Blissfully Numb. (Book 4)

Chapter 13

The pain was unbearable.

It felt like half of my arm was missing, the throbbing and then the unnatural pain from the needle as they gave me pain killers was like nothing I had ever felt. I chanced a glance at the wound as they removed the bandages to take a look and it looked big, I wondered if it would leave any motor damage? The skin around it looked torn and the blood was pouring out but I knew I was lucky, it could have been a death sentence; at least I would get to go home to my family.

Once I was all done the surgeon came to see me and said it was quite a superficial wound and that I had been lucky. They wanted to keep me in for 'observations' but I knew it was to keep an eye on me until Colin was caught. I hoped that they found him soon, everything he had said just fuelled my hatred for him even more. Selfish, inconsiderate, spineless scum of the earth!

There was a police officer outside of my room, I could see her trying to maintain her rigid stance. Looking left and right then from time to time into the room at me. I tried to motion for her to come in and talk to me for a moment, I wanted to know if my family were on their way to see me and I hadn't seen Emily since we got out of the ambulance. She popped her head in the door and said hey.

"Hey, can you tell me what happened to Emily, my niece? I haven't seen her since I got here is she ok?"

"She is in the next room being treated for shock and a few minor scraps, she will be fine." She smiled. "Your family has been notified and an officer has gone to pick them all up."

"Ah great, that was my next question." I smiled and she nodded. "Anything from Colin?"

"No, not yet but we will find him, sir."

"It's Theo, but thanks."

She smiled again and left the room and not long after the door banged open and Alfie rushed in with Leya-Jess in his arms. He was red in the face and I couldn't tell if that was from exertion or he was angry at me, I assumed a bit of both. Leya looked happy to see me which was making me emotional, it was only on seeing them both that I realized how close I had been to never seeing them again. Who wrestles a guy with a gun, especially a known psychopath?!

"Theo are you ok?!" Alfie asked.

"I am now thank you. I am sorry I put you guys through this but I had to find Emily. It was my mess, I couldn't let her get hurt because of me."

"You could have warned me, Theo, what if Colin had killed you? The questions of what had happened to you would have haunted me, Leya would have lost her Daddy!"

"I know and I am sorry but Emily was the only thing on my mind at the time. I needed to be the one to save her, it's my brother creating all this trouble and I couldn't have lived with myself if he hurt her Alfie."

"Ok, ok, I understand but please don't ever do anything that stupid again!"

"I won't ok, now pass that baby girl to me. Daddy wants a kiss and cuddle."

Alfie arranged her in my lap so as not to hurt my arm and then I pulled her close and laid one on her. I loved her so much and losing Emily would have been the same as losing Leya. Emily has been around so much longer than Leya and were such a close family that I love her equally. Alfie climbed up beside us and I recounted the story of how Colin found me and what had happened in the apartment. Everything that Colin told me and the look on Alfie's face made me feel more justified in my responses to Colin.

Speaking of Emily about forty minutes after Alfie arrived, she was wheeled into my room by Domingo; closely followed by Charlie, Elliot, Lucas and Helen and Dan. Scowling as she entered she looked up and me and smiled and I gave her one right back, I was glad to see she didn't look too nervous or affected by what had happened to her.

"Hey Em."

"Hey, how are you?"

"I'm good for you?" I asked nervously. I don't know why I asked, she wouldn't tell me in front of her parents and to be honest it wouldn't matter what she said. They were the kind to shove her straight into therapy regardless of how she felt. I'm not judging them, I don't know how I'd react and having done therapy myself I know it's not always a bad thing.

"I'm good. Although I am not allowed to walk or get stressed, or brush over what happened, or see Jorge." She reeled off with an added eye roll for good measure.

I chuckled at her sass and her dad warned her by sounding her name in that low, slow, drawn-out kind of way that parents do. "You've been through a lot Emily and Colin still hasn't been caught so not to sound like the boring uncle, your dads are right and you can't go anywhere until we know you're safe."

Helen pushed herself through at this point and practically threw herself onto me, luckily on the side of my good arm. She smothered me in kisses and held on to me tight and to be honest after the stories I had heard today it felt nice. After all these years she was as good as my mom and as she was her sister it was the best replacement I could have asked for. Don't get me wrong I would give anything to have even a minute more with my parents but we have to be happy with what we're given don't we?

"God, the pair of you scared me so much. Emily didn't have a choice but when I found out you did this on purpose! Jesus, Theo. Did you want to give me a heart attack?" She cried.

"I am sorry I honestly wasn't thinking of anything but Emily. I wasn't going to let Colin hurt her."

"Ok, but for Christ's sake don't do anything like this again."

"I won't unless someone else gets kidnapped from a deranged, egotistical murderer."

I earned myself a few eye rolls from everyone for that comment but it was true. I wasn't trying to play the hero, I wasn't out to win at anything, and this wasn't a competition. I was right when I said it was my mess and I had to clean it up. After another hour the officer popped her head in and told me that it was time for everyone to leave. Emily was to go back to her room and everyone could come back in the morning.

The night dragged on for a while. I watched some TV, had something to eat. They came to give me more meds and I drifted in and out for a while. At around midnight I was woken from the sound of talking outside of my room and when I looked up the officer was talking to the Doctor. Afterward, she told me she was off to get something to eat and would be back in twenty minutes. I made a quick gesture of going back to sleep and that I wasn't going anywhere and she smiled and left.

I clicked the light off from beside my bed and was just about to nod off when the door opened again. I expected it to be the doctor to check my chart so I didn't bother to move or open my eyes but what happened next made my blood freeze.

 "Hi, Theo," Colin said from the shadows.