His Always: Book 1 Rhodes Character Series

Chapter 20: Tate

I step out of the shower located in the attendings lounge. Wanting to respect Natalies privacy with Madison, I decided it was a good time for me to regroup with myself. I realized that I hadn't showered since Natalie had been attacked. Some of her blood still colors my own leg hair. I always under estimate the feeling of a hot shower. It has always regrouped me and centered me. I let my thoughts drift to Thomas. Did I miss any signs that he was abusing her? Certainly not. I spent more time with Natalie at the hospital than he did. Hell, our entire friend group saw her more. Well – probably with the exception of Madison. Everyone else practically lives in this hospital.

I rack my brain, willing it to think back and find something from the last couple of weeks that was a sign that this would happen. Tell me I missed something – tell me I could have seen something and stopped all of this from happening. I finish drying off my body and sliding up clean underwear and joggers my mom so sweetly dropped off. I look up at myself in the mirror. Whew – this is not my best. My normally clean cut facial hair is starting to look overgrown. My eyes look tired. Definitely due to the lack of sleep and abundance of stress of the last 48 hours. I grab my hair gel out of my bag – hopefully this will bring me back to life a little. Or at least make me look a little more presentable.

As I comb my hands through my wet hair, the door to the lounge opens. I glace over to see one of the other many male attendings at this hospital, but am shocked when I see Penelope. She looks even more tired than me. She stares at me but doesn't say anything. I glance around, "Uh, Pen, this is the guys room." I smile at her. "Don't get sassy with me. James told me you were in here. I wanted you to hear it from me. He was going up to tell Natalie now."

"Tell Natalie what?" I walk towards her. "They found Thomas...and arrested him." I, gently, push her towards the side to get to the door faster. "Wait, wait, put a shirt on. Natalie is okay. James and Madison are with her now. She can wait for you to put a shirt on at least." I was spinning around before she even finished her sentence. Ruffling through my overnight bag until I found a shirt. I was out the door before Pen got anymore information out. I spun to my left, finding the corner stairs. Our elevators were terribly slow in this part of the hospital.

I took the stairs two at a time. My body just pulls me towards her. It always has. Ever since that first day I met her moving my sister into her dorm. Our souls must've already connected lifetimes ago. Mine doesn't feel at peace unless hers does. I don't see anyone at the nurses station nor outside Natalie's door. I don't knock and pretty much barge in to her room. I don't know what I expected exactly when I walked in but it wasn't this. The sound of Natalie's laughter filled my ears. I see my girl grinning from ear to ear as everyone turns to stare at me. Clearly, my entrance has startled a few of them.

"Sorry – I came as soon as I heard. They arrested him? Are you okay?" I ask as I turn to Natalie. "I don't really care Tate. I am more focused on wanting to go home." James scoffs. "Here we go again chica. You are the worlds worst patient. We haven't even scanned you. You have barely been here thirty-six hours. Please, I am begging you. One more night. At least." Their interaction makes me smile for a weird reason. Natalie didn't lose her fight in all this. My Natalie is still down there somewhere. This didn't break her. Wanting to be on her side but also not piss of James nor put her life in any danger.

"How about we do all the scans and tests James wants and if they are all clear, we can talk about you coming home to my house tomorrow?" I ask. Giving her my sweetest look. The look of disgust on her face is almost comical. "Ew David." She smirks. I laugh. Loudly. I walk over to her bed and place my arms around her shoulders gently. I place a gentle kiss on the top of her head – careful not to pull on her sensitive hair. "I am glad to see your sense of humor hasn't gone anywhere."

James looks over the top of the computer. "Natalie, are you ready for some scans? Let's see how you are looking on the inside." I feel her ever so slightly tense in my arms. Most people would'nt have noticed. James walks towards the edge of her bed to kick the lock free that keeps the bed from rolling. Madison sighs loudly from across the room. I didn't even notice she took a phone call.

"Scans and then home, please." James tugs her bed to start to move it. "Maybe you missed your calling as an attorney. You are more stubborn than Madison. Which I didn't even know was possible. How are you all best friends? Do you ever agree on anything?" I grab the top of her bed to help James guide Natalie out without bumping into any walls or the doorframe. "We are the perfect match of best friends thank you very much." Natalie pushes back. She already sounds sleepy again. The mental and physical exhaustion continuing to set in from yesterdays events. Her big eyes glace back up at me as we arrive at the elevator. "Tate – why don't you go and get your apartment ready for me to come home to." James jokingly smacks his hand on his head. "You exhaust me woman." He states. "Just focus on getting these scans done. Okay?"

"Tate." Madison grabs my attention from across the hallway. She is still on the phone. "Can you hold back so we can chat?" Ugh. I just got back to Natalie. I really don't want to leave her again. "Do you really need me? I was going to help James." James begins to push Natalie into the elevator. "Tate, it's just some simple scans. I can totally handle it. Help Madison." Does it feel like everyone is working against me? Or is it just me? I hop into the elevator real quick. "You tell James to page me if you need anything. I'll be there as soon as I can. Okay? Be on your best behavior." I give her my best evil eye. She just nods her head in reply already looking exhausted again from all the movement.

I bounce back into the hallway to no longer see Madison standing in the doorway of Natalie's room. I walk past the still empty nurses station and back into the room. Madison sits on the same chair I slept in last night looking over her legal pad full of notes. "So, Natalie took the news better than I anticipated. I still don't know how this will go down as criminal law isn't my specific skill set." She takes a deep breath. I feel like I can see her brain moving a mile a minute. "I know you know the signs of PTSD but remember that it can come at any time and in any form. I do think it is best that when she is discharged she go home with someone." I nod to agree, but let Madison continue to speak.

"I am going to go down to the courthouse to see what I can find out from my legal friends. I don't even know what they are charging him with. Also – the cops will be back. There will be lots more questions and interviews. Natalie will need to make sure her story stays solid and consistent." Seeing Madison in her element is really something else. It's sad the circumstances that brought me to this moment. But I am in awe of my sister as she takes charge of this hectic situation. She looks up. Her eyes a little watery with small tears.

"Just handle her on your end and I will take care of everything else I can in the outside world. Okay?" She adds.

"Whatever I can do to help. And I won't leave Natalie's side. You know where I stand on this." I walk over and hold out my arms to swarm around her. I can see her tough-girl resolve cracking. "Shh...she's okay. We're going to get it all figured out. She's tough. We can get her through this." She hiccups in my arms.

"I just can't believe this even happened. I mean we are talking about Thomas. They have been together like forever. How did I miss the signs?" She sobs harder in my hands. "Madison, take a breath. There weren't any signs you missed. You did nothing wrong. We couldn't have prevented this." I rub my hands gently down her back. Still holding her tight in my chest.

"Just do me a favor and make sure I don't see Thomas throughout this process. Or else I am going to need to hire you as my attorney." Finally, that gets a solid laugh from her.