Page 51 of Then Came You

But Row isn’t here. She’s still in the ICU recovering from her injuries.

A rape kit confirmed she wasn't raped by those vile animals, but it didn’t take away the fact they violated her in every possible way.

All three of them are behind bars and if I have anything to do with it, they won't ever see the light of day again. A quick favour to my QC Dad made sure of it.

Row has a bruised trachea from being strangled, two bloody eye sockets, and a concussion, but there is no internal bleeding, only superficial scrapes, and bruises.

The nightmare of how Row and her sister had been living for all these years will haunt me for the rest of my life. If I could burn my retinas from the sight I saw, I would, but it is the stench of her home that still assaults me days later. Dry retching at the memory, I slap my hand over my mouth. It stunk - cigarettes, alcohol, mould, sex, spoiled food, rotten garbage, chunks of vomit, and the worst of them all, stinking faeces. Fucking shit on the floor, mixed with piss.

No one other than me seemed to even bat an eyelid. It was like everyone was just used to that filth.

I’m in a hospital; I should really get a tetanus shot or some other fucking shot to ensure I’m not diseased.

“Dad?” Zee asks. I just shake my head, not nearly ready to go into what state I found Row in. Trish is equally horrified she didn’t know the extent of Row’s dire home life.

The rage inside me feels like thousands of threadworms worming in my intestine and anus. Signs of abuse were there all along, but Row never complained. The worst of the little signs I chose to ignore or put down to just Row being super busy, like the fact that on more than one occasion, her stomach growled like she was being ravaged from the inside out.

It enrages me, and it makes my need to protect her that much fiercer.

God, I need her to live.

They’ve kept her in an induced coma to protect her brain from swelling after her injuries, but today is the day they’re going to wake her up.

Trish had to get back to work, leaving the three of us sitting eerily quiet among the cacophony of babies crying and domestics going on between couples over waiting times. The hospital is pathetic. The staff are kind but overworked, and as for the facilities, they leave nothing to be desired. Our health system is ailing, and it makes me mad that Row has to recover in squalor. Aren’t hospitals supposed to have some sort of standard? Where we are looks like something out of Nurse Ratched. The government needs to do better.

“Um, Mr. Renshaw, Xander, I’ve got it from here,” Tori’s melodious voice carries through the overcrowded waiting room. She is sitting in her wheelchair, small and frail, weakened by the cancer ravaging her body.

I feel irate when she tries to dismiss us. “With all due respect, Tori, we’re not going anywhere. I don’t mean to cross a line here, but neither of you have anyone else.” My eyes bore into her.

She wheels closer to both of us, with a defiant look. I had to hand it to her. She looks fierce with her skull bandana and steely eyes. “We don’t need to be taken care of. We’ve been doing just fine.” She would sound more convincing without all the wires and tubes hanging out of her.

“Fine? You have no parents. No money. No house. You're sick, and Row is in a coma. Exactly who and what do you have?” I explode, tired from the last 48 hours. I bolt up off the offending plastic chair, towering over both of them. I know I’m drawing attention from the rest of the waiting room with my outburst. I’m in the same clothes I found Row in, and I haven’t eaten anything besides whatever the fuck is in the vending machines here, which is not much and stale.

“Dad!” Zee barks at me to stop as I pace aimlessly back and forth. I don’t miss how his eyes slit together in confusion over my emotions.

Fuck.

“I’m her friend. I feel responsible for her. For this. I…reprimanded her when she was late and told her to go home.” I lie, choosing my words carefully. “Zee, let me do this. I have more money than God. Please, let me help,” I plead.

He places his hands on my shoulders, forcing me to look at him. “Dad, you’re feeling guilty because you didn’t get there sooner, but it’s not your fault. None of this is your fault. If it didn’t happen when it did, it was never a matter of if; it was just a matter of when.” Pulling me into a hug, I'm shaking. I see Tori over my shoulder with an understanding expression on her face.

“Row needs our family, Zee.” I blow into his neck, holding my son a little tighter. Guilt gnaws at me over why I wasn’t there to protect her. Why we didn’t just come clean to Zee. Why didn't I make her feel safe enough to trust me with her secrets?

He slaps my back. “Tori, can we please help?” She nods wordlessly, probably only partially agreeing because I’ve become a mad hatter.

Tossing my arm around Zee’s shoulder, I compartmentalise the words I need to say in my head.

“I consider Row family. She’s Zee’s best friend. She’s Haven’s little buddy.” I'm easing everyone into the idea I’m about to propose.

“So, what do we do?” Zee looks back and forth between Tori and me.

I know my son. He’s rational, and he’ll come to the same conclusion I already have.

“First thing is first. Tori, I’m adding you both to my health insurance and paying any outstanding bills. I’m also going to transfer you to a private hospital closer to where I live, and you’ll stay there while receiving your treatment. There are apartments they can set you up in.”

She blinks back the water forming in her tired eyes, as if she can't believe my offer. “And what about Row?” she asks.

“She could stay with you, Dad,” Zee pipes up, making me whip my eyes to him in shock. I was heading in that direction, but I didn’t think he’d get there first. I inhale as if I’m contemplating his offer and not trying to stop my racing heart. “She can’t stay with me in my apartment with my roommate, but you have a big house and can make sure she gets the help she needs.”

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