The Dysfunction Of Evan: Books 1-3 Collection

18. According To Him

"She's waking up!" I heard Jake shout through the darkness. My neck hurt like hell and my head was pounding. "Astrid, can you hear me?" Jake asked softly.

"Yeah." I said, my voice raspy. It hurt so much, the pain was almost blinding. I opened my eyes to see my aunt and Jake kneeling over me. 

"You're okay. An ambulance is coming. You were only out for a couple minutes." She said softly.

"Tom?" I croaked out. 

"I'm fine my love, a little sore, but I'll survive." I heard his voice and realized he was holding my head, he leaned into my line of vision. 

"The police have Marcus in custody, he's on his way to the hospital." Jake said.

The look on my face must have given away the thoughts running through my head. 

"Your uncle shot him. He wasn't letting go of you, and we couldn't pull him off. He didn't have a choice." My aunt explained. "We'll have to buy you a new bed and some new bedding." 

I was more upset about my bed needing replaced than Marcus having been shot. He nearly killed me. My poor bed. It was only two years old, and it was so comfy. I quietly mourned my loss. 

I wanted to sit up, the floor was hurting my back. However when I tried to get up, I was pressed back down.

"We don't know what kind of damage was done to your neck. Just hold tight until the EMT's get here." My aunt said. I could hear my uncle talking to people in the other room. 

"Do you think you can give a statement?" Jake asked. "The police will need one. 

"No." I croaked out. My neck hurt too much. Jake nodded and got up. 

"The EMT's are here." He called from the other room. 

"I'm really sorry about this, Ray." Tom said into his phone. We'd both been admitted into the hospital. Jake had called and told Ray what happened earlier. "I know it's not, but this is going to set filming back a bit, and that's not something we can afford." 

"We'll figure it out. I'll deal with the studio. Ken and I will stop over tomorrow and check on you guys." Ray said. Tom had put the phone on speaker so I could hear the conversation. I was under strict orders not to talk. "What's the damage, anyway?" 

"I've got a mild concussion and two cracked ribs, as well as a sprained wrist. Astrid has a more severe concussion, severe bruising on her neck, damage to her larynx and windpipe, slight nerve damage to her back, and her right clavicle is cracked." Tom said. 

"So it'll be a while before she's able to work again." Ray sounded stressed. 

"Once the neck damage heals, she'll be able to." Tom said giving me a sad look. "Doctor said it could be a few days or a couple weeks." 

"Alright, I'll get things sorted." Ray said. "Rest up, both of you." 

The line disconnected. Tom set his phone on my night stand. We technically had separate rooms, but he'd set up camp in here, since I was under strict orders to stay in my bed. Our nurse had brought in a recliner for Tom, and he brought down his bedside table from his room. There was a note on his information board that he could be found here. The only time he was being asked to go back to his room was at night to sleep. 

I was given a writing tablet to communicate with, I hated it. Tom was trying to have fun with it though, and soon we were passing dirty messages back and forth. 

A few hours after I was settled in my room, a detective came to get my written statement. I wrote out three pages, including every detail I could remember. Tom informed him that I had filed for divorce earlier today, but he was unsure if Marcus knew prior to arriving.