Just close your eyes
The sun is going down
You'll be alright
No one can hurt you now
Come morning light
You and I'll be safe and sound
Don't you dare look out your window, darling.
Everything's on fire
The war outside our door keeps raging on
Hold onto this lullaby
Even when the music's gone
Gone
-Taylor Swift (video above)
72 hours... that's how long it had been since Kristen and Rob had seen Eliana. looking at the clock it mocked her. time mocked her, it was the enemy. the more time that went on, the lesser chance of finding Eliana alive and she knew that.
Frustrated, she got up from the kitchen island and threw her cup into the sink, listening to the porcelain crack and shatter into pieces. she leaned over the sink gripping the counter top until her knuckles turned white. her breaths were coming out jagged and fast paced as once again tears clouded her vision. it didn't take a genius to figure out what was happening to her, she was going into a panic attack. it had been so long since she had had one, but she still remembered that she only had a few minutes until she wouldn't be able to speak anymore. loud, gut wrenching screams that came out sharp and broken took over her body as she slumped down to the floor, burying her face in her hands.
Rob, having heard the screams. got out of bed and followed the screams down to the kitchen. he found Kristen on the floor and it triggered flashbacks of when she used to have panic attacks constantly. she had been doing so good.
"Kris, it's me" he whispered. "breath sweetheart breathe."
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Curled up on the couch, Robert was stroking Kristen's hair as she slept with her head in his lap. she looked peaceful. after this morning events, he was more worried about her than usual. he had made a new rule that she was not to leave his sight and if she wanted to go out, she needed to let him know she arrived safely, at least until this nightmare was over. it was for her safety.
A couple hours later Kristen awoken and decided to head over to her mothers for the day, she needed to get out of the house and she had not seen her mother since that night and now that Jules was out of the hospital, she thought it would do some good to go and see her. she packed what she needed and promised Rob she would text him when she got to her mothers.
"Hey, Kristen" her mother greeted.
"Hey, mom, I'm sorry I didn't call first. I just needed to get out of the house for a little while"
"Its ok, I'm glad to see you! still nothing huh?"
"Not a fucking thing." Kristen went and sat on the couch, sending a quick text to Robert as she relayed the events of the last two days and her feelings to her mother.
"I miss her mom......"
Jules got up and sat by Kristen pulling her into her side as she sniffled and continued.
"This isn't your fault mom, I hope you don't think it is."
Jules sighed. "at first, I thought so, but then your dad talked some sense into me."
"Do you talk to dad?"
"We might be divorced sweetheart but that doesn't mean we stopped talking."
"I guess...."
The day went by slowly, she and her mom spent the day cooking and talking. Kristen felt calmer than she had been and she didn't know if it was right to feel like that or not. her phone rang on the counter next to her, sporting her special ringtone that was just for Robert They don't know about us by One Direction filled the room, making Kristen's heart stop. she quickly wiped her hands off and grabbed her phone, heading into the living room. Jules couldn't hear what was being said on the other end of the line but Kristen's expression gave her all she needed to know
Yes,...you're kidding me???...Robert, I can hear it in your voice, what are you not telling me?...fine alright, fuck the car ill leave it here....alright I'll see you in a bit.
She hung up the phone and closed her eyes, tears ran down her cheeks.
"They found her" she whispered
"Are you serious?"
"Yeah, she's at the hospital right now. I know there is something he isn't telling me and he said he would tell me once he got here."
"So he's picking you up?"
"Yes."
Kristen waited for Robert to come and hugged her mother before heading out.
"Alright, what are you not telling me?" she asked as she entered the car.
"Ok, I need you not to freak out alright?"
"I'm not promising anything," she said.
He sighed. "she's in critical condition.
"What?" Kristen asked. "what does that mean?"
"They said they will tell us more when we get there"
"Alright, let's get going."
Arriving at the hospital, they were led into a conference room where two officers and a pediatrician were.
"Good afternoon Mr. and Mrs. Pattinson"
"Oh um," Kristen started but let it go. she didn't mind being called that and smiled at Robert who smiled back at her.
"Please have a seat." the officer instructed. "so as you have heard, we have found your daughter"
"Yes," Kristen responded.
The pediatrician spoke then.
"She came in severely dehydrated, it is obvious that she has not eaten since she was taken. "Kristen felt her breath get knocked out of her. "but that's not the worst of it. it appears that she has been subjected to abuse."
"What kind of abuse?" Kristen hesitantly asked.
"She was beaten, we don't know with what. she is extremely weak right now. we have her hooked up to multiple IVs, transfusions. TPN and Lipids, a heart monitor and she is also on a morphine drip."
"She's in pain?" Kristen asked horrified
"It appears so, we did some X-rays and there are no broken bones, fractures or internal bleeding. your daughter is very lucky. by the way, she was when she came in, she would not have survived another day. now I will turn it over to the officers,"
"Thank you, doctor" Kristen and Rob both said
"I know this is a lot to take in," the officers started. "but I need to ask you some questions"
"Alright?"
"Were you aware that your ex Michael had been watching you?"
Kristen shot up in her seat. "MICHAEL DID THIS???? WHY???"
"We asked him that and recorded his answer for you," he sat a tape recorder down on the table and pushed play.
"I watched them for years, their perfect little romance. I wanted to destroy that. destroy her life like the bitch did mine."
"Why would you hurt their daughter?"
"I took the one thing that meant the most to them besides each other, something they would do anything for. Kristen has It all! money, fame and a perfect little family. she seemed happy, too happy for my liking. I waited for the right moment and I will say this, that baby didn't go without a damn good fight for such a tiny thing. shall I tell you how I tortured her?"
"It's up to you"
"Kristen, maybe you shouldn't hear this Rob" whispered in her ear. sure this would cause a panic attack.
"No, I need too, I need to know what he did to our girl"
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, just play the damn tape" she snapped
"Like I said, she put up a fight. kicked and screamed. I took her immediately to the basement of my house, she was screaming and crying, trying to say a word that was very close to momma."
Tears slid down Kristen's cheek at the thought of her baby wanting her.
"Left the kid down in the basement to cry it out for a few hours, when I went back down there she was still screaming so I taught her a lesson. needless to say, she shut up after that. I watched slowly as she deteriorated, satisfied with myself. it got to the point where she was too weak to cry and listening to her whimper as I beat her was a glorious sound---"
"Shut it off please," Kristen cried, feeling herself start to panic. the officer turned it off and Rob crouched down in front of Kristen.
"Are you alright?" he asked her.
"Yes, I just need to see her before I go and find him, pay backs a bitch." she smiled devilishly
"Ok sweetie,"
"I will walk you guys down to the PICU.," the officer said
"PICU?" Kristen questioned. never had heard the term before.
"Pediatric intensive care unit ma'am"
"Oh, alright." they followed the officer to the doors of the PICU before being handed off to a nurse.
"We will call you with court details," he said before he left. they followed the nurse through a set of door labeled PICU.
"Please scrub up" the nurse instructed.
after they scrubbed up, they were once again led through another set of doors. this time a whole unit appeared. Kristen looked around, hoping what she was looking at was a nightmare that she was going to wake up from. her eyes filled with tears as Rob placed his arm around her. they suddenly stopped in front of a room
"I'm going to warn you, it looks bad. she is very lethargic and sleepy, because of the lack of nutrition and severe dehydration. she also has multiple lacerations and bruising to her body, they look worse than they actually are. I won't keep you any longer" the nurse said as she opened the door
"I'll leave you guys alone," she said.
"Thank you," Kristen whispered as she stared into the room. the walls were a creamy white, a large bay window sat across from her with a small couch under it. a rocking chair sat perched right next to it and right next to that, sat a large oversized crib. Robs breathe caught in his throat, he barely felt Kristen squeeze his hand and lead him over to the crib.
Laying in the crib, under a mountain of wires and blankets was his little girl. she was very pale and they could both tell she had lost weight. she looked lifeless. slowly Kristen leaned over, smoothing the baby's hair back while silently crying
"Hi, sweetheart, mommy, and daddy are here. everything is going to be alright lovebug." she whispered
They watched as Eliana slowly fluttered her little eyelids open, softly whimpering when she spotted Kristen. slowly she reached her arm out that had one IV in it and grabbed Kristen's finger as hard as she could, which wasn't very hard considering she was very sick. Kristen took Elianas hand into hers and kissed it as she smiled down at the baby
A nurse came in to change the bag of fluids.
"Would you like to hold her?"
"Can we?"
"Yeah," just have to be careful"
Kristen walked away from Eliana and as she did that, the heart monitor went crazy and she looked back at her daughter who was silently crying while frantically reaching for her. Rob went over to her and talked to her while Kristen settled in the chair.
"Why don't you lay on the couch and he will lay her on your chest" the nurse offered
Kristen nodded and grabbed the blanket off the chair before settling on the couch. she watched as she nurse disconnected a couple of wires and gathered the cords up into her hand and around her neck. she leaned down and carefully picked Eliana up before placing her in Robert's arms. watching as Rob looked down at his daughter with a smile Kristen smiled.
The moment Eliana was placed on her chest, she breathed out of relief. the nurse pinned the clumps of wires to Kristen's shirt in an effort to secure them to something.
"I'll leave you guys alone" the nurse smiled before she left. Rob came and sat by Kristen as she scooted over.
"Hello love bug, did you miss us? we missed you so much" Kristen said as she kissed the top of Eliana's head. she pulled the blanket back and examined her daughter's body. she sniffled. "What did he do to you sweetheart?" Eliana fussed as if trying to explain. "It's alright baby girl, he can't hurt you anymore." she stroked the baby's cheek as her daughter laid silently on her chest, her blue eyes staring into Kristen's green as if she was scared of her mother leaving.
Rob looked down a couple minutes later to find both his girls fast asleep, he pulled his phone out and captured the scene, sending it in the group chat with the caption "Mom and baby reunited, glad to have my little family back together". he went on to answer the immediate questions people asked. most asking how Eliana was. He watched his little family sleep and he himself slowly drifted off.
Kristen woke up to a pair of blue eyes staring at her, Eliana's eyes were glossy like she was trying not to cry.
"Hey love bug, did you sleep well? we both fell asleep, didn't we?" she said as she ran her hand over Eliana's hair. slowly she sat up, minding the cords. she looked around the room in confusion, where was Rob?
Eliana started fussing against her chest, "are you hungry?" Kristen asked her. she got up and carefully went over to the chair to grab the call light to call the nurse.
"Would it be safe for me to try and nurse her?" she asked the nurse when she came in
"We can see how she does, she is still really weak. just watch for any signs of choking or sputtering, pull her off if that occurs."
"Ok," Kristen got Eliana readjusted watching as she latched on with no hesitation at all. staring at Kristen like she was thanking her for the meal. Eliana ate with no issue, eating for almost an hour instead of usual 20 minutes but Kristen didn't complain. she was just glad to have her baby in her arms and that Eliana was finally getting the opportunity to eat. Rob came in as they were finishing up.
"Hey love, sorry I wasn't here when you guys woke up. I went and got dinner."
"Oh thank you, can you just set mine on the table." she pushed the call light and asked the nurse if she could help her put Eliana in the crib, in fear of accidentally pulling something out. after Eliana was settled, Kristen grabbed her food and headed over to the couch, curling up against Robert as they both stared at their daughter through the crib bars.
"Are you going to court?" Rob asked her
"Yes, I have some things to say to him." she said
"Court Is tomorrow," the officer called me while I was out.
"What time?"
"1 pm,"
"Alright, could you stay here with her? she needs one of her parents here with her, ill ask my mom to come with me."
"Good plan."
"I'm just glad she is safe and he can't hurt her anymore" she sighed
"Me to love, me too."
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That night
Kristen was standing in front of the window with Eliana in her arms, looking out into the city view. the moon was big and crisp tonight, everything was glowing.
"I'm heading home hun," Rob said as he came out of the bathroom. "your bag is in the bathroom"
"Thank you," she said sincerely as she kissed him
"Goodnight my girls. I will be up here first thing in the morning."
"Alright." after he left, Kristen decided to turn in for the night. she carefully laid Eliana in the crib, kissing her goodnight. as she was making her bed up, Eliana started to actually cry, it was a soft raspy cry, but it was a cry.
"Whats wrong love?" Kristen asked her as she approached the crib. immediately Eliana reached out to her, just wanting her mommy's touch. "I can't stay up all night sweetheart." she scooted Eliana over to the other side of the crib and moved her pillow and blanket to the chair. she got settled and carefully reached her arm through the crib bars, taking Eliana's hand into hers.
"Mommas here sweetheart, I love you beyond words" she whispered as she fell into a deep sleep.
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Surprise! it was not Lizzie, but don't worry. Lizzie will be in the next chapter and oh boy! is she pissed. can anyone guess why? so when I was writing this chapter, I was originally going to have it be Lizzie but then as I got to thinking, I don't think, no matter how much she hates Kristen that she would subject their child to this kind of abuse. I don't think she would do that to her brother. so low and behold, it was Michael. were you surprised? let me know what you think of this chapter below and thank you as always!