My phone continues to ring on my nightstand with an unknown number. I ignore it for the tenth time and stare at the screen on my laptop.

The words are slapping me across the face as I continue to read. Hard. The sting bitter.

“Oh, Zoe.” I sigh and wipe away the tears streaming down my cheeks.

My heart has been rapidly beating for months out of worry over my baby sister and her four-year-old son, Wilder. And wild he is. The cute little jet-black-haired nephew of mine is strung tighter than my sister is. God, I love that kid.

I take another sip of my water. Wishing for it to be something stronger, preferably wine. I’m on call at the hospital tonight, so water it is for the rest of the weekend.

I place the bottle on the stand next to my phone. Zoom in on the article I’m reading. My eyes are burning because I know Zoe is showing all the signs of an abused woman. I’ve suspected for over a year now. Talked to her, tried to convince her to leave. I’ve begged, pleaded, and even threatened to turn both her and Ricky in to Child Protective Services if she didn’t pack her shit up and leave him. She keeps on denying it. Lies. So many of them I don’t know what to believe anymore. But this, I know it’s true. I know with everything inside of me he smacks her around. The controlling little prick.

She won’t listen, and now our relationship is becoming more estranged every single day. That is the hardest fact to swallow.

It’s been Eden and Zoe since I can remember my mother bringing her home from the hospital all wrapped in a tight little pink bundle of joy.

Zoe and I have different fathers. I’ve never met my biological father, but although Marley Ashton’s blood wasn’t running through my veins, he never treated me differently. He came crashing into our lives like the wild and crazy hippy he was. Turned our mother into a free spirit right along with him. They were proud of us. Unconditional love to the fullest.

Wilder is named after him. Zoe couldn’t have chosen a better name. God, Dad would have loved him. He would have killed Ricky, too. Of that, I have no doubt.

They hit the road to follow their wild souls the day Zoe turned eighteen. They never wanted to influence our decisions in life. They were always there supporting us. Calling us all hours of the day and night. Listening and guiding us through life from miles away.

Until the day they died. Hit head-on by a semi on their way back out into the world after coming home to watch Zoe graduate from nursing school. It shattered us both. Devastated. Numb.

God, just thinking about it breaks me all over again.

Pain digs her ugly claws in my chest. The pills of fear, guilt, and anguish are the toughest ones for me to swallow. I’m scared out of my mind he’s going to hurt her in a way she will never be able to recover from. Or Wilder. What if Ricky becomes so angry he goes after him? I’m at my wit’s end with this.

I’m hurting. Zoe is hurting, and yet she won’t leave.

She knows they could move in with me in a heartbeat. One call is all it would take, and I’d have the cops over there with me to get them out. Her boss, Rowan, would help, too. Even Zeke and Amelia.

It would be nice to let one of my fellow doctors and patients know I’m Zoe’s sister, too. Why she begged me not to tell them when they all became friends, I’ll never know. Deep in my gut, I know Zoe has been fighting to create a blank canvas for herself. She has the courage to break the bonds of her prison but just won’t take the leap. And I have no idea why. It took me a year to get her on medication to help ease her ADHD, but then that fucking slime, Ricky, came into her life. He’s ruining everything she’s worked hard to accomplish. He’s draining her. I can see it escaping behind her eyes.

And yet, as I sit here reading how women lose their lack of confidence, self-respect and feel unworthy, I’ve figured out why. She’s afraid I’ll tell her friends, her co-workers. She’s ashamed when what she should be doing is reaching out for help. My baby sister has nothing to be ashamed of. She’s trapped, and I need to guide her out.

“God, Zoe. Why?” I cry. My eyes are blurring from the images my brain is producing of that son of a bitch putting his hands on my sister.

My phone rings again. I Lived by OneRepublic blaring out of the tiny device. This time, I reach for it without even looking. It’s the ringtone for the hospital.

“Doctor Parker,” I strongly voice when I all I want to do is hang up and bawl my eyes out.

“You better be on your way. My wife’s water broke. She’s four weeks early. I don’t want anyone else delivering my child.” For a man who is hopelessly in love with his wife and about to be a father for the first time, he doesn’t sound happy. Zeke is distraught.

It’s not a funny situation at all, but I find myself biting back a giggle. Dr. Hartley is the smartest man I’ve ever been around. His medical knowledge is powerful. Not to mention his ability to keep calm in desperate situations and his ability to diagnose rare illnesses. So, him speaking all crazy has me hoping everything is alright.

“They’ll both be fine, Dr. Hartley. You should know this. Is everything alright? Did something happen?” I just saw Amelia the day before yesterday. Everything was fine. Her measurements were perfect. The baby moved down. However, her cervix wasn’t thinning. She wasn’t even close to being ready to deliver.

“Yeah, something did happen. Now’s not the time to talk about it. I can tell you afterward. Just get here; she’s upset and stressed. The contractions are getting closer.” I don’t like the scared tone in his voice. I slip on my shoes, grab my purse, which is more like a weighed-down backpack, and lock the door behind me.

“Doing my best here, Eden.”

I climb in my car, buckle up, and start the engine, pull out of the garage and tear down the road before I speak again. Hoping these few seconds will get him to calm down.

“I’m on the road, Zeke. I understand it’s a different circumstance when a loved one is involved, but ground yourself in medical knowledge and take deep breaths.” The sound of the blinker drowns out any other noise in the cab of my car. “I’m a couple blocks away. Zeke, the baby and Amelia will be just fine.”

He lowers his voice, whispering into the phone. “I can’t lose her. She’s devastated. She can’t handle much more.” More of what? What the hell is going on?

“I’m almost there. Get her checked in.”

“Already done.”

I end the call going straight into doctor mode. I’ve always held the science of medicine dear to my heart. I have no idea where the love came from, but it’s always been deep in my roots. The art of helping and saving lives is something I’ll never be able to explain. I found my one true love in the OB-GYN department. Holding a new baby when they rush into the world gulping their first taste of oxygen is the adrenaline I’m addicted to.

With all the medical knowledge and drive to help others, I’m failing the two people I love more than anyone on this planet. My sister and nephew. I need to help her get out of that house.

I leap from the car and shake away thoughts of Zoe and Wilder. They never go far when I try to brush the worries away. As I sprint into the hospital, I know the time has come to report Ricky to Child Protective Services. It will destroy Zoe, but I can only hope that in the end, she’ll forgive me once she’s healthy again and in a stable environment. With me. The woman deserves the world, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to stand by and let him strip away any more of my sister.

The glass revolving doors rotate open, allowing me to catch a glimpse of my profile. Zoe and I barely look alike. I’m older by several years. When we were younger, she used to be teased all the time for being damn near identical to looking like me, but the years of growing into adulthood have set us apart. Zoe tends to dress and doll up more than I do, always highlighting her hair, wearing wild clothes. While me, I’m a contradiction when it comes to clothes. I wear anything as long as the heels on my feet make me feel sexy, then dress up or down.

I take quick notice of our differences with just a glance; the only resemblance I notice are our noses. I’m tall; she’s short. I have blond hair and green eyes; she has dark hair and eyes as blue as the ocean.

“I’ll never give up on you, little sister. Ever,” I whisper to myself, walking through the spinning doors.

We were homeschooled and accelerated at our own pace. I’ve always felt proud knowing that Zoe followed in my footsteps in the medical career. Learning never was easy for her like it was for me. She finished high school at the typical age, whereas I completed the requirements months before my fifteenth birthday.

With the final decision made, I push my way through the doors. Doctor face on and ready to bring this baby into the world.

The hospital buzzes with excitement and hurried movements even though it’s late into the night. That’s the thing about the medical world; they're no nine-to-five hours. It’s a lifestyle you marry the day you take the oath. Without thought, I rush up to the third floor, my second home. Change into a clean pair of scrubs. Wash my arms and hands while listening to the nurse give me Amelia’s vitals and progress and find Zeke making his own pattern across the carpet when I start walking to the room the nurse told me Amelia was in. If anything, he’s amped more than when I spoke to him minutes ago.

Lifting his head, he makes eye contact with me while gripping the back of his neck. “She wants to push.”

“Good. We will have this baby in the arms of her parents.“ I nod and press past him. Zeke grabs my arm, forcing me to look at him. The terror painted in his vibrant pupils sends chills right to my bones. It’s the quiet before the storm, and I have a feeling of uneasiness settle at the base of my spine. I know whatever it is, my world is about to crumble into pieces. Those pieces so obliterated that I’ll never be able to put my life back together.

“You know Amelia has been on bed rest. She’s been taking it easy.”

I nod. My throat is growing tight.

“Her…” He fights to get the words out. His finger is trembling against the crook of my elbow. “Her best friend was found dead tonight.”

My vision threatens to morph into pitch black because I know who one of her two best friends is, or was. No, no, no. I repeat it over and over in my mind as if it’s going to help me in this situation.

“Long story short, she couldn’t get a hold of her friend Zoe. We sent someone over there to check on her.”

My heart quits beating feeling the loss of my entire reason for living. “Her friend Zoe?” I ask. Jesus. No, no, no, no!

He nods, confirming the nightmare. “Her son and boyfriend are nowhere to be found. The cops have been alerted. A neighbor called it in.”

Painful echoes of screams interrupt our conversation.

“She needs you, Eden.” Zeke jerks my arm. “C’mon.” Oh, God. I need strength right now. More than I’ve ever needed it before.

Dr. Hartley will never know how hurtful his words are. She needs you. Another string of cries of agony floats out into the hall. I jerk my chin toward the door knowing I have a job to do. A life is banging on the world’s door to enter and leave footprints all over it, while I’m forced to digest the fact a beautiful, courageous life was ripped from the same world. I feel sick.

One more pleading scream from Amelia jolts me into action. My mind is a tattered mess. He has got to have the name wrong. He just has to.

But he doesn’t. The fact is bone deep, and I know it, but the woman’s cries for help force my hand.

I can feel it in my bones. See it in Amelia’s eyes when she bears down through another contraction.

I can feel it when I hold Zeke and Amelia’s newborn daughter, Clara, in my hands.

I’m too late. My baby sister is dead. The ice-cold reality sends chills throughout every vein in my body. All of those ‘I should haves’ and ‘could haves’ dying a quick death...it’s all on me. I’ve sinned by not helping her, and she paid the price.