statement down in the waiting room on the third floor when you’re ready," he said with a sad smile which I tried to return but it came out as a grimace instead. 

            Claire and I traveled silently down to the third floor and sat down on the plush chairs in the waiting room. I looked up to take in the faces of those sitting with us and then I spotted him. His face that now repulsed me was plastered with a scowl and he slouched in his seat looking pissed off. 

            “YOU DID THIS YOU ASSHOLE!" I screamed with a raw voice as he looked up to see me. 

            “Of course you’re here, you slut. What, I knock your little boyfriend around and now you hate me? You’re a piece of shit, you disgusting prostitute and you should be in there dying too," he spat and I lost it. I lunged for him and Claire reacted quickly and held me back. 

            “Bree, he’s not worth it, you need to calm down. Think about Eric," she soothed in my ear and I stopped my actions. He let out an obnoxious chuckle and I wanted to kill him. A few of his posse sat around him, all sporting handcuffs.

            A policeman entered from a door on the corridor and we all turned to watch him. He took his hat off and ran his hand through his hair. 

            “Right, Jake Hanson, Mark Stevenson and Adam Ryan your parents have been called and should be here shortly. Jake, your father has bailed you out but you’re on house arrest until you’re further notified," the guard spoke and then the room went silent. It’s obvious that Jake was behind this, but I never knew he had so much hate inside him. He never really showed signs of it all the time we were together, but I suppose that just shows how little we really knew each other. I guess we were together for the sake of being together. 

            I was a bit concerned about where that left the relationship of our families. Our fathers were business partners and Jake and I’s relationship was born from their alliance. This drama will surely cause a strain on them since they’re both very headstrong. Also, the fact Jake will not stop until my dad knows that Eric is more than just a friend to me makes a shiver run down my spine. I don’t really know how he’ll react since there’s never been talk of me dating anyone else but Jake  in my house. All we ever talk about is work and what’s for dinner. 

            I really needed Eric. He was the person who I clung to when life seemed so uncertain but now that her dented well being is the cause of the ripples in my future. I wanted to hug him so much that it pained me. We still hadn’t got word back from his surgery and I was getting worried. 

            Suddenly a tall, buff, well dressed man with thick hair neatly brushed back walked into the waiting room. His green eyes were livid with rage and I instantly recognized him as Jake’s father. 

            “Jake, what the hell are you playing at?!" he screamed. I heard a gasp to my right so I turned to look at Claire. She had her mouth wide open and her eyes had shock in them. 

            “Claire, what’s wrong?" I say softly as she stares at Jake’s father. 

            “That’s Eric’s father."