Again ~ A Luke Brooks Love Story

Chapter 27

The next day:

LUKE'S POV:

That night was awful, completely horrific. I stayed by Paisley's bedside the whole time, just checking she was still breathing. Mum tried to make me go home for some sleep but I was physically incapable of moving from my seat. Different doctors and nurses kept coming in and fiddling about with her machines. They told me what they were doing but I couldn't really understand it. Some of what they were saying was so scary, I just blocked it out and stared at the floor.

On the plus side, I finally had Ava back. She had been looked after in a foster home overnight because I wasn't on the birth certificate. It took a lot of persistence on mine and mum's behalf to get her back. The social worker who was dealing with it had a very hushed telephone conversation before announcing that I had to take a DNA test. Seeing as we were in the hospital anyway, I agreed and when the results came back they let her go with me. They did say they would be coming back to check on us though which annoyed me quite a lot. I could raise my daughter without their help!

I didn't say anything though because I knew that might jeopardise my chances of seeing Ava.

She was restless when I first saw her, unused to all these strange people and places. It had only been two days but I'd missed her a lot more than I thought I would. Seeing her again instantly cheered me up and I almost forgot what had happened.

I had a burst of self-pride when she quietened down when she saw me. She recognised me! I wasn't her mum but she knew me and she knew I wasn't going to hurt her.

Once I had her back, I knew it was implausible to stay at the hospital. Paisley was stable and the doctor promised to phone at once if there were any developments. With his professional word, I agreed and Mum dropped us off at home.

It was comforting, to be back in the familiar environment, for me and Ava both. I was tired, but Ava wasn't and I wanted to spend as much time with her as possible. If that meant not sleeping, then so be it. I kept activity to a minimum and read her her favourite book whilst she was sat on my lap. I let her squidge all the squashy bits and press the buttons whilst I put on voices for the different characters. She laughed and chortled along, thoroughly enjoying herself.

Mum had driven round to Paisley's to pick up some stuff for Ava and for Paisley in the hospital. When she got back, she was white and shaking.

"Are you OK Mum?" I asked purely out of concern.

"It looks really bad Luke," she admitted , still visibly shaking. "The police have cordoned off the whole third floor."

I felt faint. I didn't realise Paisley had been stabbed so close to her flat. To have been so close to safety...

"What were they doing?" I asked in a quiet voice.

"Interviewing people, collecting DNA, stuff like that," she told me, shaking her head like she couldn't quite believe it herself.

"Who do they think did it?" I asked, feeling angry even though Ava was there.

"I don't know exactly," Mum shrugged her shoulders. "The police seem to think it was gang related."

"But Paisley wasn't in a gang," I snorted. "How ridiculous!"

Mum looked at me with a mixture of pity and sadness in her eyes. Instantly, I got the impression I was missing something.

"What?" I asked. "Is there something else?"

"Paisley's not in a gang, you're right," Mum said slowly. "But her Dad was and her brother was. Remember when Nonna was going on about them?"

I nodded numbly. Nonna always used to talk bad about Paisley's family but I never really thought anything about it. I just thought she was being over-protective.

"Paisley's dad was murdered. Her brother, you know he's in jail, told the police who did it and they think one of them went after her as a revenge attack,"

My eyes blinked, completely involuntarily. It was such a far-fetched theory. It couldn't possibly be true. Could it?

"But Paisley told me her dad just left with his secretary," I said, still finding discrepancies in her story.

"Before he was killed, Paisley's dad was a part of this gang," she told me gently. "He did some very bad things. I don't even like to think about them. I should think Paisley was probably ashamed of him."

I nodded my head slowly. It all made sense now, no matter how much I didn't want it to. Paisley couldn't tell me what her dad did as a job, what his new girl was called or whether he had any more children like my dad did. She couldn't tell me because it wasn't.

"I just can't believe she never told me." I said. "I could have helped her or something!"

"Everybody has secrets," Mum said pointedly. "You've certainly got a fair few."

"If you're talking about Ava," I said sharply. "I didn't know about it either."

"I'm not talking about the baby and you know it," Mum said. "Now pack it in. I'm beginning to lose my patience with you."

I scowled and slumped back into the sofa. Mum stormed off to the kitchen. I could hear her clattering around. It sounded like she broke something.

Ava looked at me for reassurance, alarmed by the raised voices. She started whimpering pitifully.

"Hush Ava," I said in a soothing voice, pulling me closer to my chest. "It's OK. Daddy's here."