"You're doing great, Hadley," said Detective Rosas as she placed a hand on my shoulder. "We're almost done for the night."

I winced. Sharp pains exploded through my body.

"Sorry," she apologized removing her hand quickly.

She grabbed a pen from the pocket-sized spiral notebook in her hand.

"Tell me your last memory one more time," she said in a calm voice.

I closed my eyes. Trying to keep my hands from quaking, I clenched the thin sheet covering my body. "I heard shouting. Pops and Caden were screaming at each other. I ran to the top of the stairs, I wanted to see what was happening, but I got dizzy. I tried to reach for the hand rail and that's the last thing I remember."

Dr. Sheeley knocked on the door before sticking his head in. "Detective, she needs rest. You have two more minutes."

Detective Rosas shifted her weight and drummed the pen against the notebook. "Hadley, you've been through a lot. I want you to know that you're safe. We have officers posted outside your door and police are looking for Caden right now. I'll be back to visit you in the morning and we'll have our sketch artist stop by tomorrow as well."

My eyelids felt like five-ton granite boulders and holding them open soon became impossible. As I faded into oblivion, Caden's face flashed through my mind, plunging my subconscious into nightmares.

***

"I think she's awake," someone whispered.

"Shhhhh! You don't want to wake her," another person replied in a hushed voice.

Slowly opening my eyes, I took in the strange surroundings before my eyes landed on two familiar faces.

"Mom? Dad?" I croaked.

Tears filled my mother's eyes as she jumped to her feet. "Oh, Hadley!" She wrapped her arms around me, squeezing a little too hard.

I inhaled sharply, causing my mother to immediately release my upper body.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you!"

Tears streamed down my face. "I missed you both so much!"

My father embraced me in a gentle hug. "Had Bear! We knew you would come back to us!"

My mother wiped the continuous stream of tears falling from her eyes. "We will never let anyone hurt you ever again. I promise!"

Caden's face flashed through my mind, causing me to flinch.

"Are you in pain?" asked my mother. "Should I call the doctor and get you pain medication?"

I shook my head. "It's okay."

"Detective Rosas asked us to give her a call once you woke up," said my father. "But we wanted you to rest. The doctor won't tell us what he treated you for, but he said you had surgery last night."

"I fell down the stairs," I admitted quietly, afraid to share more information.

My father wiped away a stray tear before it could roll down his cheek.

Averting my glaze, I chewed on my lip nervously.

Knock, knock, knock.

Dr. Sheeley entered the room. "Good morning." He smiled as he made eye contact with my mother and father.

My mother smiled back. "Thank you for taking care of our daughter!"

"Your welcome, Ma'am." He tucked a clipboard under his left arm. Turning his attention toward me, he studied my face.

"Mr. and Mrs. Jasper, would you mind giving me a few moments alone with your daughter?"

My mother's smile dropped and a pained expression took its place.

Dr. Sheeley held up his hand, "It will only be for a few minutes, I promise."

"It's okay, Mom," I said, forcing a smile. "Maybe you could get me an orange juice? I mean, if it's okay with Dr. Sheeley?"

"That would be just fine," he said.

My mother planted a kiss on my forehead, followed by another embrace from my father, before they both walked out the hospital room door.

"How are you feeling today, Hadley?" Dr. Sheeley asked as he pulled the chart out from under his arm and flipped over the top page.

"I'm in a lot of pain," I admitted. "Is it from falling down the stairs?"

Dr. Sheeley nodded. "You have a lot of cuts and contusions from your fall. We also had to operate. I'm very sorry, Hadley, but the baby didn't survive."

My jaw dropped. "It- it- it's gone?"

"You were suffering from a placenta abruption. We operated as soon as were admitted. But it was too late. The baby was stillborn upon delivery," said Dr. Sheeley.

My head began to swim. "But it's gone, right?"

Dr. Sheeley frowned. "Yes, we couldn't save the baby."

I could feel my pulse in my ears as my heart slammed in my chest. Relief and sadness filled my chest and expelled in a loud sob.

"Have you shared any of the details of your experience with your parents yet?" asked Dr. Sheeley.

I shook my head. "I just woke up a little bit ago. I haven't seen them in so long..." my voice trailed off. "I just couldn't tell them about the baby. It wasn't something I wanted." I wanted to tell him I had been raped. I wanted to tell him my life had been held at gunpoint as I was assaulted over and over again. But I couldn't. I couldn't bring myself to admit the truth out loud again. Telling Detective Rosas last night had been more painful then waking up after surgery.

"We have people here you can talk to," said Dr. Sheeley softly.

Beep, beep, beep. Dr. Sheeley reached down to silence his pager.

I pressed my lips together and blinked back the tears, which threatened to spill over at any moment.

Beep, beep, beep. Dr. Sheeley frowned and silenced his pager once again.

"Hadley-" Dr. Sheeley stopped mid-sentence, interrupted by three more beeps. "Excuse me just a moment," he apologized before pulling out his pager.

I watched as Dr. Sheeley's eyebrows shot up and his eyes widened.

"Hadley, there has been an incident and we need to evacuate this wing of the hospital."

"What? What do you mean? What happened?" The panic in my voice increased with every word that passed my lips.

"There's nothing to be concerned about. Here, let me help you into this wheelchair," said Dr. Sheeley as he turned and grabbed the standard folded wheelchair from the corner of the room.

Intense pain erupted through my body as Dr. Sheeley helped me from the small hospital bed to the wheelchair. He grabbed the metal pole holding several bags of fluid and wheeled it next to me. "The police officers outside your door will help you to the parking lot."

"What about my mom and dad?" I asked as he wheeled me toward the door.

"I'm sure one of the officers can give them a call and they can meet you outside," said Dr. Sheeley.

Dr. Sheeley reached for the door handle and pushed it open. The chaotic scene outside of my room hit me like a ton of bricks.

A tall man with an angular jaw and a distinctive five o'clock shadow leaned down. "Hadley, my name is Officer Maddox let's get you downstairs."

I stared at the star shaped badge on his chest. "I thought there were two of you?"

"Officer Ramirez is helping with the evacuation."

Biting my lower lip, I tried to ignore the growing feeling of concern pooling in my stomach. "Why are we being evacuated?"

"Nothing to be concerned about," said Officer Maddox. "Let's just get you to one of the elevators."

As he pushed me down the packed hallway, I turned my head and asked, "Could you please call my parents? Can you ask them to meet us outside?"

"Of course," said the police officer. "Let's just get in the elevator first."

A bottleneck formed as the elevator doors opened and closed.

"Should I try to walk?" I asked.

Officer Maddox shook his head. "No, I've been given orders to keep you in the wheelchair."

Anxiety coursed through my veins.

"Come this way, there's another elevator," said a hospital employee dressed in teal scrubs.

My wheelchair turned and headed in the opposite direction.

"It's one we use for deliveries," said the man in the teal scrubs as we walked by empty patient rooms.

We turned around a corner.

"Almost there. Just through the exit doors ahead," said the hospital employee. "Oh, but just one quick thing," he said spinning around and pulling down the mask covering his face, "the officer won't be joining us."

A flash of silver shot through the air and Officer Maddox grabbed his throat.

Blood immediately squirted through his fingers, covering my hospital gown and arms.

I hand covered my mouth before I could scream.

Officer Maddox fell backward and crashed into a nearby wall. His eyes widened as the blood loss overwhelmed him. A few moments later, his lifeless body slumped to the floor.

"Oh, my sweet, sweet, Hadley," whispered Caden, "I've come back for you."

--------------------------------

Undies,

OMG, that chapter was intense!

Did you think Caden would come back so quickly? What do you think will happen to Hadley next? Let me know what you think in a comment below!

Hearts,

Kelly Anne Blount xoxo

P.S. Clicking that little star is much appreciated!