Destined For Them (Story 3)✔

~16~

~Caroline~

The feeling had almost been as bad as when I had learned of Lydia's kidnapping. Coming home from an extra long shift at Penny's; seeing my daughter standing at the end of the hallway that led to Sol's study beside the staircase. She had looked so scared, tears had been running down her rosy cheeks as she had clutched her teddy. I was confused as I had dropped my things and went to her.

Now, as I sat in a dimly lit waiting room of the hospital, I choked up just thinking about the nightmare that had been real. My husband, unconscious, bleeding from a wound. God there had been so much blood and all I could hear were my pleas for him to open his eyes and Lydia's scared cry.

I rubbed at my puffy, sore eyes and winced when my hands slid down my chapped cheeks. I was still shaking. How long had I been here, waiting? I glanced at the clock that was in the waiting room. Nearly three hours, I'd gotten home at almost nine, had found my husband in a near death state and had called the ambulance. I barely remember taking Lydia to my moms and then driving like a mad woman here to learn that Sol was in surgery.

Liv had shown up not long after that, eyes wild, red hair crazy and asking me what had happened. What had happened? I had no fucking idea. Lydia had been explaining it and I tried so hard to remember now what she had said. "Fuck." The curse left my mouth in a sob.

Just then, Liv walked back into the waiting room and came back to me with the vending machine food she had left to get ten minutes ago. Of course, like a good friend, she had insisted that I eat. I Didn't want to eat. I didn't even want to think until I knew that my husband was going to be okay.

She took her seat back beside me and held out a bag of salted pretzels after opening them. "Here. I had to go on an entire quest to find the freakin' vending machines..."  She rolled her green eyes hard. I was thankful that she was here and helping, but I didn't reach inside of the bag to eat. I couldn't, I was so damn sick to my stomach as it was.

"Thanks." God, I just wanted the doctor to come out here and tell me everything was going to be alright.

"He's going to be alright, Caroline. Do you hear me?" Liv demanded, reaching over and taking my hand into hers as if she had read my mind.  Without permission, tears filled my eyes again and spilled over. Shit, why was this happening to my family?

"But what if he isn't, Liv? What if he doesn't make it, then what? Lydia and-and Chris-"

"Stop it. Don't even think like that." Her hand squeezed mine and all I could do was nod. But I couldn't not think about that possibility. Before either of us could discuss anything further, Harrison Marsh was walking into the waiting room, a large winter coat hung from his arm and he wore a crisp suit. On his hip were his gun and badge and his aging face, a deep frown. He came to us immediately and I stood up, Liv following suit.

"Mrs. Specter." He greeted me and smiled over at Liv who he had met years ago during the roller-coaster of events with Mitchell Larson.

"Harrison."

"Let's sit down." He said, and we all sat. I knew that he was here to ask about what had happened to Sol. Knew that there would be a million questions. Which was going to be fucking hell because I still didn't know anything. "I'm sure you'll suspect I'm going to ask what happened to your husband?" His voice was low but very in charge. He sounded like a cop, even though he was trying to tread lightly.

I clenched my teeth to fend off more tears and shook my head. "I don't know what happened to him..." I went on to tell him the events of the night...in the same order that I kept replaying them over in my head.

"No one has threatened to harm your husband, have they? Anything will help. Can you remember anything being off with him?" Detective Marsh  pushed. Well, that was a freakin understatement; everything about Sol had been off for months now. I couldn't forget that he had been sitting in our darkened bedroom, wielding a razor blade just nights ago.