Chapter Thirty-Five
Nick
Evie was in a hospital bed, ten stitches in her head, five in one knee and four in the other, and a slight concussion. They’d drawn blood, they’d taken pictures of the bruises on her body, the bruises on her neck. She’d eaten Jell-O; all they had was grape and she’d gagged the whole time.
“Ms. James, the police are here, they’d like to ask you a few questions.”
She looked at me and I sent her an encouraging smile. She had nothing to hide, nothing to be ashamed of. She’d done not one thing wrong.
“O-okay.” She took a deep, shaky breath. And I was so damn proud of her.
“Hello, Ms. James. I’m Detective Salter and this is my partner Detective Jinx.” The older man with salt-and-pepper hair pulled out an old-school memo book, flipping it open and pulling a pen from his inside pocket. “I know you’ve been through a lot tonight, but we need to ask you a few questions.”
His partner, a younger female with a black ponytail, took a step forward. “Would you be more comfortable if we spoke alone?” She glanced to me then back to Evie.
“No.” She sat up in bed, like she wanted to come to me, like she was scared for me to go. She’d been like that since the ambulance came, jumpy and clinging to me.
“It’s okay, I’m right here.” I stayed in my spot leaning against the opposite wall. She needed to know that I wasn’t leaving. She didn’t have to sit in my lap to keep me with her. “I won’t move a muscle.”
“You and Mr. Metcalf were dating, is that correct?” Salt and pepper started in, pen poised and ready.
“We were, but I had ended things. He was mean. We were terrible together.” Evie looked down at her hands, picking at her nail polish.
Detective Jinx picked up Evie’s water jug and handed it to her. “Tell us what you remember, in as much detail as you can.”
“I told him things were over between us, and honestly he took it a lot better than I thought he would.” She took a small sip from the plastic crinkle straw. “I guess now I know why.” She cleared her throat, starting again. “He told me that he understood, that I was right. He asked me to stay until his speech was over, and then he’d have his driver take me home. I agreed. And for a little while everything was fine.”
“Were you drinking tonight, Ms. James?” Detective Salter was writing in his notebook as he was asking questions. Someone should get that guy an iPhone and make his life a lot easier.
“No, I wasn’t. I had a sip of champagne on the drive over, and I took my prescribed dosage of Adderall this morning after breakfast.” She was looking at me while she spoke, and I sent her another encouraging smile. “Collin offered me some water, he said I looked like I didn’t feel well. He’d been so accommodating that I didn’t think anything of it. I mean, it was water. After that my vision went blurry and I got dizzy. I barely made it to the bathroom in time. I felt like I threw up for an hour.”
“And it was at that point that Mr. Metcalf walked in?”
Evie closed her eyes, nodding. “He um, he was yelling at me, I think. He grabbed my hair and knocked my head against the toilet. He told me that I owed him one more thing, and he ripped my dress.” Tears were starting to stream down her cheeks, breaking my heart all over again. “I tried to get up, but I fell. And then his hand was around my throat. I could feel him behind me, um, trying to—he couldn’t—then he was gone, and I could breathe.”
The police had already gotten my statement, as well as Bleu’s and Maykin’s. Everything checked out, all our stories matched up. Because we were all telling the truth. Well, except for the part where Maykin put Collin’s pill bottle back in his pocket. We all three kept that part to ourselves.
“Ms. James, if you want him to face consequences, you’re going to have to press charges against him.” The older man finally closed his notebook, shoving it back into his pocket. When Evie nodded, the detectives told us they’d be in touch, and they left.
I pushed off the wall, climbing on her bed and letting her snuggle down next to me. “He’s going to tell them about my addiction.”
“Yeah, he will.” He’d do more than that. He’d drag her name through the mud. He’d blame her for all of it. Say that they were playing around, that she liked it rough. That all the stuff in her system, she put there herself. Evie was right. Collin was the worst type of guy. “But, he won’t win, and he won’t get away with it.”
“I’m sorry.”
I put my lips on her beautiful dark hair, inhaling her scent. “Now what on earth do you have to be sorry for, my little bird?”
“I don’t want to press charges, Nicky. I want to forget any of this ever happened. If this goes to court, it’ll be a media circus and my parents will find out.” She was crying, wiping at her eyes with the rough hospital blanket. “I don’t think I can handle them knowing, which means he will win.”
Evie could handle more than she thought she could. Fuck. She already had. “It’s the middle of the night. Why don’t we get some rest and we can call them back here in the morning.” In the morning, though, I hope we’d convince her otherwise.
“How am I supposed to fall asleep? Did you bring your tattoo gun?” There was a smile in her voice. She was trying to make a joke, she was trying to lighten the mood. How could this amazing girl not see how strong she was, how resilient?
“I didn’t.” I grabbed the little red call button that was wound around her bed railing. “But, I’m sure there is someone around here who can help us out.”