I put my hands over my face, trying to think of something. Either way, Liam was getting in trouble for this because my father had pressed charges, even if I pressed charges against my father, Liam’s charges would still stand. Self-defence or not, he was still going to be charged with GBH because he did do it even though he was provoked. I couldn’t take the risk that he would be let off. What if he wasn’t? What if he got sent to jail for this, and I lost him?
The only thing I could think of was getting my father to drop the charges. I grabbed my phone and called Jake. He answered on the second ring. “Jake, Liam’s been arrested,” I said simply.
“What the hell? No way!” he shouted, making me wince away from the phone slightly.
“Jake, look I’m due out of here this afternoon, so can you bring me some clothes ready for that?” I asked, trying to stay calm.
“Yeah, I’ll be there in like twenty minutes,” he agreed. I could hear him crashing around in the background, probably throwing all of my stuff in a bag or something.
“Thanks.” I snapped my phone shut, pressing it against my forehead, thinking. Was there any other way? I just couldn’t see another option.
My hands were shaking, I was scared as hell, but I dialled my father’s house number. It rang for a long time. Just as I was about to give up, he answered. His voice was thick with sleep; it sent a shiver down my spine. I squeezed my eyes shut. “Hello?” He somehow managed to sound terrifying with one word.
“It’s Amber,” I said, swallowing the lump in my throat.
He laughed. “And what can I do for you, Amber?”
“I want you to drop the charges against Liam,” I answered, trying to sound confident.
He laughed again. “I’m not dropping the charges, that f**ker broke my nose! You should see what he did to my face,” he shouted, making me flinch. How is it that he still scared the life out of me, and he was only on the phone?
“Please, please don’t do this, please?” I begged, trying not to cry.
He sighed. “You want me to drop the charges?”
“Yes,” I answered, wiping the tears off of my face.
“Come to my house and we’ll talk about it,” he stated, sounding amused.
Go to his house? Oh my God, is he kidding me?
“Please drop the charges. You know you hit me first, please?” I begged, feeling the bile rise in my throat, he liked holding this over my head I could tell.
“Come to my house and we’ll talk about it,” he repeated.
I looked up at the clock; Jake would be here in about ten minutes. “Can I bring Jake?” I asked, knowing that was the stupidest question I’d ever asked in my life. Why on earth would I be allowed to take Jake? If he was anywhere near him then we wouldn’t need to worry about charges, because he would be buried by the side of some road somewhere.
“No. Leave that f**ker out of it!” he growled.
Oh God, can I do this? Can I really go there and talk to him? Was I strong enough? I knew the answer to that question. I would do anything for Liam, even if I had to kill my father myself to stop him pressing charges. No victim, no crime.
I swallowed my fear. “OK, I’ll be there within the hour,” I said quietly as I snapped my phone shut, trying desperately not to have a panic attack. I needed to be strong now.
I laid back down in the bed and tried to calm myself. I couldn’t be too freaked out when Jake came, otherwise he wouldn’t want to leave me on my own. I laid there, counting the foam tiles on the ceiling, trying not to think about anything else. I got to 867 before Jake ran into the room. He looked really tired and stressed. I would bet my bottom dollar that he didn’t sleep too well last night. He pulled me into a hug gently and I tried not to wince as it hurt my stomach and hips.
“Shit, Ambs, this is bad.” He shook his head, looking both angry and worried at the same time.
I nodded; I needed to get him out of here quickly. “Jake, I need you to go to the police station and see if there’s anything you can do for Liam. I’m not going to be released from here until this afternoon, so I can’t go,” I instructed, squeezing his hand.
He nodded, looking concerned. “You sure you don’t need me to stay with you for a bit? Are you alright?”
I nodded and smiled weakly. “I just need Liam to be OK. So if you could do that for me, Jake,” I requested, nodding towards the door.
He hugged me again. “OK. I’ll call you if I hear anything.” He kissed the top of my head and put a bag of my clothes onto the floor next to my bed. “If they let you out, call me and I’ll come and get you and take you home,” he said sternly.
I nodded and pulled him into another hug so I wouldn’t have to lie to his face. “OK. Please go see if you can do anything,” I pleaded.
“Right. See you in a bit.” He smiled reassuringly before turning and running from the room.
I gave him a minute to leave before I pressed the call button on the wall. A nurse came in within a minute. “Hi, how are you feeling today? You need some more painkillers?” she asked, smiling kindly.
I shook my head. “No, I want to discharge myself. My brother’s gone to get the car. My mom’s had an accident. I need to go,” I lied, swinging my legs off of the bed.
“Amber, you can’t just leave, you had surgery yesterday,” she scolded.
“The doctor said I could go home this afternoon. It’s only a few hours early,” I countered, grabbing the bag that Jake brought and starting to pull on my clothes, wincing slightly as I moved.
“Amber, you shouldn’t be out of your bed yet! Even when you get released this afternoon it will still be for bed rest for a couple of days,” she explained, frowning at me.
“Look, I appreciate your concern, but I’m leaving this hospital right now. You can’t keep me here against my will. I know my rights. I can discharge myself early as long as I sign a form to say I’m leaving against doctor’s orders so that I can’t sue you later,” I said sternly. She was starting to piss me off; I didn’t have time for this.
She looked at me a little shocked before she nodded. “I’ll go find a doctor,” she muttered, heading towards the door.
“Tell him to bring the forms with him, I don’t have time to wait,” I requested, biting my lip. I was anxious to get this done; I needed Liam out of trouble, now. I finished getting dressed and packing up my stuff and sat on the bed, impatiently watching the second hand on the clock tick round. Finally, after what felt like forever but was probably about three minutes, a doctor came in looking at me sternly.
“Amber, I don’t recommend that you leave the hospital yet,” he stated.
I shook my head. “My mom’s had an accident; I need to get there with my brother. He’s waiting in the car for me, I need to go now. Just show me where to sign.” I nodded towards the clipboard in his hand.
He sighed and passed me the form pointing at the bottom. “This is basically a waiver, saying that I’ve recommended you stay in the hospital and you’re leaving against my orders,” he explained as I signed my name in the three places he pointed. I nodded and passed it back to him, grabbing my bag. “You need to take it easy, Amber. If you start to feel dizzy or weak, then come back in. If you start to bleed heavy or get any strong pains, stronger than normal menstrual cramps, then you need to come back immediately,” he instructed, looking at me worriedly.
I nodded in confirmation. “I will. I need to go. Thanks for looking after me,” I replied, already making my way to the door. I didn’t stop to look back; I walked as fast as I could over to the taxi rank and jumped in the first available cab, giving them my father’s address.
I grabbed my phone and checked the battery, setting up a new family group with Jake, Liam, Johnny, Ruby, and my mom’s numbers in it.
I typed a message to Jake, ready to send it when I got there. I guessed it was about fifteen minutes of fast driving from the police station to my father’s house – that would be plenty long enough to get my father to drop the charges and for Jake to get there before anything happened. At least, I hoped it was.
When the cab pulled up outside his house I was so nervous that my hands were shaking. “You OK there, sweetheart?” the driver asked, looking at me concerned.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Thanks,” I mumbled, handing him the money, taking deep breaths to try and calm down.
I shut the door of the cab and sent Jake the message that I had pre-typed:
‘I’m at Dad’s. Please come and get me, right now. DON’T CALL ME BACK. Amber x’