"This is all your fault, director's pet. This is a play. I'm not falling in love with you, and I would never ever go out with you, Jack Garrison."
Jack and Shayna can't get through a rehearsal without fighting.
Cheerleader Shayna loathes perfect Ja...
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**** Content Warning for Referencing Abuse and Violence****
It felt like it had been hours since Mary had entered the waiting room. If she didn't make it... she had to make it. Uncle Anton was talking to the police in another room. They'd come to ask us questions soon.
Lilly's lower lip quivered as she clutched a hospital coffee cup too hard. Shayna was holding Maddy, who had mercifully fallen asleep. I was grateful for that, but I hated that I didn't have the strength to hug my little sister right now.
My stomach was flipping. Dr. Porter said they were going to do their best to save Mary. I wanted to jump in and help, but I couldn't do anything. I was powerless here. One of my sisters was on an operating table, and the only thing that flashed through my mind were all the times I should have stood up to my dad.
The officers came out of the room they were using. Uncle Anton walked out behind them. There were tears in his eyes.
"Uncle Anton," Lilly said. "What did you tell them?"
"What I knew," Uncle Anton said.
Lilly's eyes went wide with distress. I knew she feared separation from the rest of us. Uncle Anton was Mom's only sibling. Our grandparents on both sides of the family were dead.
Besides our uncle, who lived on a delivery driver's salary, our only family was Dad's great-aunt. Aunt Virginia lived up north with a collection of stuffed giraffes. Dad had lived with her for a year during law school after his parents passed, and he didn't like her much.
"We dispatched a unit to your home to bring in Mr. Garrison," one of the officers told me. "We do need you to come with us, Jack Garrison."
"Please don't go," Lilly's eyes pooled with tears.
My sister's panic snapped me back to reality. "Uncle Anton... Stay with them. Please..."
Uncle Anton nodded solemnly. I followed the officers from the hospital hallway and back downstairs. Lilly's sobs echoed in my ears until we exited the building.
The officers were nice enough. They didn't press or ask questions until after they loaded me in their car and drove me to the station. One of them tried to tell a joke, but he couldn't make me smile.
At the station, a few officers were working the night shift. Fewer people than at the hospital, but it was no less fear-inducing. By the time we sat down to talk, my hands were shaking. I couldn't help it.
"I'm Officer Lewis," the first cop said. "This is Officer Holland. Do you want to tell me how this all went down? Your uncle seems to think you know much more of the story than he did."
"Where is my father?" I looked around nervously.
"We sent a pair of officers to bring him to the station," Officer Holland said. "We want to question him as well. Tell me how you ended up at the hospital, Jack."
