Chapter Thirty-Five
Chloe’s mind came awake and she grimaced, her throat raw, each jagged breath scraping painfully along her larynx. She needed water. She tried to open her eyes, but they seemed sewn shut. Panic pressed down on her chest.
Where am I?
A faint chirp beeped, the speed increasing as her lungs tightened, incredible pressure bearing down on her chest.
“Help,” she wheezed in a soundless whisper.
Her fingers twitched, closing over air until they tripped over wires. Then a soft hand grasped hers. “Shh, shh, shh. You’re safe, dear. You’re at Walter Reed Hospital. Just relax,” a female voice soothed.
“My boys?” she mouthed.
“Your boys are safe. I was just about to clean you up. There’s a handsome man who’s been very eager to see you.”
What man? Marcus? Her head shook and she winced as pain lanced down her shoulder.
“Easy. You don’t want to move too much just yet.”
Why couldn’t she see? “Don’t let … him near … my boys…” She forced her voice out, her body trembling at the effort and pain.
“Is she awake?” another female voice asked.
“Just coming out of it. Why don’t you get the man waiting—”
Her breath came faster. “No…”
“Easy, hon. I’m fixing your IV to help with the pain.”
No more drugs. “No…”
“I’ll get the doctor.”
Chloe’s mind spun, her memory a jigsaw of images that made no sense. She needed to find Dayton and Mattie. “Please…”
“Shh… The doctor will be here in a minute.”
She couldn’t hold on. Her mind fought to stay awake, but she was too weak.
* * * *
Trenton watched as Chloe slept. The nurse said she’d woken up briefly during a sponge bath, but was disoriented and upset. She’d fallen back to sleep by the time he was permitted back in the room. He’d never forgive himself for letting Marcus do this to her.
She was hardly recognizable. Her eyes were swollen holes of black. Her nose was puffy. Her lips were split, her throat black and blue. Even her hands and arms showed bruises. He had thought that was the extent of her injuries, but he was wrong. So. Very. Wrong.
Her injuries ran from her face all the way to her ankle that showed a hairline fracture in the x-rays. Fresh welts and bruises layered over other marks, some days old, others only just forming. She had three broken ribs, welts up the backs of her legs, and her hip looked as if it were wrapped in a storm cloud.
Then there were internal injuries. He hadn’t been able to hear any more after they discussed the damage done to her cervix and the long-term issues she might face. It seemed impossible one man could do so much damage in a matter of days. If he wasn’t strong enough to hear it, how the hell had she been strong enough to endure it?
This was his fault. He could have somehow stopped it from getting to this point. He’d been there, knew she was being manipulated and kept against her will, and he fucking left.
There wouldn’t be a trial. The evidence was plain to see. So plain, he struggled to keep himself in check each time he looked at her. And yet, the true extent of the damage was still to come. She might never be the same again.
A soft moan drew his focus to her face. Her lashes twitched. He sat forward, carefully cradled her hand, but it remained slack. “Doll? Can you hear me?”
Her lips twitched. “Day—Matt—”
His body shuddered at the rasp of her voice. “They’re safe at my sister’s. She’s been calling every hour to check in. Adam and Tommy are with them.”
Her brow pinched then smoothed. “Marcus?”
His mouth firmed. “He’s gone.”
Her lips parted as if she were releasing a breath she’d been holding for over a decade. He brushed a finger softly over her arm.
“You should rest.”
Her fingers briefly tightened around his. “Hero.”
His gaze lowered. He wasn’t a hero. A hero would have stopped this when he had the chance. “Get some sleep. I’ll be here when you wake up.”
As she drifted, he kept vigil. A little after midnight she awoke and asked for water. Trenton held a straw between her lips and helped her take a sip. She coughed but tried again. Every time she woke up she asked about her sons. Each time, he assured her that they were safe and sound.
Adam called his cell the following morning. He tried to speak softly but the ring must have woken her.
“My boys?”
He held the phone away from his face and reached for her hand. “No, sweetheart. It’s Adam. The boys are still sleeping.”
She squeezed his hand weakly. “Let me talk.”
Her voice was little more than a pained rasp, but he couldn’t tell her no. Holding the phone to her ear, he waited as she caught her breath.
“Adam,” she sighed and smiled weakly. Words were said on the other end that he couldn’t make out. “Love you, too.” She turned her head away and Trenton knew she was finished.
He offered Adam a quick goodbye and returned his phone to his pocket.
Her left eye had a broken blood vessel that filled the white with murky red. Seeing her look up at him with those familiar brown eyes so battered broke him in two.
Pressing his brow to their entwined fingers, he hid his tears. “I’m so sorry, Chloe. I’m so fucking sorry.”
“Don’t cry…” Her whisper crawled into him, so calming and heartbreaking. “You saved me. You saved my boys.”
But he hadn’t. She saved herself at a terrible cost because he was too late. He’d let a stupid warning from the police slow him down when his gut told him there wasn’t time. A restraining order never would have stopped an animal like Marcus Hunt, so why had he let it slow him?
He’d been on the phone non-stop, reaching out to child services, coordinating with Pete and Jeremy to work out a plan. But he knew she’d never leave until her children were safe. And his theory they were in danger wasn’t enough to spur a response from children’s services. Not until this morning had someone from CPS returned his call. He told them it was handled, but really he wanted to tell them to get fucked.
Thankfully, after everything that went down, Dayton and Mattie hadn’t seen the extent of the damage their mother suffered. There were some big talks happening and he trusted his sister to handle the situation with care. The boys knew something was wrong the day their father took them out of school. Trenton’s heart broke for them as much as it did for Chloe.
He sniffed and tried to get his emotions in check.
“Don’t be sad,” she whispered.
All he’d wanted a week ago was her trust, but now it slayed him. He didn’t deserve her affection or her forgiveness. “This is my fault.”
“No. It’s Marcus’s.”
He lifted his head, looking into her battered eyes. “I would have stopped him from finding you and the boys if I knew he was close. Please believe that. I love you, baby.”
A tear slid down her cheek. “Saved me twice.”
He wouldn’t argue with her, but he knew it was a lie. She saved herself.
They tried to keep anything with a reflection away from her for as long as possible, but once the nurse removed her catheter there was nothing to be done. She was expected to keep her ankle rested, iced, and elevated as much as possible over the next two weeks. With her foot in a boot the way it was and her other injuries still tender, she had a long road of recovery ahead, but she insisted to see her reflection, demanding to know what her boys would see when they saw her.
Reluctantly, Trent brought her a mirror. Her head tilted as she studied herself, her fingers ghosting over the injuries she could see.
“You’ll heal, doll.”
She began to cry. “They can’t see me like this.”
His heart broke again, knowing how badly she wanted to reunite with her children, but agreeing with her all the same. They couldn’t see how bad her injuries were. “You’ll heal fast.”
She lowered the mirror and shut her eyes. “He…” A tear rolled down her cheek. “He used to be so careful not to hit my face.”
His molars locked, thinking of the damage he’d inflicted beneath her gown. “You scared him. He wasn’t thinking in the end because he knew he was going to lose. You won, Chloe.”
“I feel like I lost.”
He swallowed against the lump in his throat. “No. You won.”
Once she was discharged nothing could stop him from getting her out of this god-forsaken town. Chloe agreed to let the boys stay with Pete and Phoenix a while longer. Her voice had a long way to recover, so she used his phone to text them hourly. They had lots of questions and the conversations quickly exhausted her.
He filled his truck with pillows and blankets so she wouldn’t jostle too much on the ride. The pain pills seemed to help her sleep. A nurse was scheduled to visit the house once they got settled and he was determined to make sure she got there safely.
He’d thought she’d been asleep as they crossed through Maryland, but she surprised him by reaching for his hand and whispering, “We’ve been here before.”
He glanced at her and tried to smile. How was she taking this so much better than him? “It’s where we first met.”
She smiled, her eyes tired. “Trenton … Get me home.”
His hand closed tighter around hers. “Always.”
He’d called ahead for Adam to unlock the house. When they arrived in New Castle it was four in the morning. As he pulled into her driveway he spotted her neighbors waiting by her front door.
He carefully carried Chloe up the front steps. “She’s asleep,” he whispered as Adam held the door.
Tommy anxiously waited inside, his eyes wide as Trent carried her to her room. He tucked her into bed and the three of them stood over her, silently wiping their eyes.
“I never imagined…” Adam breathed. Tommy totally broke down, sobbing into his hands, and exiting the room.
Trent stood stoically, awaiting their blame, but it never came. When Adam’s hand touched his back, attempting to comfort, Trent lowered his head.
Adam looked at him, his mouth compressed in a sad smile. “Don’t do that.”
“Do what?”
“This is happening to all of us. And none of us are to blame.”
“I should have saved her.”
“You did.”
“I should have saved her sooner.”
“See if telling yourself that makes this easier on anyone, Trenton. We can’t go backward. This is where we are and we can only move forward from here.”