He groaned, doubling over, releasing me from his hold. "Holy shit, Brynn. Seriously?" He got out, and I moved away from him. "I warned you what would happen if you laid a hand on her." I stated, walking over and shoving him as hard as I could.
"Mum, what's going on?" Grace asked, coming out of her room. Ryan was on the floor, and he glared at me. "Nothing, everything's fine. Go back in your room." I said, motioning for her to go back into the room.
Ryan stood up faster than I could react, and lunged towards her.. He grabbed her arm, pulling her closer to him. It was suddenly as if everything was moving in slow motion, and yet happening too quickly. I moved to stop him, and he elbowed me in the stomach with his other arm. I stumbled backwards, hitting the wall behind me.
Grace was trying to get away from him. "Stop it! Ryan, let go of her!" I shouted, and he tightened his hold on her arm. I grimaced, and quickly moved towards them. But I wasn't fast enough, and he pulled something out of his pocket. Grace screamed, and I felt my heart momentarily stop as he sliced it down the outside of her arm.
He threw the knife to the side, letting go of her and standing up. He turned to face me. "You need to stop trying to overthrow me, Brynn.. I'm in charge here. Not you." He stated, anger flaring behind his eyes..
I looked over at Grace, who had fallen down into a sitting position, blood dripping down her arm and onto the floor. She was covering it with her other hand, so I couldn't see how bad it was..
"You did not just do that to her." I muttered, clenching my fists and facing Ryan, who was watching me. His smirk disappeared, and I moved towards him, shoving him backwards as hard as I could. His back slammed into the wall of windows so hard the glass shattered at the impact. He landed on his back outside in the backyard, broken glass all around him.
I immediately turned, running to Grace. "Ok honey, it's ok. I'm going to take you to the hospital. Ok? I'll call your dad on the way. It's going to be ok." I said, managing to scoop her up in my arms and carry her to the garage. I put her in the backseat, wrapping some paper towels around her arm to try and stop the bleeding at least a little..
I called the police on the way, giving them Ryan's name, and telling them what happened. Then I proceeded to call Harry.. He immediately picked up. "Brynn, what the hell? You seriously thought it was a good idea to grab her in the middle of the day? In a public place; really?" He asked. I groaned, impatient. "Harry, I didn't. It was Ryan. He showed up at my house with her. Listen, we're on the way to the hospital. I can't explain it right now. Just meet us there, please." I begged, knowing I sounded crazy..
"Oh my god... Brynn, what happened? Are you ok? Is Grace ok? He asked. I could barely breathe as I continued to drive. "We're ok.. We're ok.. Just meet us there please." I got out, having to hang up.. It felt like I was having a panic attack and I stopped at a red light, resting my head against the steering wheel, trying to get enough air into my lungs. "Damn it.. Grace, are you ok? Is it still bleeding?" I asked, lifting my head and looking over my shoulder.
She was just sitting there, holding the paper towels against her arm. I studied her face for a moment, not sure why I was freaking out, while she wasn't..
The light turned green, and I shook my head, focusing back on getting to the hospital... Another five minutes passed, and I pulled into the ER parking lot, turning the car off and getting out. I unbuckled Grace, and picked her up, letting her wrap her legs around my torso, her arms slung around my neck.
I felt her rest her head on my shoulder, and I walked into the ER. It was nearly empty.. A few doctors stood up off the gurneys they were sitting on and ran over....
