Lucy said goodbye to the nurse and hung up the phone.
She sat for a moment, staring into space, trying to take in what had happened. She didn’t even hear Alison come into her studio.
“Lucy,” she said startling her. “Are you okay?”
“Yes,” Lucy replied with a smile.
“Then why are you crying?” Alison asked.
Lucy reached up and touched her face; she was surprised to find it covered in tears. She quickly wiped them away, forcing another smile. She needed to get things sorted to go home to her father.
“Alison, I need you to cancel all my appointments for the next couple of weeks,” Lucy said she forced a smile on her face.
“Is everything okay?” Alison asked, as she gave Lucy a concerned look. “Is your dad okay?”
“He was shot,” Lucy said as she stood up and started to pack up her belongings. “He is okay thankfully, but I need to go there and be with him. I don’t know how long I will be gone for. Can you keep things ticking over for me here?”
“Sure,” Alison nodded. “Anything you need, just let me know.”
“Thanks, Ali,” Lucy said, giving her a grateful smile. “I need to go home and pack a bag before I hit the road.”
“You’re going to drive?” Alison asked as she followed Lucy to the door of the study.
"I will be there in a couple of hours,” Lucy explained. “By the time I book a flight, get through security and all the rest of the crap that comes with flying, I won’t really save any time. At least this way I’ll have my own car and not some crappy rental.”
“Will you be okay driving back alone?” Alison asked, but Lucy knew that she wasn’t just talking about the drive. Alison didn’t know the full story of what had happened to Lucy and why she never went home, but she knew something bad had happened.
She knew Lucy loved her father. She called him every evening and skyped him a couple of times a week. Alison had met him every time he came to visit Lucy, and she was very fond of Tom Chance. Still, Alison knew there was a reason why Lucy never went home, and she knew it was something big.
“I will be okay,” Lucy replied as she stopped, turned back to her assistant, giving her a hug. “I’ll call you when I reach the hospital.”
“Okay,” Alison said, but still she looked worried.
“Stop worrying,” Lucy said, giving her a big smile. “Go home to that beautiful man of yours.”
“Oh,” Alison said suddenly. “Speaking of beautiful men, shouldn’t you call Steve and tell him you are heading out of town? Maybe he will want to go with you, you know, for support.”
Lucy didn’t reply. Instead, she just gave Alison the same look she always gave her when she knew her friend was not going to like what she was about to say.
“Oh, Lucy, no,” Alison sighed. “You broke up with him? Why? It was going so well,”
“I just wasn’t feeling it,” Lucy shrugged.
“You barely gave him a chance!” Alison exclaimed. “You never give any of them a chance.”
“That’s not true,” Lucy protested, but she knew Alison wasn’t wrong. She had liked Steve; she really had, but he wanted to move things on between them and she just wasn’t ready to take that step. She sighed to herself as she wondered if she would ever be ready to take that step?”
“Please don’t be mad at me,” Lucy said, as she gave Alison a pleading look. “I’ll call you when I reach my dad, I promise.”
She hugged her assistant one more time before she headed for the door.
When she reached her apartment, she quickly packed a bag and set it down in the hallway. She wished she had time to shower, but she didn’t want to delay any longer then she had to. She decided a quick change of clothes would have to do.
Once she had selected a crisp white shirt and a pair of black jeans from her wardrobe, she stripped and threw her dirty clothes in the hamper before she put on her clean underwear, then pulled on her jeans. As she slipped on her fitted shirt, she walked to the full-length mirror in her room.
She stared at her reflection and sighed. Lucy was a natural beauty. She had piercing dark blue eyes, her mom’s elegant nose, and the perfect smile. Her face was framed by soft, wavy blonde hair that fell over her shoulders effortlessly.
Lucy knew she was pretty, however when she looked at herself, pretty was not what she felt. All she could see was the sad, broken girl, who was still ashamed of herself and her body. She still felt sickened by the scars that were there, the ones that reminded her every day, just what Trent McAlister had taken from her.
She pulled back her shirt and stared at the bite mark on her chest. Though the redness of the scars had long since faded, the scar was still there, reminding her every day what he had done to her.
She ran her fingers over the rough ridges on her skin and choked back the lump of grief in her throat. She quickly pulled her shirt closed and buttoned it up.
Whether she was ready or not, she was going back. Her dad needed her, so she needed to do this. It was time for her to go home.
Chapter 2
When Lucy reached the hospital later that night, she took a deep breath, before stepping out of the car. She quickly walked towards the entrance, keeping her head down and avoiding eye contact with any passer-by. As she walked towards the door, memories of the last time she was in this hospital crashed into her mind.
When Tucker reached the hospital that night, he parked in front of the main entrance and quickly climbed out of the car. He didn’t wait for Riley. Instead, he pulled open the back door, scooped Lucy up into his arms and held her close to him.
She remembered how safe she felt in his arms and also how hurt she had felt that Riley seemed to be keeping his distance from her. She felt so ashamed and dirty, and Riley keeping his distance just made it worse.
Tucker ran into the emergency room shouting that he needed help. Lucy could hear the concern in his voice. Before she knew it, she was being brought into a brightly lit room where they instructed Tucker to put her on the trolley in the centre of the room.
They wouldn’t let Tucker stay with her while she was being examined. As he set her down on the trolley, she clung to him like her life depended on it.
“Lucy,” he said as he looked deep into her eyes and smiled. “It’s okay; you’re safe now. I promise you, no one else can hurt you.”
“Please don’t leave me,” she whispered.
“I won’t leave you,” Tucker promised. “I will stay right outside this door, keeping you safe until your dad gets here.”
“You promise?” She asked.
“I promise,” he replied with a smile.
That was the last time she had seen Tucker. That was her only regret from back then. She was sorry she left without thanking him for his kindness that night.
Lucy pushed those memories out of her head as she approached the reception in the emergency room.
“Good evening,” a middle-aged nurse behind the large wooden desk said with a smile. “How can I help you?”
“My dad,” Lucy began nervously, knowing once she said his name, everyone would know who she was. She knew that it had been nine years since she left, but she also knew this was a small town, and small towns have a way of never forgetting. “Chief Tom Chance, I got a call to say he was here, that he was in surgery.”