Fix My Heart

Chapter 44

                               Veronica's POV
Jacob started to get antsy.

"Relax. Her teacher's right there."

Kids started going up to their parents. River started walking towards us with her head down. I walked to her. I crouched down in front of her.

"What's wrong?"

She picked her head up. Her face lit up. She wrapped her arms around my neck.

"Daddy!"

I wrapped my arms around her and stood up.

"Hey sweetie."

I walked over to Veronica.

"Surprise!"

River started crying.

"Oh no. What's wrong?"

"I missed you!"

"I missed you too. Let's go home."

Veronica drove to my house.

"Oh I uh kinda...sorta...moved in."

"I figured."

We walked inside and I put River down. The next day, I had a bad feeling.

"Baby does she really have to go to her friend's house?"

"Why?"

"I-I don't know why but....I don't feel like, she should go today."

"If anything happens, you can go pick her up."

The bad feeling I had, turned into a real thing. I saw on the news, there a hostage situation going on. They showed the house. It was River's friend's house. We jumped into my car. I drove as quickly as I could. We saw cops outside. I went to run in but, I got yelled at. I started pacing around.

"She's fine. She's gotta be fine. Right?!"

"Jacob relax."

After a while, the front door opened. River came running out. She had blood all over her and she was crying. I jumped over the police tape and ran up to her. I picked her up. I walked back over to Veronica. I put River down on the ground. Me and Veronica crouched down. Veronica started looking at River's body. I cupped River's face.

"Are you okay? Why do you have blood all over you?"

She was hyperventilating.

"Sweetie look at me. You're okay. What happened?"

"Jacob...we have a problem.."

"Oh god."

"The blood all over her, is hers. Look at her legs."

I looked and saw she had blood all over her legs. My blood started boiling.

"Who did this? Who hurt you?"

I pressed our foreheads together.

"It's okay. Breathe. You're okay."

I stood up and grabbed her hand. I brought her over to an ambulance. I picked her up and put her on the stretcher.

"Hey princess relax."

"Jake go with her. I'll follow you."

Veronica ran to my car. A cop jumped into the back of the ambulance. The doors shut. A EMT put an oxygen mask on River.

"Look at me. You're okay."

The EMT put a tourniquet on River's left arm. River jumped up. A IV needle started to go in her arm.

"NO! NO!"

I turned River's head away. I watched the IV needle go in. River started crying.

"Shhhh. You're okay."

The cop started asking River questions.

"Can that wait? She can hardly breathe right now."

After River calmed down, she said everything. At the hospital, I was with her while, they checked her out. I helped her wash the blood off her. River went back to hyperventilating. She started shaking and crying. Veronica ran into the bathroom.

"H-how is she?"

"Terrified."

I picked River up. I brought her over to the bed. I sat down and put her in my lap. I started rubbing her back. She was holding my leg.

"It's okay. You're okay."

"Did she say who, did it?"

"No. She's scared to."

"Do you think, she'll only tell you?"

"I'm not sure."

"Daddy? I'm tired."

"Okay. Then go to sleep."

"I'm scared."

"Why?"

She shrugged. She sat up. She sat down in front of me.

"Who hurt you?"

"T-Tanner."

"Wait. Your friend's brother?"

She covered her mouth with her hands.

"It's okay. It's okay. You're not getting in trouble."

"H-he's gonna get mad! I-I wasn't supposed to tell anyone!"

I cupped her face.

"Rivey it's okay."

She curled up into a ball in my lap.