Page 35 of Admiring His Omega
He wrapped his arms around Bianca as she sobbed. “We need to get you to a hospital. The county one is what? Forty minutes away? I should call an ambulance.”
“No, please. I can’t go there.” She drew in a wet breath. “Please just call Mom. Please.”
Against his better judgment, Mal gave in and quickly dialed Van’s number. His friend was working at the hospital.
“Mal?” Van asked, taking the call. “This better be more important than a request to bring you junk food for a late-night snack.”
“Van, it’s an emergency. Come to the RV now.”
He hung up before she could respond. There was no point in telling her anything until she got there.
Scooping Bianca into his arms, he gently carried her into the RV, mentally cursing the narrow door. Betty trotted behind them, then went to inspect her food bowl. He set his daughter down on the couch, then ran for his first aid kit.
“Where’s it hurt, angel?”
“My face, my arms,” she mumbled, leaning against the couch pillow. She held Truffle in her arms. The cat purred loudly,offering comfort the best way he knew how. “I think I sprained my ankle too.”
Mal checked her over, happy to see nothing looked broken. She had clearly been punched more than once and someone had grabbed her hard, leaving large bruises on her arms.
“Once your mom gets here, we need to bring you to the hospital, okay? I’m not an expert at this.”
“I don’t want to.”
“We aren’t giving you a choice. This is one benefit from being an adult. We get to make the important decisions.”
“Are you an adult?” she asked, looking pitiful.
Mal snorted, trying not to be offended. “Don’t let my laid-back exterior fool you, my dear. While emotional maturity is an ongoing journey, I’m self-aware and take responsibility for my actions. Plus, I know the difference between needs and wants. In my mind, those are the most important aspects of adulthood.”
“I’m an adult. I take care of myself and definitely know the difference between needs and wants. I’m not stupid.”
“What do you think you need to do right now?” he asked gently.
Bianca looked confused. “What?”
“When I say needs and wants, I don’t mean that you know you need food, water, and shelter. You need to know the difference between what you need to do and what you want to do. Youneedto go to the hospital. You seem towantto ignore whatever is happening here, hoping it will go away.”
“I don’t want to think about it.” She leaned her head on his shoulder. “It’s my choice not to go to the hospital.”
“Nope. That’s Van’s decision. Mine too if you accept me as your dad.”
She started crying again. “I want you to be my dad. I don’t want to think about this. About what he did. About the baby. What am I supposed to do, Mal?”
“You’re young, Bianca,” he said softly. “Leave all the worrying to us. You aren’t alone.”
“I’m not a good person,” she whispered. “I did something bad. Real bad.”
“You’re one of the best people I know. Good people make poor choices sometimes.” He kissed the top of her head. “Don’t worry about it. We’ll take care of it no matter what.”
She started crying again and he held her as she sobbed. They sat like that until Van arrived, banging the door open as she ran in.
Mal left them alone to talk and went to his room. He sent a message to cancel the evening yoga session and searched for hospitals further away. Since Bianca wouldn’t go to the county hospital, they needed to go further out.
More than an hour passed, but it felt so much longer. Mal couldn’t settle the anger growing in him. Bianca was so young. Someone had hurt her. Someone had purposely hit that sweet child.
A few moments later, Van slipped into his room, shutting the door behind her.
“Paula is with her right now.” Her face was haggard, and she had clearly been crying. “I need a favor, Mal.”
