The Contract

Chapter 48

My phone rang loudly in the middle of the night, waking me up.

I reached out, tiredly, and answered the phone, not bothering to look who was calling, my eyes closed and head pounding as I put the phone to my ear.

"Hello?" I groan out tiredly as Donovan shifts behind me, hugging me tightly with his head pressed into my neck.

"Evan baby? It's Momma" My mom's voice comes through, her voice low and shaking, as she sniffles through the phone... like she's been crying.

I pull the phone from my ear and look at the time, seeing it's 4 AM.

You've got to be fucking kidding me. "Mom? What's wrong? It's 4 in the morning."

She starts crying hard, making me open my eyes and try and sit up, moving Donovan's heavy arm from my waist, making him open his eyes and look at me tiredly, half asleep as I hold the phone close to my ear.

I hear a police radio in the background, and the worst possible scenario pops into my head, thinking she's been arrested, or worse. "What's going on? Where are you?" I ask, sitting up.

"I'm sorry for waking you, my sweet boy." Her soft voice breaks as she apologizes. "I-I'm at the hospital, can you come? T-They won't let me leave, and they keep asking me questions."

"What?" I hiss out, rubbing my forehead. "What happened, mom? Where's Roy?" I ask as Donovan wakes up beside me, sitting up in the bed, and looking at me, concerned.

"We had a fight, he h-hit me, the neighbors called the police and they arrested him." She sobs out. "C-Can you come? Please, baby, I-I don't know who else to call."

"I'll drive you." Donovan says beside me, hearing every word of the conversation from next to me.

He got out of bed and turned the bedside lamp on, before I could say anything I get out of bed too, reaching for my underwear on the floor and putting them on.

"I'm on my way, which hospital are you at?" I ask, and she tells me where she's being treated as I lean the phone against my ear and shoulder as I put my jeans on.

She starts crying into the phone, thanking me over and over, not fully making sense as I see Donovan reach for his keys, dressed in casual clothes and ready to drive me.

"Mom, I'm coming okay? I'll be there in 20, just wait for me to get there, I'm coming." I say as best as I could without letting my frustration get out.

After she calms down, I tell her again that I'm coming and we both hang up, leaving me following after Donovan as he leaves the bedroom with his keys in hand, fully dressed.

"I'm so sorry about this." I say to Donovan, jogging down the stairs. "Are you sure you want to come?" I ask, not wanting him to meet my mom like this. "You haven't even slept much Donovan, you shouldn't be driving."

"I'm driving and I'm coming with you." He says, his voice leaving no room for discussion as we head into the elevator, Donovan pressing 'P' for underground parking.

I lean against the elevator and sigh, feeling myself get angrier with each passing second.

"I knew this would fucking happen." I hiss out my blood boiling. "That piece of shit, putting his hands on my mom... If I see him, I'll fucking kill him!" I snarl out, wanting nothing more than to smash my fist into his ugly fucking face.

"Has this happened before?" He asks me, and I shrug as the elevator doors open to the parking lot.

"You have no idea." I shake my head following him to his car.

"But she's never ended up in the hospital, usually it's just a drunken screaming match and a night in the drunk tank."

We both get in and Donovan starts the car, driving out of the underground parking lot, my mind everywhere at once, hearing my mom's scared voice in my ears, her crying for me... a familiar feeling that leaves me numb.