Rebuilding Stone (The Stone Brother Series Book 2) (5 page)

“Lani?” she questions as she pulls Lani in for a hug. “Where
is Kerrigan? Is everything alright?” She looks out to Lani’s car, trying to see
if Kerrigan is in it.

“Hey, Ari. Could you close the door, come outside and talk
with us?” Lani asks. Ari steps outside and slowly closes the door. I can tell
by the look in Ari’s eyes that she knows something bad has happened.

“What is it? Is it Kerrigan?”

“Yes, but before I say anything else, I need you to know
that she's going be okay. She is in ICU at Faith Memorial.”

“Oh my god! What happened?” Ari falls to her knees. She
starts crying, rocking back and forth. I sit next to her and hug her. Probably
because she looks like how I feel.

“Her boyfriend.”

“Lani, stop saying her boyfriend.” Every time I hear it, I
want to beat the shit out of something.

“What’s going on here?” The door opens and a very bitter
looking woman appears. She’s short with pinched cheeks. She reminds me of a
bulldog.

“Mom, it’s Kerrigan. She’s in the hospital. We need to go.
Now,” Ari's words are rushed. I look over and see a man coming up the driveway.
This must be her father. He is tall and seemingly in good shape. Ari runs to
him and explains the situation.

“Calm down, Ari. They said she’ll be all right. She isn’t
trying to blame me, is she?” the bitter woman asks.

Ari looks at her confused, “Why would she blame you, mom?
You didn’t do anything.”

“Because I told her six months ago that she couldn’t stay
here. I didn’t tell her to go back to her boyfriend, though. I guess I
should’ve known. I mean she is just like her mother. Always trying to find Mr.
Right while loving Mr. Wrong,” the bitch says.

 
I don’t say a
word this time, because I have never been this close to hitting a woman in my
life. I stand and walk away. I decide to go sit in the car. I see Lani and Ari
talking. They hug, and Lani starts walking towards the car. I can see Ari is
yelling at her parents. She starts shaking her head and runs towards the car as
Lani opens the door.

“Lani, can I stay with you tonight? Or for a few nights?”

“Sure, Ari.”

It hurts when I realize that Kerrigan has had a shit life
too. Knowing her entire life, she had to deal with some level of abuse tears me
up. Ari seems to love her sister, and for that, I’m grateful. When I glance in
the rearview mirror, I can see Ari quietly crying. Yes, Ari loves her sister
immensely.

I’m still alive? It’s the first thought I have as I try to
open my eyes. Since they won’t open, I try moving my hand to feel my face.
Someone is holding it, though. Who? I squeeze the hand and try to talk, but I
realize but that I can’t get my mouth to move. Terror starts to build inside
me. My heart starts pounding. Alarms are going off in my head. Where am I?
Who's with me? Where is Aaron? Not knowing any of the answers, I start
thrashing around.

“Kerrigan, stop. You’re safe. I’m here with you. You’re in
the hospital.” It’s Ari. Calmly, she tells me what’s happened and why I can't
talk. “Aaron broke your jaw and it had to be wired shut. Your eyes are too
swollen; you won’t be able to see for a while. Listen to me, Kerrigan. You are
safe.”

 
I don’t feel
safe. I’m stuck in this hospital bed. I can’t see. I can’t speak. I am not
safe. I want to scream, and I start trembling.

“Hold on. I’ll be right back.” I try to convey that I want
her to stay and not leave me, but to no avail. Please, Ari, come back!

A minute later, I feel another hand grab mine. This one is
warm, strong, and comforting. Then, I hear his voice. It’s Maddox. Please,
Maddox, stay. Please, don’t leave me. Again, with no way to convey that
message, I squeeze his hand. God, even that small squeeze hurts. The pain is
setting in now. How am I going to get out of here if I can’t walk or talk? I
try to calm down and listen when he speaks.

“Kerrigan, it’s me, Maddox. I’m right here. I need you to
try to relax. I know it’s hard, but you need to calm yourself. Ari and Lani
have been taking turns staying here with you, and I’ve been right outside your
door. You’re safe. I promise you, no one will get in here. Not without my
permission.”

 
As the memories
play out in my mind, I start screaming, or at least try to. I remember the
first punch after I told Aaron I was thinking about Maddox. He'd taken off the
handcuffs and dragged me by my feet to the bathroom where he pushed my head
under the bath water he had run. I thought that was how he was going to kill
me. He was going to drown me. Again, I start to shake until my ribs make a
protest for me to stop. I feel Maddox’s warm hand squeeze mine. I don’t want
him seeing me like this, but I feel safe with him beside me. I know Maddox
won’t let Aaron anywhere near me. I give Maddox’s hand another squeeze before
releasing it so I can trace p-e-n in his palm. He lets go of my hand and I hear
a drawer open and close. A few moments later, he puts a pen in my hand and
places my hand on a notepad.

“Here you go.”

As I start trying to move my hand, my wrist starts aching. I
know my writing is sloppy. Hopefully, he can read it when I write ”Aaron?”
 

“Aaron is in jail, Kerrigan. Your neighbors called the
paramedics when you crawled into the hallway. We don’t know for sure, but we
believe Aaron passed out. He was arrested at the hospital shortly after the
paramedics brought you in. He is meeting with the judge tomorrow, but for right
now, he's in jail.”

That should be good news, right? Only it isn’t. I noticed
that Maddox said “for right now.” In my mind, I’m screaming for Maddox to get
me out of here. He will kill me! Aaron will kill me when he gets out! Don’t you
understand?! With no way to communicate my message, I begin to tremble again. I
can feel the fight or flight building in me. Alarms start blaring around me.

“NURSE!” Maddox shouts.

“Kerrigan!” I can feel Maddox stroking my hair saying,
“Baby, I’m here and I’m not leaving your side. Ever. Kerrigan, I’m so sorry.
Please, Kerrigan, breathe.” His words do little to calm me.

I hear people running into the room. The alarms start to
quiet down and the last thing I hear before drifting off is Maddox. “I’m here
with you, Kerrigan.”

Sitting here with Kerrigan is eating away at me. When she
woke up, she was terrified. I tried to calm her down, but I couldn’t. Watching
the nurse give a shot to knock her out killed me. How can I help her? Aside
from killing Aaron, I do all that I can right now. I hold her hand and am here
when she wakes up. I can’t leave her side.

I take turns between staring at the clock and watching her.
Her body is so battered. She doesn’t even look human. Every time I look at all
the damage Aaron did to her, I torment myself. I keep wondering how much pain
she felt. Knowing that Kerrigan even felt an ounce of pain makes me sick. How
could he do this to her?

After a week, she is able to slightly open her eyes. In her
lucid moments, she looks at me. It's like she’s silently pleading with me. I
know she's scared. I know she doesn’t want me to leave. I do whatever I can in
the moments she’s awake to calm her by playing soft music or reading. I don’t
know if it’s helping, but it’s all I can think of doing.

Minutes turn into hours, hours into days, and days into
weeks. Slowly, we see the healing process. When Kerrigan finally sees herself
for the first time, she asks me to leave. I refuse, but Lani and Ari ask me to
give her this because she's embarrassed. Kerrigan has nothing to be embarrassed
about. I relent and leave because I don’t want to cause her any stress. I hate
not being there for her. I want her to know I’m here and that I’ll always be
here. I know it’ll take some time for her to come to terms with what happened,
but when she does, I hope she’ll allow me back in.

It’s been eight weeks since the beating and I was released
from the hospital a month ago. I didn’t have anywhere to go, so I’ve been
staying with Lani and Ari. I couldn't face leaving the apartment because Aaron
is out on bail pending a trial.

Besides my sister and Lani, I’ve cut everyone else off,
including Maddox. Seeing him right now isn’t what I want or need. I can only
imagine what he thinks of me. I know he has to wonder why I stayed in such a
bad situation. I did tell him that Aaron told me he would kill him. Of course
Maddox got pissed. I had to tell him, though. He needs to know he's in danger.

Maddox said all the right things at the hospital, but that’s
what people do when something like this happens. Maddox is a great guy from a
great family. The last thing he needs is to be associated with someone like me.

I know I'm putting myself down, but I can’t help it. I
guess, in a way, some good came out of the Aaron situation. I realized that
Aaron had me brainwashed. I know the things he'd said aren’t or weren’t true.
Yet, I couldn’t help but hear those awful things repeatedly in my mind. No one
will want me. No one will love me. I’m worthless. My own father didn’t love me
enough. The one person I swore I would never be like, is exactly who I became.
My mother.

Neither my mother nor my father have reached out to me. In a
way, I’m grateful, but it hurts to know that even in this horrible situation,
they can’t even call their daughter to check on her. I need to find a way to
walk away from that pain as well. Nothing I say or do will make them love me.

 
I start therapy
sessions tomorrow morning, and I want to start living again. I don’t want Aaron
to think he got the best of me. Right now, he's in my every waking thought.
Heck, he’s even there in my dreams. I can’t wait until the time when Aaron
doesn’t consume my every thought. The phone starts ringing; as usual, I ignore
it. It’s probably Maddox or Molly. They call several times a day. I appreciate
that they want to help, but right now, I’m not ready. I don’t know when I will
be.

“Kerrigan, it’s Molly,” Ari says with her hand over the
phone.

“Not yet, Ari.”

The only thing good that came out of this whole nightmare is
my relationship with my sister. Ari is five years younger than me. Growing up,
I tried having a relationship with her, but it was strained due to our parents’
relationship. I understand now that it wasn’t her fault. Her mom calls all the
time telling her to come home or they'll cut her off financially. She hasn’t
returned home and recently got a job at Hansons. She's grown up so much in just
a short amount of time. I’m so proud of her.

“Kerrigan.”

“What, Ari?”

“You look good today. The bruises are gone. I was wondering
if maybe you’d like to go to lunch?”

“Ari, I’m not ready. Maybe after I’m in therapy for a while.
Right now, I can’t do it.”

“I’m not trying to push you. I just worry about you because
you’ve stopped living. You’ve shut everyone out. You haven’t left this
apartment in weeks and all you do is think about Aaron. How about we go to
Hansons? That’s a safe place. You have to start facing people. You have to
start letting your friends back into your life. Everyone misses you, Kerrigan.
Please. I want to know the sister I wanted all those years ago. I miss you and
I’m in the same room with you.”

I start to tear up because it feels like the roles are
reversed. She's the big protective sister. I don’t want her to feel like she
has to babysit me or that she can’t have a life because of me. That’s exactly
what's happened. Ari has also stopped living. Even Lani rarely leaves the
apartment. Every day, she goes to work, picks up take-out, and comes home.
Then, we all sit in silence and have dinner. The days have been on repeat for a
while now. I don’t think Hansons is the right place for me right now, but I do
agree. I need to start living, or at least fake it, for now. Not only for my
sake, but for Ari’s and Lani’s as well.
 

I look up at Ari and say, “Will you call Molly and Lani and
ask them to meet us at Gigi’s Pizza?” That place is quiet. No one is ever
there. Ari can barely contain her excitement and it’s infectious. For the first
time in probably a year, I smile.

Kerrigan had stopped speaking to me and refused to see me
about a month ago. She said she needed to get better on her own. I’ve been
checking in with Lani and Ari, who say she's healing, but not getting better.

Kerrigan said she was afraid for my safety. That Aaron told
her he would kill me if she left. She fucking stayed with that motherfucker to
keep me safe. When she told me what he'd said, I was pissed. I wanted to yell
at her for trying to protect me. Aaron is a big guy, but he's also slow and a
pussy. He only uses his strength on women and anyone he perceives to be weaker.
Like Brayden, for instance, that day at the bar with Molly. I’m sure Aaron
mouthed off to Brayden because he viewed Brayden as weak. I’m so glad Brayden
beat the shit out of him. I wish I'd been the one to do it.

Aaron is out on bail. Even though I can’t see or talk to
Kerrigan, I can still protect her. From what I can tell, he’s been laying low
and staying out of trouble. I know exactly what he's doing. He might be able to
fool everyone else, but men like Aaron don’t get better. They escalate. My
guess is, he’s waiting, being a model citizen in the process. He'll strike when
everyone’s defenses have dropped. I’ve requested the next couple of weeks off.
I’ve never called in sick and have rarely taken a vacation, so I have a lot of
time built up. I need to keep watch. Pulling me out of my thoughts, I hear my
phone ringing. It’s Molly.

“Hey, my nephew baby momma,” I smile. Molly is the greatest.

“I guess now you should say nephews.”

“What? Another boy?”

“Lord help me. Yes.”

This is great. Landon is awesome. And not one of us would
know what to do with a little girl. We are all overbearing in our own ways. If
a girl ever comes along, we would go overboard.

“What’s up?”

“You told me to call you if I heard from Kerrigan, so I wanted
to let you know that I'm meeting her for lunch.”

“When? Did she call you?”

“No, Ari called me. I guess she talked Kerrigan into getting
out of the apartment today.”

I’m happy to know she's taking the first step to healing by
getting out of the apartment. That part is great news, but the part that
worries me, is Aaron. I know he's waiting to make a move. Aaron isn’t the type
of man who gives up. I'm also concerned about how Kerrigan will react to seeing
him.

“Where are you all going? Make sure it’s in a public place.
I would love to be there.”

“We're going to Gigi’s. But Maddox, you can’t come. I’m
sorry. This is her first trip out and we can’t do anything to mess that up. She
didn’t mention you; I just wanted to give you an update. And, I need a favor.”

“I only want to keep watch. I swear, I won’t be seen. With
Aaron out, I don’t feel comfortable with Kerrigan or you out alone with no
protection. A favor? Name it. You know that I would do anything for you. All
you have to do is ask.”

“Well, Noah is at work and I was wondering if you could
watch Landon. I’d ask Evan, but that’s not going to happen. Last time he
watched Landon, I came home and heard him telling Landon his rules for dating
women.”

Oh God. I’d hate to hear those rules. I laugh out loud.

“Okay. How about I come pick you and Landon up and drop you
off? I’ll take Landon to the park for a while, then we'll come back to get you.
That way, I’ll be close enough if you need me, but not right on top of you
girls either.”

 
“Alright, that
sounds like a good plan. Pick me up at one.”

“Thank you, Molly. See you in a bit.”

The last time I saw Kerrigan, her eyes were still swollen.
The bruises were fading, but still very noticeable. I can’t help but be worried
about her, knowing she's going out. As much as I wanted her to start healing
emotionally, I was afraid she'd suffer a setback if she were to cross paths
with Aaron. Since Evan is representing Kerrigan, I can’t reach out to him for
advice on how to help her. It’s been a big strain on our relationship, but I
understand he can’t tell me. Honestly, I don’t know how I'd handle knowing
everything that bastard had put her through. Evan knows every detail, every
fear, and every part of Kerrigan. I want those things, but I want her to give
them to me. I know I don’t deserve her trust, but I will bide my time and earn
it. I haven't been with anyone in months. I can’t. I don’t want anyone else.
I’ve finally come to realize that Kerrigan is the one for me.