Kimberly passes out on the way to the hospital. I feel helpless as the paramedics try to clean her wound. They wrap it up in white bandages but the blood keeps soaking through. My scar burns with the memory of the pain. I grab Kimberly's hand and wipe away my tears. I know I have to be strong for her, but it will be hard not remembering the humiliation and horror of those nights.
The ambulance pulls into the hospital. I'm forced out of the car as they roll Kimberly into the hospital. They won't allow me to follow her to the ER. I have to fill out a bunch of paperwork in the waiting room.
Finally, after a few minutes I see Jack walk into the room. I stand and he grabs me in a tight embrace. I sob quietly into his shoulder. He soothes me with a few words of comfort against my ear while rubbing my back.
I manage to get out, "He has Freddy."
Jack holds me tighter. "It'll be okay, sweetheart. You'll see."
I exhale shakily. "Maybe if I had been there this wouldn't have happened. He was looking for me..."
Jack pulls me back and looks me in the eyes. "This isn't your fault. Don't think like that."
I see David in the corner, talking with a nurse. He looks at me with a sad expression on his face. After he finishes his conversation, he walks over and lays a hand on my shoulder. "Evelyn, Kimberly is awake and she's asking for you."
I am led back to the intensive care unit. She's wrapped in white sheets. Her lower lip is cut and bruised. She looks at me with fear in her eyes. "He said he would kill Freddy if I didn't let him ... I didn't want Freddy to die..."
I quickly wrap my arms around Kimberly's shoulders, careful not to jostle her too much. "I know. It's okay. I'm so sorry."
Kimberly sobs against my chest. "He wanted to know where you were. I told him you were with Jack. He didn't believe me."
I smooth the matted blonde hair down Kimberly's back with the palm of my hand. She's shaking uncontrollably. "Shh..."
Kimberly pulls back and looks me in the eyes. There's no mistaking the fear I read in them. "He wants to kill you."
Before I can respond, I hear the clearing of a throat. I turn to see a police officer. "Miss Myers, would you mind leaving while I ask Miss Lewis a few questions?"
I look down at Kimberly and she nods. I let her go and walk out to the waiting room. I see Jack and David sitting together and walk over towards them on shaky legs. I sit down next to Jack. He swings his arm around me. I lean my head on his shoulder and close my eyes.
Jack asks, "How is she doing?"
I squeeze my eyelids tight and whisper, "She'll be okay." I look at the clock. It's been three hours since I found Kimberly. I turn to look at David. "When will he be here?"
David checks his phone and sighs. "He should have been here by now. I don't know what's holding him up."
I lay my head back on Jack's shoulder and close my eyes. I'm sure he'll be here soon. I just have to be patient.
****
The beach is where I always took Gerry. We would walk the beach in the moonlight and just talk. It brought back many painful memories to come back here. Liam knew it.
I pull into the beach and park where Liam tells me. He gets out of the car and walks over to my side, with the gun pointed at me through the window. He opens the door and tells me to get out.
I look up at him. "Did you know all along that we met here?"
He smirks. "Let's walk to the pier. I'll follow."
I walk slowly, trying to bide my time and come up with a plan.
Liam presses the gun sharply into my ribs. "I haven't got all night."
I wince. "Where's Fred."
Liam sighs. "He's in my car. I would have dumped him back into the house but you two showed up."
"So, he's dead?"
Liam's boisterous laugh startles me. "Nah just knocked out cold. Do you know how easy it is to knock down an old man?"
I swallow down the fear and calmly ask, "Where is your car?"
"It's parked in the house next door to Fred's."
I open my mouth to ask another question, but Liam pushes me forward. I almost lose my balance, but I catch myself before falling into the sand.
"That's enough questions. How about answering a few of mine?"
Liam pulls me close, almost in an embrace. I can smell whiskey on his breath. He looks me in the eye and smirks. "Did you know that Gerry was pregnant with my child?"
I feel like the wind was just knocked out of me. "No."
Liam's smile slowly fades and my fear grows.
"He would have been three years old."
Despite everything that Liam's done I still feel remorseful. The guilt gnaws at my stomach. "I'm sorry."
Liam smirks. "No, you're not. But you will be."
Liam shoves me away and this time I fall hard onto the sand. I'm lying on my back and I see Liam raise his shoe. I try to scramble away but the toe of his boot hits my right temple hard. I'm disoriented at first. I can't see anything but my eyes slowly start to focus and I see Liam cock his gun and point it at my face.
"Liam, please. Don't do this."
"Gerry was going to come back to me. We were going to work things out. I always knew there was something going on between the two of you, but I thought you were a loyal friend so I ignored the signs."
"It wasn't like that."
"Cut the bullshit. You were fucking her. Admit it."
I nod, somewhat ashamed. "She was afraid of you."
Liam's eyes widen with rage but he doesn't pull the trigger. The corners of his mouth lift and he laughs deep down in his throat. "I never laid a finger on her."
"That night. The last night. She came to me with a bruise on her cheek."
Liam waves his gun dismissively. "She asked for a divorce. She was going to take my child away from me."
I lift up on my elbows. "She knew what you would do to her. That's why she came to me. For protection."
"Is that what Evelyn is doing now? Coming to you for protection?"
I swallow down the lump in my throat. "Why do you want to hurt her? She's done nothing to you."
Liam bends down at the waist to look me in the eyes. I can see his features in the moonlight. He looks vulnerable. "I didn't want to hurt her. She's the perfect substitute. But, she isn't enough. She never will be. Not unless I can have all of her. You ruined that for me."
"I didn't ruin it for you. You ruined that all by yourself. If you hadn't abused her the first time she never would have met me."