Be Alright: Somebody To Love #6

6

Justin’s POV

Within the hour, everybody had gathered at the hospital. I watched their faces as they walked in the room, looking at Madelyn’s frail, abused body for the first time. Most of them tried to hide their look of horror from me, but it was something that couldn’t be hidden.

            “Baby girl.” My mom sighed as she saw Madelyn. I could tell she was trying not to cry for my sake, but she couldn’t help it. She loved Madelyn like the daughter she’d never had.

            “Justin, what are you going to do about the kids?” Selena asked. I hadn’t even thought that far ahead yet. My first concern was being with Madelyn. But, in just a couple of hours the kids would be home from school, expecting to see Madelyn.

            “I don’t know.” I admitted.

            “I don’t think it’s a good idea if you let them see her like this.” Selena was right. When they saw the bruises, they would want to know what happened. I wasn’t about to tell them that their mother was brutally attacked. It would scar them for life.

            “Justin, why don’t you let me take them away for a little bit? It might be good for them to get out of Los Angeles.” My mom suggested.

“No.” I said. I wanted them to stay close. Madelyn would want them close. And they had just started school. They couldn’t miss school.

 “Just hear me out. I can take them up to Stratford. My parents haven’t seen them since Christmas. Jeremy and Jazzy and Jax always want to see them. It will give you time to focus on Madelyn without worrying about the kids. She wouldn’t want them to see her like this.” I thought about it for a couple of minutes. She was right.

“Fine. But only for a little while. She’s going to want to see them as soon as she looks a little better.” I knew Madelyn might be angry I was sending our kids away so I wouldn’t have to worry about them and she could be the center of my attention, but at this moment it didn’t matter. I knew I couldn’t handle both Madelyn and the kids, no matter how much help I had.

“I’ll call and get a security guard to fly with you.” Even though I knew that without Madelyn and I, the kids probably wouldn’t even be recognized, I wasn’t going to jeopardize their safety. They were all I had left. I needed to make sure they stayed safe.

“Okay, baby. You call me as soon as you’re ready for them, and we will be on the next flight back into LA.”

“Thank you so much, Mom.”

“I’m just doing what any other mother would do.” She sighed. “I’ll go pick them up at school. Do you want to meet me at the house to tell them? They shouldn’t be here.”

            “Not really.” I said honestly. I didn’t want to leave Madelyn. But I knew I couldn’t have them come to the hospital.

            “I’ll stay with her.” Paige volunteered.

            “I’ll stay, too.” Selena offered. I knew that if I couldn’t be there, Paige and Selena were the next best thing.

            “Fine. But only for an hour.” I didn’t want to be gone too long. If Madelyn woke up, I needed to be here.

            “Mommy! Guess what!” Aria was the first kid into the house. She saw me sitting on the couch. “Hi Daddy!” She gave me a kiss on the cheek. “Where’s Mommy?”

            “Yeah, where’s Mom? She has to make us cupcakes for school tomorrow.” Kingston looked around.

            “And I need her to fix my ballet shoes before dance tonight!” Stella came into the living room.