Candy Apple Red - Book Two

Chapter 12 - Busted!

Once we arrive at the hospital, the Doctor enters the waiting room where we are seated to discuss Mariah's condition.  We were so relieved to find out that she will recover without a hitch. Thankfully, she suffered only minor injuries in the accident. We know she was very fortunate to have survived at all,  not to mention the fact that she was abducted in broad daylight by some maniac and held captive without receiving proper medical treatment. That could have been devastating if we didn't conduct our own search. I doubt the police would have ever found her. We also discovered is that she's pregnant, and the baby is also doing well. Dylan was pretty excited to find out he was going to be a daddy. 

Oh, but the evening didn't go without a little more drama mixed in despite what we went through earlier in the day; Mariah's parents graced us with their presence. Momma sent them on their way after a heated discussion. Let me tell you, I loved watching Momma put Reagan in her place. She's about the only one who can since Gran passed away.  

Once Mariah was admitted and settled in, we were able to go back to visit with her. She was a pitiful sight; It broke my heart to see her in this condition. Momma explained to us that it looks worse than it is, which I'm glad, but it's hard to even look at her without balling my eyes out. She didn't wake up the entire time we visited, so Momma, Seth, and I left her to rest while Dylan stayed behind. 

As we exited the hospital, I grabbed Seth's hand discreetly and began walking towards his truck. Momma was in front of us, walking towards her vehicle, messing with her phone, and didn't notice. He made a gesture to call him before I hopped into Momma's SUV, and I watched as he turned out of the hospital parking lot in the opposite direction from us. 

I stared out the window on the way home from the hospital. I have so much running through my mind right now. Momma sensed my uneasiness and patted my hand, "You look like you have a lot on your mind, darlin. Do you want to talk about it?" she asks. 

I sigh audibly, "Momma, I feel terrible that I didn't offer to drive Colie to Dylan's house after all that went down. None of this would have happened if I had. She was in no state of mind to get behind the wheel. She wasn't feeling well, and she was shaken up over Dylan being stubborn and not listening to her. Not to mention, it was starting to pour down rain when she left." 

She flashes me a side glance while maintaining focus on the road," Now hush that foolishness. You can't beat yourself up over this. It's not your fault."

"You know I overhead Aaron tell Mariah that Reagan sent him here to get her and not to take no for an answer," I tell her. 

She curls her lip in disgust, "That doesn't surprise me! See, if anyone is to blame for this mess, it's Reagan. How about how shit head spoke about Mariah? I was about to reach through the phone and drag his ass through the mud. How dare he talk about her so disrespectfully like that? Oh, and I love how Reagan tried to get her to go back to him. Apparently, she doesn't care how horribly her daughter was treated as long as she marries a doctor.  Well, fuck that, Miss High and Mighty! It's horse shit!"

I can't help but giggle. Momma is on a roll, "Well, I'm glad Dylan doesn't treat her like that. He may be crazy protective over the women in his life, but he wouldn't mistreat them. I know he and his sister get into quarrels sometimes, but they are siblings." 

"Oh, me too, dear. Nova would kick his ass if he ever talked to a lady the way Aaron did about Mariah." Momma says. 

"Hey Momma, not to change the subject but do you happen to know why Dylan is so over-protective over us girls? I never had the courage to ask, but he's always so nosey when it comes to mine and Maggie's love lives."

"Well, I'm not exactly sure, but I have an idea. You know Dylan and Maggie's daddy was a raging alcoholic. Nova told me once that he would whoop the tar out of her in front of the kids when he went on those drunken binges of his.  If he wasn't there beating on her, he was gone for days at a time doing God knows what with whom. Dylan was old enough to understand what was going on; Maggie was probably too little to remember that time before her daddy left for good. Nova said Dylan tried to protect her all the time, but he was no match for their daddy. He'd end up getting hurt whenever he defended her, but that never stopped him. He just got right back up and kept trying.  Nova said it was a very dark time in their lives. That's probably why he's so protective. He tries to be the father figure for you girls, and I know he means well. Do you know how hard he was on Earl when he first started coming around?"