Nevvie’s eyes closed, and Thomas leaned close to hear her faint whisper. “I love both of you. Please don’t leave me alone.”
Tyler didn’t understand what happened at first. Then as he gathered his wits and sat up, he realized a paramedic was talking to him.
“What?” His head throbbed, ached.
“Can you tell me your name, sir? What day it is?”
Through the open front door, Tyler saw a stretcher being loaded into an ambulance, Thomas climbing in with it.
“Nevvie!”
He tried to stand and wobbled, his head in agony, what happened coming back with painful clarity. Alex had blindsided him.
“Don’t try to stand, sir.” The paramedic made him sit in a chair, probing his forehead, flashing a light in his eyes.
“Nevvie, how is she?”
“Sir, they’re taking care of her, let us—”
Tyler staggered to his feet. “How is she, goddammit!”
More awareness flooded in. Deputies and emergency personnel swarmed all over the house. Alex was unconscious and handcuffed on the living room floor, another EMT examining him.
“Sir, I don’t know. Let us examine you so we can transport you to the hospital, please.”
The EMTs guided Tyler outside to the back of another ambulance, seating him on the bumper as they examined him. A detective walked over. “Mr. Paulson?”
Tyler nodded. “How is she?”
“Mr. Kinsey went with her.” He handed Tyler a set of keys—Tom’s—and flipped open a notebook. “Can you tell me what happened?”
Tyler recalled what he could of the attack. The EMTs bandaged his head, and Tyler signed a release indicating he was refusing to be transported.
That’s when two deputies dragged Alex, kicking and screaming, out of the house.
Alex’s eyes found Tyler, and he grinned. “I killed your little fag whore, didn’t I?” he screamed. “Ya goddamned queer! I killed the fuckin’ cunt!”
Tyler launched himself at Alex with an enraged scream. “You bloody, filthy bastard!”
It took the detective and two other deputies to restrain Tyler, while two more roughly shoved Alex into the back of a patrol car. Finally, Tyler dropped to his knees, sobbing. He’d failed her twice. Breaking her heart and not keeping his promise to protect her.
Please, don’t let her be dead. Don’t let my angel die.
They let Thomas ride in the ambulance with Nevvie. As he left, Tyler was coming to and being examined by another paramedic team. Alex was handcuffed and unconscious. Thomas handed a deputy his keys. “Just give them to Tyler.”
The deputy nodded. “We’ll need your statement, Mr. Kinsey. They’re going to take her to Tampa Community. We’ll catch up with you there.” Thomas had given him the short version in the five minutes between the EMTs arriving and loading Nevvie for transport.
Thomas stayed out of the way, praying, unable to focus on their words as they worked to staunch her bleeding, started an IV, and applied monitor leads to her chest.
At the hospital he tried to follow them into the ER but a nurse grabbed his arm, gently but firmly redirecting him to the desk. “Sir, they might take her straight to surgery. You can’t go in there.”
He broke down sobbing, his knees unhinging. An orderly came over to help, caught his other arm, and between them they maneuvered him to a chair.
“Please, they’ve got to save her. Please don’t let her die,” he begged.
The nurse spotted the blood on him and rethought her decision, had the orderly bring a wheelchair. They took Thomas to a triage room on the other side of the ER to check him over.
Nevvie was taken to surgery minutes later. Thomas sat in the waiting room, her blood dried on his shirt and numb beyond tears. He’d managed to fill out some of the paperwork and answer questions without any real certainty how. Nearly an hour later, Tyler, a bandage on his head, appeared in the waiting room door and raced to Thomas’s side.
“How is she?”
Thomas finally looked at him. “She’s in surgery.”
Tyler sat next to him and waited, neither speaking.
Another long, silent hour later, a doctor walked in. “Ms. Barton’s family?”
Tyler and Thomas stood, and the doctor walked over. “She’s out of surgery, but she’s going to be in the SICU for now.”
“How is she?” Thomas asked.
“She lost a lot of blood, and there is a high risk of infection. We think we repaired all the damage. The knife didn’t hit any arteries or go through her spine. She’s young and her vital signs are strong, so we’ll wait and see. The next twenty-four hours are critical. The longer she makes it, the better her chances.”
“Can we see her?” Tyler asked.
“You can see her for a minute. She’s going to be unconscious for at least twelve hours. She’s on a ventilator, and we’re keeping her sedated and out of pain for now. You’re related?”
Both men nodded.
“Okay, come on.” They followed the doctor to the SICU, washing their hands as instructed. The doctor spoke to the nurse taking care of her and motioned them to her bedside. Nevvie was in a small room separated from the main SICU ward by sliding glass doors.
Dwarfed by the bed, Nevvie looked small and frail. She had IVs in both arms, a tube in her nose, and a respirator tube in her mouth. Tears rolled down Thomas’ face as he carefully caressed the back of her right hand.
“Nevvie, I’m here,” he whispered. “Tyler’s here too, baby girl.”
Tyler stood on her left side and touched her hand. “We love you, sweetheart. You can do this, you’re strong. You have to come back to us.” He choked back a sob and closed his eyes.
Thomas battled with his anger at Tyler. This wasn’t the time. “Sugar,” Thomas whispered, “you’re going to be fine. You’ll be out of here in no time. You have to be okay for me, I need you, I can’t lose you. I love you.” He carefully leaned in and kissed her forehead where an ugly bruise had already formed. “You have to be okay, Nevvie. You have to come home to me.”
The nurse indicated their time was up and Thomas stepped back from the bed. Tyler leaned in and kissed her forehead. “I love you, Nevvie.” Then he whispered in her ear and followed Thomas from the room.
The nurse stopped them. “Mr. Kinsey? Take this with you. They took them off of her in the OR and I’m afraid they’ll get lost.” It was a small plastic bag containing Nevvie’s turquoise necklace, the engagement ring, and the ruby ring Tyler had bought her. Thomas choked back a sob and nodded. Tyler watched, but remained silent.
Another nurse stopped them at the SICU desk. “You’re Ms. Barton’s family?”
The men nodded.
“The admissions caseworker needs to talk to you, get the paperwork sorted out. I’m sorry, I know this is a rough time.”
“It’s all right,” Tyler said. “What do we need to do?”
The nurse showed them into a small office right outside SICU. An officious, harried-looking woman walked in fifteen minutes later.
“Mr. Barton? I’m Nancy Park from Administration.”
“We’re Ms. Barton’s family,” Tyler said. Thomas still held the plastic bag, running his fingers over the engagement ring through the plastic.
She smiled, but it didn’t travel any further than her lips. “We need to get her insurance information, all of that handled.”
Thomas took a deep breath. “That’s all at home. I’ll have to go get it. We have a medical power of attorney.”
“Oh, good. Okay.” She handed him her card. “Can you bring that back today? The sooner the better. If I’m not here, someone will be on duty to help. Are you her husband?”
“We’re engaged.” He glared at Tyler, silently daring his lover to contradict him.