Page 90 of Submitting to Them

“I’m close,” I say, taking large strides to keep up with the EMTs.

“Bash?”

“Here’s here, too.”I gesture him over.

He stops talking to a nearby officer and jogs to us.“Are you awake, princess?”

“Not Cinderella,” she says.

“Shh, it’s okay,” he whispers.

“Sleeping Beauty,” she says.“Just want to sleep.”

Bash looks alarmed, and I shoot a glance at the EMTs.

“It’s probably shock,” one of them says.“We’re taking her to the hospital and getting her vitals now.”

Bash and I start to climb into the ambulance.

“We can’t take both of you,” the EMT says.

“Go,” I say to Bash.“I’ll meet you there.”

Bash climbs into the ambulance and they shut the door, blocking Ella from my view.My chest aches fiercely.I need her to be okay.But Bash will watch over her.One of us should be there, and it doesn’t matter who.

The officer Bash had been speaking with says, “I’m surprised you didn’t argue about it.It’s obvious the three of you are in a relationship and both of you are extra protective.”

“We do whatever is best for her,” I say.“Having one of us there is better than two of us bickering about it and making the ambulance take longer.”

She nods.“That woman is lucky to have you.”

“We’re lucky that she’s going to be okay.What’s the name of the hospital?”

She tells me, so I type it into my phone.

“Thanks.”I start to explain everything that’s been going on.

Holding up a hand to stop me, she says, “Detective Carl Baldwin has already been in touch.We’re aware of the situation, although we’ll need to interview the young woman.We’ll also be taking your son into custody.”

He’s no longer my son, I want to say, but I hold it in.Instead, I pull a business card from my wallet.“Baldwin can put us in touch, but here’s my contact info just in case.”

“Thanks.”She pockets the card.“Good luck.”

Ella

The ocean air is cool and refreshing.I adjust the scarf I’ve draped around my neck so it doesn’t blow away in the breeze.

I don’t really need the scarf, because it isn’t cold.But every time Sebastian and Kingston see the bruises Joel left on my neck, sorrow and concern fill their eyes.I can’t handle being a constant reminder of what happened.So, scarf it is.Bruises hidden.Happier boyfriends.

It’s only been two days since everything went down.Soon enough, these bruises will fade.

“I’m not fragile,” I whisper at the waves.“And I’malive.”

“What’s that, little girl?”Kingston asks.His footsteps are soft in the sand as he approaches.

I don’t tell him that his son called melittle girlandlittle oneto mock the very pet name I love.Joel can’t hurt me anymore.Not only is one of his legs broken in several places from the car accident, but he’s behind bars and is now the concern of the criminal justice system, just like his serpentine mother and stepfather.

My bruises will fade, but Joel will be in prison for a long, long time.