Chapter Sixteen
Samuel left the firefighters and police to deal with everything else, and made the trip back to the hospital, feeling worried.
Since Adrien wasn’t in the destroyed farmhouse, the police were going to launch a search for him in the area. He would have run out the back door and gone into the fields, it was the only way they could have missed him, even with the fire burning.
It was so late already, Samuel didn’t think they would have much luck in the dark. Especially since it had been hours since the house caught on fire, which meant Adrien had a huge head start in running off.
That was bad, but his thoughts went back to Camila. He had been gone for so long, she must have woken up already. He hoped she was okay with her mom there. Brianna was there too, he knew she wanted to be there for Camila, but because he knew she didn’t feel secure enough to leave the house on most days, he was worried about her, too.
First, they had to make sure Camila was fine, and then he was going to take her home so he and Morganna could look after the both of them.
He arrived at the hospital and made his way inside. He was sure visiting hours were over, but he didn’t even think about it as he hurried up to Camila’s room. He met Morganna outside the room, coming with a cup of water in hand. Looking through the window in the door, he could see Bri sitting at her bedside, holding Camila’s hand as a doctor spoke to her.
“So you’re back,” Morganna murmured with a sigh. “How did things go?”
He shook his head. He planned to let them know, but maybe later. They could at least feel relieved to find Camila for a while before he had to drop the bad news.
“How’s Camila doing?”
Morganna arched an eyebrow at how he ignored the subject, but didn’t complain.
“She woke up a while ago. I left her with the doctor to do the check-up, but Bri stayed with her, the doctor said it would be fine. They should be done by now, I think.”
Just as she said so, the door opened up and a female doctor in a white lab coat with a stethoscope around her neck stepped out.
“Ah, it’s good that you’re here, Mrs. Blake,” she said. She happened to catch sight of Samuel and paused, eying him. “Are you also family?”
Samuel opened his mouth immediately to say yes so he could get in on the conversation, but he hesitated. His family had been the cause of this, even if it was only Adrien, so he didn’t feel like it would be appropriate. He slanted his gaze at Morganna, to get her reaction.
Morganna put her hand on his arm and nodded. “Samuel is Camila’s fiancé,” she lied eloquently and didn’t even bat an eye. “Whatever you have to say, Doc, he gets to hear.”
“I see. Nice to meet you, sir. I’m Doctor Shelton.” She looked down at the chart in her hand and then said, “I gave your daughter a thorough exam; she has been through quite a lot over the last few weeks. After she told me what she could about the events that took place, ma’am, I had a few samples taken in for tests. Once we have the results, I can give you more information, but aside from not having enough nutritional food to eat for a few days, and being a bit dehydrated, she’s just fine physically."
“What about her face, is anything broken?” Morganna asked.
“No, nothing is broken. The bruise on her face will fade and there won’t be any lasting marks.”
“And mentally?” Samuel asked, fearing the worst.
“I’m not going to lie, what she experienced, kidnaping, being held captive, shocked continuously, witnessing murder, it will leave her with some mental trauma. She may experience some PTSD, and have recurring nightmares. She’ll need support.”
Samuel’s heart broke hearing all of that, but she hadn’t said that Adrien had raped her. He knew that would have made things even worse. Samuel prayed that he hadn’t. “How long before we can take her home?” Samuel asked, worried.
“Not for a while yet. I want the results of the tests first, she didn’t say she’d been raped, but sometimes patients leave that out. She might want to speak with a counselor, after her ordeal. And perhaps she would be more comfortable if she took a shower, she mentioned she hadn’t had one in a few days.”
“Is there one in the room?” Morganna asked. “I didn’t think to check the bathroom.”
“Of course, this room is equipped with a full bathroom because it is generally given to long term care patients. She might need some help, since she is still feeling a bit unsteady on her feet at the moment. I’ve finished with everything I need to do, so now we wait on the labs. Also, I’ve been informed that a police officer is en route to speak with her about what occurred. They should be here any time. Now, if you have no other questions, I’ll let you in to see her.”
“I think you’ve covered everything for now, thank you, Doctor Shelton.” Samuel held his hand out to her and she shook it.
She nodded to them both, and then walked off in a hurry.
“Why do the police need to see her right now, hasn’t she been through enough?” Morganna grumbled.
Samuel sighed. “They’ll need to get a statement from her, Morganna. She hasn’t spoken to the yet. I grabbed her before they could and got her to the ambulance. The police were a little busy dealing with Adrien at the time. I’m sure it won’t take too long, and then we’ll bring her home.”
Morganna kept grumbling to herself, as she opened the door to the room and led the way in.