It Wasn’t an Accident

Kilian

That whole interaction with Nolan was weird. He isn't usually afraid of anything, but if I had to describe his expression it would be fear. When I let myself imagine what could have him so spooked, I quicken my steps.

As I walk into the back door and walk past the laundry area toward the kitchen, I immediately hear the sound of muffled sobbing. It's no wonder Nolan didn't know what to do. When I round the corner into the kitchen, I see Wren sitting on the floor with her face in her hands crying almost uncontrollably.

Upon closer inspection I see that she's sitting in a puddle of orange juice, her dress is rumpled and the way she's sitting looks almost unnatural. Seeing her like this, she looks almost broken and that breaks my heart.

She doesn't look like she knows I'm here, so I step slowly and gently toward her, while I avoid the orange juice that's spilled on the tile floor.

"Wrenny?" I say as I make my way over to her, "What happened?"

She looks up at me with a surprised expression, "Sorry, I didn't want anyone to see me," she says through her tears.

"Don't worry about that, Nolan came and got me," I say with a soft smile as I step even closer.

Wren's eye makeup is running down her face and she looks sadder than I've ever seen her.

"Nolan was here?!?" she exclaims like she's mortified.

I can't quite piece together what happened here but I don't think she needs to be embarrassed, "I think he knew you'd rather talk to me so he came outside and got me, come here," I say as I extend my arm to her.

When I try to hoist her up she winces in pain, "You're hurt?" I gape.

"Just my shoulder, I hit it on the counter when I fell," she says softly as she wipes her eyes.

I reach for her other arm instead then pull her up to me into a tight embrace. I hope I'll be able to comfort her but now that she's in my arms I can feel that she's trembling and crying even harder than she was last night.

"Shhh, it's okay, we'll get this cleaned up, it was just an accident, things happen," I say trying to calm her down.

It takes her a while to respond, it seems like she can't stop crying long enough to answer.

She takes a deep breath before she whispers into my chest, "It wasn't an accident."

She pulls away from me and looks into my eyes the way she does when it's important, so I know she's being serious, "My mom hurt me," she pauses, "It wasn't an accident."

I can't really believe my ears, I never would have thought Cara would physically harm Wren. I don't want to question her but my head is spinning, I need a little bit more information before I can compute this.

"Wrenny?" is all I can manage.

She huffs out a lot of air before she says, "She pulled my hair because I was going to dump her juice out," Wren takes in a breath and lets it out, I can hear that she's shaking when she says, "And flung me into the counter when I did."

I reach my hand behind her head to pull her back to me, I'm just going to hold her because I don't know what to say right now. I hold her head against my chest, but her neck is wet and I quickly feel my hand become saturated. I pull my hand away to check what's happening but to my horror I see that it's covered in blood.

"Wren! You're bleeding! We have to go get your dad!" I exclaim. "Where is Quin?"

She reaches her hands up and cups the back of her head. Her expression says that she's as surprised as I am.

"I guess I hit my head too," she says in a soft, exasperated tone. "Quin is gone, but my mom is in the bedroom."

"We need to get you help, what do you want me to do? I think we need to go get your dad," I say, almost demanding it because at this point I'm not willing to wait much longer to take action.

"Okay, I feel a little…" she stops short then closes her eyes as her head rolls to the side a bit.

I am afraid she's going to pass out so I scoop her tiny body up into my arms and carry her to the couch. I cover the sofa with a blanket and lay her down before I run outside as fast as I can.

"Shane! Shane! You have to come now, it's Wren!" I yell like a mad man. I imagine I look just as crazy as I sound.

Shane drops what he is doing and sprints towards the house; he bypasses the scene in the kitchen. I can see him physically sink when he sees his daughter lying on the couch with her eyes closed.

"Her head is bleeding, what do you want me to do?" I say frantically.

I keep trying to calm down but this is so unimaginable. Nolan stumbles in behind us, and shouts, "Shit!"

I can only assume he's startled to see Wren laid out on the couch the way she is.

"Nolan, call 911 from the landline in the kitchen, tell them she's not responsive," Shane orders.

Not responsive, those words cut me like a knife. She was just talking to me, I know that I'm probably in denial, but this can't be happening. This is partially my fault, I stood there with her for several minutes while she was coherent and I didn't even know she was hurt.

That realization hits me like a wrecking ball, my stomach rolls like I'm going to puke. I feel like I might pass out.

"Kilian, Kilian!" Shane's voice breaks me out of my trance, "Please go find Quin and tell her to stay in her room until I go get her, then find my wife and tell her to come out here."

Shane has rolled up a couch blanket and is using it to put pressure on Wren's head wound. I can't get my words out quick enough to respond and I'm stumbling all over myself until I shake it off and try again, for Wren.

"She told me Quin is gone. She said her mom did this to her," I explain, it gives me goosebumps to say it out loud.

I can't imagine how Shane feels and he doesn't give anything away as he steals his face like he doesn't know what to say.

Nolan comes running back out from the kitchen, "They said put pressure on the wound and try to keep talking to her!" he says exasperated.

Everyone is silent for a minute.

"Kilian, come talk to her, you are who she wants, not me," Shane says sadly.

I move towards the couch and lean down close to Wren. Looking at her pretty face, I start to cry because I can't help it, it's like my eyes just can't hold the emotions back anymore.

"Wrenny, you have to be okay, just remember to breathe," I tell her because that's what she always tells me.

I hold her hand and squeeze it tightly. Nolan comes over and puts his hand on my shoulder. We stay like that for what feels like forever until we hear sirens. Without thinking twice, I pick Wren up and carry her outside towards the ambulance. The paramedics quickly took over from me. Shane and Nolan are behind me, and apparently the commotion of the sirens was enough to make Cara come out front too.

Cara is standing there awkwardly with her arms crossed. Shane stomps toward Cara, his face looks more anguished than angry, "What in the hell happened to my daughter?" he shouts.

The way he's standing so close to her with his shoulders haunched demands an answer. Cara looks startled, she pulls her lips tight and takes a step back without saying anything. She slumps her shoulders then puts her face in her hands.

"Kilian, please, go with Wren, I need to figure out what's happened and find out where Quin is, I'll meet you at the hospital," Shane says it like he needs to compel me to do it but in reality there was no way I was leaving Wren's side anyway.

When they are ready for me, I jump into the ambulance and take Wren's hand again. They've bandaged up her wound and put her shoulder in some sort of sling but she's still unresponsive. The ride is like a blur, the blaring sound of the siren starts to sound like a heartbeat and I realize my head is throbbing.

Whether it's because of stress or the fact that the sirens are so loud I'm not sure. I'm trying to keep up with what's going on but I don't know what they are talking about and I just can't follow it.

When we get to the emergency room, they point me toward a waiting room. That's all I can do now, wait.

Looking around the space there isn't much to look at and when I look down I see Wren's blood is dried on my hands and on my clothes where I rubbed it off. I can't believe this is happening, I keep hoping that I'll blink and this will all have been some horrible subconscious nightmare.

I find a bathroom and wash my hands but it's hardly enough to wash away the emotions I'm feeling. Once I've calmed down enough to be seen in public, I go back to the waiting room, then pull out my phone and start texting.

[Kilian]: Sorry I left. Are you okay?

[Nolan]: Shane gave me Wren's car keys, I'm coming to you

[Kilian]: I'm in the ER waiting room

It would be a dick move not to let Gael and Declan know what's happening, no matter how weird last night was. Declan is an easier target for me right now, so that's where I'll start.

[Kilian]: Bro, are you busy?

[Declan]: Nah, hungover but just chillin'

[Kilian]: Is Gael w/ you?

[Declan]: yup

[Kilian]: Don't freak out but meet me at Harborside, it's Wren

[Declan]: … on our way

[Declan]: How bad is it?

[Kilian]: IDK yet

[Kilian]: I'm in the ER waiting room