You're Family Now

Part 37

Mitchs pov-

She collapsed, she just collapsed.

"Gemma!" I shout and drop on my knees to catch her.

Her body is limp and I can't hear her breathing. I check her pulse and feel nothing.

"CALL 9-1-1! NOW!" I command to anyone. "SHE ISN'T BREATHING AND I CAN'T FEEL A HEART BEAT."

"Move, move, move, I know CPR!" Vik commands and I move out of his way but still clutch to Gemma's hand.

What happened? I- I don't understand.

"Come on, come on baby girl, stay with us." I murmur against her hand.

"An ambulance is on its way!" Rob shouts and kneels down on the ground next to Vik. He takes Gems wrist and keeps track for a pulse.

After a few minutes, she comes to gasping for air.

"GEMMA!" We all shout relieved and simultaneously worried about her. Her eyes were wide and fear streamed from her every pore before she passed out again, this time, with a pulse.

"I-I..." Alesa stutters, worry and fear clearly controlling her.

"Adam, get Alesa out of here, calm her down, this isn't good for her." I instruct, only to see he was already about to do so.

"Lachlan, can you go wait for the paramedics?" He nods and says 'on it'.

I hear slight shuffling then see Preston supporting Gemma's head instead of letting it lie on the ground uncomfortably. Tears are in his eyes and it's then I notice the tears running down my face.

Jerome remains on the phone with the operator giving a play by play until the ambulance gets here.

All of this, all at once. Learning I might lose her to her sister. Watching her find out the same thing. Then watching as she collapsed to the ground with no warning, no indication of how much fear or shock about what she felt.

"Sir..." A voice echoes through my thoughts bringing me back to reality. "Sir, please move, she's going to be okay."

Lachlan and Rob pull me away from her and hold me still. My eyes glance away from Gemma for a moment to see Vik, Preston and Jerome nearly clinging to each other for support.

Everything seems to be in slow motion as I watch.

The paramedics crouch to her side and check vitals. Their voices are nonexistent to me as the seem to shout at each other telling their findings. They lift her up and move her seemingly lifeless body onto a gurney and hair messily falls across her face.

My eyes travel to Jerome pointing to me then one of the paramedics drags me behind him into the ambulance and all of the noise, all of the sight catches up to me.

"Gemma...." I murmur once again and push the hair out of her face.

"Sir, I need to know some information if I may. She's stable, her vitals are good, she should be fine." The male paramedic asks.

I only nod.

"What is your relationship to her?" He reads off of a clipboard.

"Um.. A-Adoptive brother and legal guardian." I stammer, still getting over my shock.

"What is your and her names? Full names?"

"Mine is Mitchell Donell Ralph Hughes. Hers is Gemma Roslin Hughes." I reply, more composed this time.

What is her age?
Has this happened before?
Does she have a history of seizures?
Does she have allergies?
Does she have a history of abuse? If so who abused her?
Where are her adoptive parents?
Do you have legal custody of your sister?
What is her case workers name?
Do you have access to her records and can you get them?

All of those and more were fired at me from the paramedic and a nurse once we arrived at the hospital. All of those questions, just digging after her life history it seemed.

I don't want to answer these anymore, I want to know how she is. They won't tell me anything, not where she is in the building, not how her condition is, not even their theories on what happened.

I must've repeated the story over one hundred times before telling one final person... the police.

"Mr. Hughes, I'd like to know if you were aware of your sisters scars and marks across her body."

I nod.

"Wouldn't you mind telling me how she got them?"

"From her sister. Her biological sister who's trying to get custody of Gemma." I tell, anger rising in my voice, showing my growing impatience.

"I need you and anyone else who knows to tell me everything they know about her... physical condition. I've gotten her file from her case worker and there's no evidence of a trial or conviction of this girls sister." She tells me.

"I'm sorry.. what?" I ask. How has this not been brought to the authorities attention? How could she not of told be there was nothing done about this?

"There was never anything brought up to anyone in a higher office that could do something about the abuse so, there's still a good possibility that we can get her jail time for what she's done to Gemma." She answers smiling and I can't help but let an excited grin take place on my face.

The officer grabs a piece of paper and pen and writes down something before passing it to me.

"This is my contact number at the station, call me when I'm able to speak to Gemma for the investigation." And with that she walks away and I turn my attention to the paper in my hand. Detective Amanda Lawrence.
Oh... she's a detective... oops.

"Mr. Hughes? I would like to inform you of Gemma's condition." A nurse calls to me. Please be okay..