Deadly Infatuation

Chapter 27

Max

After I hand in my request to have a protective order taken out against Sarah, I make my way outside the courthouse and head back to my car. I pull my phone out of my suit pocket on the way to text Lily it's done to put her mind at ease and then slip the phone back in my suit. When I round the corner of the building, my steps falter as I spot a police vehicle parked behind my Aston Martin with the officer peering into the window of my car. I don't know why she is doing this as I've parked in a designated area and I have received no fines recently. My stomach clenches and I pick up the pace, grabbing her attention when I get close enough to her. When she sees me, she says something into her radio and then walks over to me. "Is there something wrong, Officer?" I ask, gesturing to my car.

"I'm looking for the owner of this vehicle," she replies, pointing her thumb over her shoulder. "It belongs to a Mr. King. That wouldn't be you, would it?"

"I am." I pull my keys out and unlock the car to prove it. "What's the reason you need to talk to me?"

She pulls her shades away from his face. "My name is Officer Mason. They have asked me to come down here to check on you." She looks at the writing in her notebook and then looks back up at me. "It seems a friend of yours, a Miss Hail, has been involved in an assault. There are some concerns that the person who did this to her may target you next."

My chest tightens upon hearing this as the thought of Lily being hurt in someway pains me. I quickly ask myself why anyone would want to do this to her, but then I'm filled with dread, as I can think of one person who may be unhinged enough to. And if I am right and it is Sarah who has hurt her, she'll pay for doing this to Lily. She can come after me all she wants, but when she goes after the woman I care for, all bets are off.

I fire multiple questions off in quick succession to Officer Mason, though they seem pointless because apart from her being able to tell me that Lily has been taken to the Providence Newberg Medical Center to get checked over; she has no more information to go on.

She notifies me she'll escort me to the hospital to make sure no one is tailing me, which I'm grateful for. Not because I'm worried that the person may be after me, but because if I find someone following me, I may not be able to control my anger and end up in jail myself. I send a brief text to my dad and Kim explaining that I won't be able to make it in today and ask Kim to take the lead for now on the expansion project. I follow behind the police car, going through the motions of driving while my mind replays the conversation I just had, worrying how injured Lily could be.

When I have the hospital in my sights, I breathe a sigh of relief that I will so find out what has happened, but then I also have a sense of dread fill me as I maybe don't want to find out that answer. I pull up in a parking space and quickly buy a ticket before I sprint inside and head to the front desk. There's no line, and the red-headed woman looks up at me and smiles, tucking her hair behind her ear. I rest my hands on the desk and lean forward. "I've been told you have a woman under the name Lily Hail here. She came in from an assault."

"Are you a friend or family member?"

"Friend. Well... more than a friend," I stutter.

"I see," she replies, her eyes softening. "I'll just check the database for you to see if she's here."

"Thank you."

As she searches on her screen, I call Johnson to meet me at the hospital and then turn to look around the waiting room to see if I can see Julie or Suzanne in the mass of civilians, but I don't spot either of them.

"She's in Bay nine. I'll buzz the door on the left for you to go through and you just have to read the numbers to find her."

I quickly thank her and then lift off the desk and stride over to the door she told me about and pull it open. I scan the numbers written on the wall until I find Lily's one and pause when I find it. The blue drapes are closed, but I know she's behind it, as I can hear Julie's familiar voice as she talks to someone. I gently part the drapes and poke my head in, causing Lily, her mom, and the doctor all to turn at once and look at me. I'm comforted by the fact that she is awake and appears to be in good spirits despite what has happened to her. Though, when I see her face is unusually white, I swallow hard.

"Come in, Max," Julie softly speaks as she rises from her chair and comes to pat me on the shoulder.

The drapes close behind me as I step into the small bay and go to the side of Lily's bed and bend down to kiss her forehead. "I'm so sorry you're in here, baby," I murmur into her hair. "What happened?"

She rolls her eyes. "Oh, you know. I come home and get hit in the back of my head with something hard from some crazy asshole."

My blood goes cold and I trace my fingers delicately along her cheek. "Your head?" I flick my eyes at the doctor. "Is it serious?"

The doctor clears her throat and holds up a scan of Lily's skull. "Luckily, no. As you can see, there is only some minor swelling in the occipital lobe region, which accounts for the blurriness Miss Hail is experiencing," she explains, pointing to the back of the brain image. "I was just explaining to Miss Hail she has a concussion though and needs to take it easy for the next few days." She places the scan back into her file and looks at Lily. "You were incredibly lucky that the perpetrator didn't do any further harm. Damage to the brain can be a very serious matter."

Lily shivers beside me on the hospital bed, and I squeeze her hand to comfort her. The doctor stays a few minutes longer to inform Lily that they can discharge her and rest at home as long as she has someone with her for at least 24 hours to ensure that her symptoms don't worsen. With Lily's apartment out of use because of the police scoping the apartment for clues and no longer being safe for now in my eyes at least, I offer her to stay at my place until I know she's 100% safe again. Lily lifts her blue eyes and softly smiles, thanking me for the offer but tells me she doesn't feel comfortable staying with me when Paige doesn't know about us and also stating that she doesn't want to impede my preparation for the Paris trip. Though I'm a bit on edge at not being able to have Lily with me, I understand her reasoning and let her know it's all right. Her mom proposes she stays at her place straight after, citing that it will be nice to have her under the same roof again. Lily agrees to this, which helps to put my mind at ease, knowing that she won't be alone and will have her mom for support while she recovers.

The doctor also explains to Lily that she may experience headaches in the next few days or weeks and that it may take a couple of days for her sight to fully recover. She suggests for Lily to take Tylenol to relieve the pain and advises her to come back to the medical center straight away if her symptoms worsen. With the important details out of the way, the doctor leaves to begin the discharge process and while we wait for the paperwork, Lily fills me in on what else happened at her apartment. By the time she finishes, I feel a cold sweat on the back of my neck. The trashed apartment, the photographs with her eyes stabbed out, and the same items that were found at the burglary. It's all disturbing.

While Lily said she wasn't able to get a good look at the person, she strongly believes that Sarah is behind all of this, and considering how Sarah has been reacting up to this point, it all makes sense for it to be her. I've severely underestimated her capabilities, and I'm nervous about what she may try to do next. Hopefully, the police will press charges against her and I can get around to hiring a good criminal lawyer to put her behind bars for a very long time.

A nurse appears with a wheelchair, and she helps Lily slowly get into it. I catch the moan that passes from her lips and I feel utterly helpless as she lifts her hand to her head and squeezes her eyes shut. "Lily?" I say as Julie asks, "Are you okay, dear?"

"Yes," she breathes out. "I just moved my head too quickly."

She rests gently back in the chair and closes her eyes, saying that she's still feeling a little dizzy. The nurse waits patiently for Lily to be ready and when she gives the okay, the nurse wheels her out of the bay. I find Johnson waiting for us outside the hospital and I hold back with him to give him a debrief of what has happened to Lily. I inform him to follow Lily back to Julie's house while I go to her apartment to gather some of her belongings and then meet up with Lily to help her in the car. Leaning into the passenger door, I give her a ghost of a kiss against her temple before murmuring that I won't be long and shut the passenger door.