The doctor put me under mild anesthesia for the D&C, so when I woke up, I was already in a hospital room. I looked over and saw Andrew in the recliner next to me. He had fallen asleep, his cheek resting on his fist. Reaching over, I rested my hand on his knee.

"Charlotte, you're awake." Andrew stood and sat next to me on the bed. "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay. Have you heard anything about Julia?"

"Not yet. I saw her mom downstairs, and she promised to come update us as soon as she knew something."

"Oh my God. If she doesn't pull through this, I don't know what I'm going to do."

"Shhh. She's going to be fine." Andrew looked at me for a moment. "Char, we need to talk...about the pregnancy. Why didn't you tell me?"

The breath I took burned my lungs; the words I was about to say make me want to throw up, and I hoped with everything inside me it didn't change things with me and Andrew. "I—I slept with Liam the night before he came over to the house that day."

He cocked his head to the side. "Okay. I figured you had slept together, so that's not a surprise, but—" He stopped speaking as he realized. "You're not sure who the father was."

Tears spilled onto my cheeks, and I drew a ragged sob. "That's what I meant when I said timing. I only slept with him that one time, but he didn't use a condom. Then you and I started dating." I shrugged. "I just couldn't bear to think about it, and I didn't want you to be disappointed in me. But I never—I never wanted this. No matter what." I broke then, my sobs coming fast and hard. Andrew crawled into bed next to me and pulled me into his arms.

"I know you didn't. And I would've been that baby's father either way. In fact, I am that baby's father. I'm in this with you, Charlotte." He ran his hands through my hair, and I snuggled into his chest.

"I love you, Andrew. So much."

"I love you too. Now, sleep. I'll wake you if there's any news about Julia." He kissed my forehead and held me while I drifted off to dream.

"Charlotte. Baby, wake up." Someone was shaking me. I cracked my eyes open and saw Andrew, but something past him caught my eye.

Julia.

I sat up and started to cry. "Oh God, Julia. You're alive!"

Andrew put his hand on my leg when I started to get out of bed. "You don't need to get up. Hang on; I'll bring her to you." Andrew went behind Julia and wheeled her over. She was pale; her face battered and bruised, her left leg in a cast, the gash on her chest stitched. But when she smiled at me, I knew she was okay.

"Julia, I am so sorry."

"Shh, Char. You couldn't have known he would do this. And he hurt you too. Where is the douche, anyway? Please tell me the cops got him."

I shook my head. "No. He got away when Andrew got to my house. He was about to..." I stopped; I couldn't say it. But she knew.

"Oh, Charlotte. I'm so sorry." It was Julia's turn to cry. She looked up at Andrew. "Can you help me? I need to hug her." Andrew nodded and helped her out of her wheelchair, sat her on the bed, and lifted her legs onto the mattress. She scooted up so she was lying next to me. I laid my head on her shoulder and we cried together.

After about five minutes, Julia sniffled and wiped her eyes. "Okay, we gotta get our shit together." She looked around the room. "Where's Andrew?"

"He must've stepped out."

"What did he do to you, Charlotte? What are your injuries? I see your nose had to be reset and you've got a pretty impressive shiner." She put her hand on my chin and turned my face sideways.

"I have a concussion." I sighed and looked at the ceiling. "I need to tell you something else," I whispered.

"Okay, what is it?" Julia turned toward me and pushed the hair out of my eyes.

"Liam pushed me down the stairs when he saw me trying to FaceTime Andrew." Julia's face crumpled when she realized what I was going to say.

"No, don't...." She put her hand over her mouth.

"I lost the baby, Jules." 

Her expression was devastating. "Oh my God, Char. I don't know what to say, except I am so, so sorry. That's so fucked up."

"I know. And this just occurred to me, but doesn't that make him a..."

"A murderer? Yeah. According to the state of Tennessee, it does," she finished.

Andrew knocked on the door and came in. "The nurses said Julia needs to go back to her room now. They're sort of breaking the rules by letting her be here." He held his hand out to Julia and helped her sit on the edge of the bed.

"All right, all right," she said, and he helped her into her wheelchair and pushed her toward the door.

"I'll be right back, babe."

"Love you Jules. Maybe tomorrow I'll be able to come to you."

"Love you too, Charlotte. I'm so glad you're okay."

"Ditto."

Andrew wheeled her out and I lay back in my bed, closing my eyes. I was exhausted, in every way a person could be.

When I woke up the next morning, I saw Andrew outside my room with two police officers. Oh yeah...a police report. Andrew looked over and saw that I was awake. He held up one finger to the officers and entered the room, kissing my forehead.

"Good morning. With everything that happened yesterday, we didn't get time to file the police report. They want to talk to you. Is that okay?" He pushed my hair out of my eyes and smoothed it behind my ear.

I nodded. "Let me brush my teeth, okay?" With Andrew's help, I stood up for the first time in over 24 hours. I swayed a little on my feet, but I was able to brush my teeth and even wash my face.

When I came back into the room, one officer was in the recliner, and the other had perched on the windowsill. I suddenly felt overwhelmed, and I looked at Andrew with what I know was fear in my eyes.

"It's okay, baby. I'm not going anywhere," he whispered in my ear. I squeezed his hand gratefully and smiled at the officers.

"Good morning, Ms. Jameson. I'm Detective Sherman," the officer who had been in the recliner introduced himself and extended his hand to me. I grasped it and shook.

"And I'm Officer Kimbro." The officer was pretty, even in her dress uniform, and her smile put me at ease.

Detective Sherman spoke first. "Before we even get started, I wanted to extend my apologies. I am so sorry you had to go through what appears to have been a horrible ordeal. And on Thanksgiving, no less."

"Thank you. Thanksgiving is already a hard day for me; my parents were killed by a drunk driver on Thanksgiving a few years ago. In fact, I think Liam did that on purpose." I felt anger boiling inside me. Talking about this would not be easy. Andrew scratched my back as I took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry for that too, Ms. Jameson—Charlotte. Can I call you Charlotte?"

"Of course."

"If it's okay with you, I am going to record this interview so we can reference and use it later. Do you consent to this?"

I nodded. "Yes, I give my consent."

"Okay, can you start at the beginning? How did you meet Liam?"

I started with my very first appointment and took them through the whole sordid story. To my relief, neither of them seemed to judge me.

"Are you better now? From the serotonin syndrome, that is," Officer Kimbro asked.

"Yes ma'am. My new doctor has taken fantastic care of me, but there's something else I need to tell you." They looked at each other and then back at me. "I was pregnant at the time of the attack, and I lost the baby because of Liam's actions. I just had a D&C last night after miscarrying." I swallowed and raised my chin, trying my hardest not to cry. Andrew put his arm around me, and I leaned into him.

Officer Kimbro nearly fell off the windowsill, one of her feet landing hard on the tile floor. "Oh my God," she murmured, looking at Detective Sherman with her eyes wide.

Detective Sherman looked from me to Andrew, and I swear I saw his eyes glisten with tears. "Charlotte, this makes finding him even more important. He could be charged with fetal homicide. Not to mention attempted murder for the assault of your friend."

My eyes widened. "I'll do anything I can to help." Andrew nodded in agreement.

Detective Sherman ordered, standing up and motioning to the door. "We'll leave you alone now, Charlotte. Thank you for all the information you've given us." He patted me on the shoulder and Officer Kimbro hugged me on the way out.

"I'm so sorry, Charlotte," she whispered. 

"Thank you, Officer. I appreciate that."

She nodded and followed Detective Sherman out of the room. I sighed and lay back on the bed. Andrew lay beside me, and we both stared at the ceiling.

"Drew, they have to find him. He can't run free. Not after this." I turned on my side to look at him, propping myself up on my elbow.

Andrew nodded. "They will. They'll find him."

"I hope you're right," I mused. "When do you think they're going to let me out of here?"

"Today, I hope. I'll go check." He rolled off the bed and disappeared out the door. I dropped my elbow and lay on my back, staring at the ceiling again. I couldn't believe it was Black Friday. I was supposed to be shopping with Julia right now. We were not supposed to be in the hospital sustaining injuries from home invasions.

My life was a complete wreck.