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“I’m pleased to report that there aren’t any internal injuries, but Riley, honey, this damage to your face causes me concern about your vision. Are you seeing any unusual floaters?” Dr. Madison asks.

My sister’s lip has swollen more since she first called me. Her voice is garbled, and although I can understand her, she doesn’t sound the same. I grit my teeth together, refusing to let her see me cry.

The moment that I shed a tear, she’s going to be bawling again, as she’s already done in the SUV twice on the way over here. When she cries, it also hurts her, and while Dr. Madison has given her something for the pain, I don’t want to create any further discomfort.

“Not in this left eye, though he hit me there too. But the right eye? I don’t really know,” she shrugs.

“That’s understandable because it’s completely shut. I want to watch it for the next several days.”

Riley nods.

“These pills are going to make you sleepy. The injections that I’ve given you will keep the infection away.

But make sure that you’re taking the antibiotics as prescribed to keep the infection away, and these oblong pills to help manage the pain.

If you have any questions or any side effects that we haven’t discussed, call me right away.

I don’t care what time of day or night it is. I’ll be here.”

“Thanks, Dr. Madison.” I thank her on behalf of Riley.

“You know that I never get involved in the details, Bayleigh, but Riley . . .” The doctor pauses and stares at my sister for effect.

“You need to stay here with your sister for a while. You need to be healed. Whoever did this to you, honey, they cannot love you. If you want further assistance or need to speak with someone, I have some recommendations.”

We both look at Riley, and she shakes her head. “I’m not going back. I don’t know what I’ll do right away, but I—”

“You’ll stay here as long as it takes for us to figure out your next step. If that’s permanent, then that’s what will happen,” I reply.

“I can’t do that, Bayleigh. Zaire and you have been so good to me through the years.”

“That’s what family is for, sweetheart,” Dr. Madison remarks.

“I know, but I don’t want to infringe on their hospitality,” Riley replies.

“Honey, have you seen your sister’s home?

” Dr. Madison asks, looking at my sister as if she’s lost her mind.

“I took a tour of this house when they first bought it. She has more than enough room for you, me, and my two siblings if we want to come and stay,” Dr. Madison teases, winking at me with a warm smile.

“We really do, Riley. You know this.”

Our home has eight bedrooms, ten bathrooms, and countless other rooms. It’s big enough that when our twenty-two-year-old son, Zechariah, who is out of state attending FSU, is home, we can go days at a time without seeing him.

That doesn’t happen with Zaccai because he’s only ten, and he needs us to be hands-on at all times. Sometimes, we don’t see Zayn for a day, but that’s seldom. Although he’s nineteen, he still needs his parents more than he’s willing to admit.

“Let’s just get through the night, okay?” Riley asks softly.

Dr. Madison glances worriedly at me, and I shake my head.

“All right, honey. Go ahead and relax.” I point at the bed in the suite that I’ve placed her in for the night. “I’m going to walk Dr. Madison downstairs.”

“Okay,” Riley agrees tiredly, curling up on the bed before I can close the door.

Dr. Madison doesn’t speak until we’re downstairs at the front door.

“Is this an ongoing thing for your sister?”

“Not that I know of. I mean, Riley’s husband is an ass, and I’ve never cared for him. I always suspected that he was cheating on her, but I’ve never known him to get physical with her.”

“Do you think that she’ll use that as her excuse to go back to him? I’m worried about her, Bayleigh. This guy caused major damage to her face, and while I couldn’t convince her to go to the hospital, I am concerned that the next time, he might kill her.”

“If someone had said that was a possibility before this encounter, I would have said absolutely not. I know that Kenny’s afraid of Zaire, but I don’t know why he became so comfortable as to slip up and do it this time.”

“Does he have a history of this before your sister?”

“He does. That was one of the reasons we didn’t want Riley to become involved with him. But that was twenty years ago. I just thought that after all this time, he had matured and changed.”

“Abusers don’t change, Bayleigh. They may allow it to lie dormant for years, but I’d be willing to bet if you were to ask your sister, and if she were to be honest, this isn’t his first time hitting her.

A man doesn’t go from being non-abusive to what he did to her.

That’s a result of something that she’s been accepting over time.

It just escalated to that today, and the next time will be far worse. ”

My heart breaks inside at Dr. Madison’s words because I know that she knows what she’s talking about.

I nod solemnly. “I will speak with her and do everything that I can to help her, Doc.”

“Okay, but we both know that we can only help her as far as she will allow us to.”

“You’re right.”

“I’ll be in touch. Make sure that Riley’s taking her meds and getting some rest.”

“I will. Thanks again for everything.” I close and lock the door behind her.

With a heavy heart and mind, I head back upstairs to my sister. When I sit on her bed, she appears to be so tired, but I have to know.

“I never got a chance to let you tell me what happened.” I grab one of the six pillows on the bed and place it on my lap.

I lift my sister’s head from the pillow she’s lying on and place her head on the one in my lap. I listen to her as I slowly pull my fingers through her hair.

“I suspected that he was cheating again.”

I bite my tongue to keep from saying anything that might sound judgmental or make her stop talking.

“I put a tracker on his car, and I’ve been following him, but I hadn’t seen anything until today.

I noticed he was at a hair salon, which was strange.

So, I left work as soon as I could and drove there to see who he was picking up.

I waited for about an hour before anything happened.

Only Kenny didn’t walk out of the salon. ”

“Who walked out?”

“A woman. She hopped in his car and drove it around to the post office, the grocery store, the mall, and then back to her house. I watched as she went inside and stayed for a while. Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore.”

“What did you do, Ry?” My heart breaks for her.

“I went to the door and knocked on it. The woman answered in a towel, and I asked if Kenny was there. She wanted to know who I was, and I told her that I was his wife. I could hear him in the background, saying that he wasn’t finished sliding in that ass yet and that she needed to come back to bed.

“The moment she saw me about to rush through that door, she slammed it in my face. I banged on the door, demanding that Kenny come out because he wasn’t answering his phone.

He refused to come out, so I gave them ten seconds, or I was going to fuck up his car.

He thought that I was playing. So, I fucked up his car, and then I drove home to wait to hear what he had to say. ”

“And he drove home and did this to you?”

Riley nods and starts crying. I can barely make out her words between her crying and her swollen lips, but I understand.

“I’m the one who pays his car note. It’s in his name, but I pay that and the insurance on it too. He thinks that some bitch can drive it. No.”

I continue pulling my fingers through her hair and muttering shushing noises before she finally calms down. We remain that way for a while before I realize that she’s fallen asleep. We will finish this conversation, but I’ll let her rest for now.

I slide her and the pillow off my lap and slip from the room without managing to wake her.