Just Can't Let You Go

I opened my eyes at the sound of a machine beeping in my ear. "God, what the hell happened?" I muttered, trying to sit up and crying out in pain. I lay there, looking around the room, noticing I was in the hospital. I eventually came across a pair of big blue eyes. "Evy," I whispered, holding out my hand. She quickly ran over to me and grabbed it, squeezing it as hard as her tiny hands would let her.

"Are you okay, Daddy?" she asked, tears welling up in her eyes. I smiled warmly at her as I never let go of her hands.

"I'm in a lot of pain right now, but I'm doing alright," I said, my voice a bit hoarse. We both looked up when the doctor came in. "How's it looking?" I asked, not breaking my gaze from the doctor's face.

"You've got several lacerations, and a handful of bruises. Other than that, everything looks to be normal," he said, causing me to sigh in relief. "We will need to keep you here a few days, just to make sure you don't have internal bleeding or a concussion, alright?" I nodded, thanking him before he left the room.

Evelyn let go of my hand, grabbed the nearest chair, and used it to climb onto the bed with me. She rested her head gently on my shoulder and tried her hardest to keep as still as possible. I wrapped my arms gingerly around her as I looked at the door, watching as the rest of the band strolled through.

Reggie looked solemn, Gary looked indifferent -- as always, Roger looked depressed, and Smith looked like he was about to rip me apart and feed me to a mountain lion. I couldn't look at any of them, so I let my gaze fall to where my clothing lay on the chair that was about five feet away. There, on top of everything, was the ruby ring on the gold chain. I looked up at the ceiling almost immediately, unsure of what to say or do at the moment.

Time Elapse -- Six Hours

I was currently walking around my room, needing to stretch my legs. I was pacing the floor next to the window, watching the life three stories down go with their everyday lives. I had Reggie take Evelyn home with him so she could sleep comfortably on a bed instead of being confided to a hospital room for the next few days.

I was just turning around when the room door opened and another patient came into the room. He was bloody, bruised, and unconscious. "Domestic violence... tsk, tsk. I hate to see when good men get the blow," one nurse said to the other. I looked away long enough to make them think I wasn't eavesdropping, but once they left I walked over to the other bed.

I gasped and dropped to my knees, my entire being shaking from anger, pain, and sadness. I stared at Roger's battered body and realized that his current partner wasn't as great as he was cracked up to be.