Chapter 23-3

"Right, and how would you describe your relationship now would you say you are still dating?" He watched as the young brunette named Lucy raised an eyebrow at him and he looked towards his parents and sighed. "We are sleeping together if that's what you are asking. It didn't start off that way we ran into year other after 5 years. We hung out a few times before catching up, then one thing led to another." He heard his mother gasp as he tried not to cringe. "Right, where were you between 3 pm and 6 pm this afternoon?" Officer Jameson asked, and Chase frowned. "You think I did this to her? Seriously. I love that woman more than life itself I would rather kill myself become I lay a hand on her." Officer Gram gave him a sympatric look while Officer Jameson still gave him a stern look. "He was with us. We were over at Chase's place for dinner. His sister Harriet just got back from her honeymoon when Charlie came over begging for help." His mother replied as a thought dawned on him. Charlie didn't say a word about who did this. "Thank you. Mr Sinclair, you seem to know Miss Jones well, do you have any idea who would do this to her. She wouldn't talk to us." Chase let out a dry laugh and shook his head. "The person you want to be looking into is that fucking fiancé of hers. I know enough to know go fucking knocking on his door." The officers wrote the information down and sighed. "Look, Mr Sinclair, without Miss Jones reporting anything we cannot lay charges or get restraining orders. This is our card. Miss Jones said she would stay with you and gave us your address. We will stop by either tomorrow or the day after. I highly recommend you talk to her and get her to report this assault." Officer Gram handed over her card and Chase looked at it before nodding his head standing up to shake the officer's hands. "Thank you. I'll try my best." After both the officers left Chase sat down on the hard-plastic chair and aggressively ran his hands through his hair. He didn't understand why Charlie didn't tell them who did this. He knew she was scared, and Landon was a powerful person, but no one was that powerful. The only logical thing Chase could think of was Landon had something hovering over Charlie. Another hour passed after the officers left before a doctor came out. "Here for Miss Sinclair." Chase got up along with his family and walked over to the doctor. "I'm Chase Sinclair, we bought Charlie in." The doctor nodded and looked towards his family. "Yes, Miss Sinclair said, I should speak to you, follow me." Chase looked behind at his family and gave them all an encouraging nod. He didn't bother telling them to go home because they wouldn't until they knew Charlie was okay. He knew he had to call Charlie's mother, but first, he wanted to make sure it was okay with Charlie. Chase followed the doctor into his office and sat down behind the desk. "Is she okay?" Chase asked and watched as the doctor sighed and opened up her folder that was sitting neatly in the middle of his desk. "Miss Sinclair has a fractured eye socket in her left eye, a fractured right hand. She has 4 cracked ribs and a lot of excessive bruising and minor lacerations on her body. We gave her 6 stitches in her lip and 8 stitches on the top of her head to close where the bleeding was coming from. We also had to reset her nose, which was also broken, and she had a dislocated right shoulder we put back into place. She is very lucky she didn't need any surgery." The doctor finally looked up from the file as Chase nodded his head in understanding while also not at the same time. "Okay. How long will she be staying in the hospital?" He asked, and this is where the doctor sighed. "She wants to be discharged now. We have done all the scans and test and while we recommend she stays for observation for a few days, she is very anxious to leave. If you can't convince her to stay a few days, then we can't force her to stay." Chase sighed and leaned back in the chair he was sitting in. He wanted to force Charlie to stay and get better, but he knew she didn't want to be here and he would not force her to stay. "I understand. She didn't even want to come in so I won't be able to convince her to stay, but I will watch over her." The doctor nodded and Chase listened to his instructions carefully for signs to look out for and the healing process. He was warned that while her eyes still had excessive swelling when it finally went down, not be worried if they were bloodshot. After the doctor finally gave Chase all the pamphlets and information, they finally allowed him to see her. The hospital hallways were empty as a nurse-led Chase to Charlie's room. He took a deep breath before gently knocking on the door, letting her know he was coming in. When Chase entered the room, he felt bile rise to his throat as he saw Charlie lying in bed, bruises covering most of her face and her eyes still very swollen. A bandaged covered her nose and her face and hair were clear of any blood and a fringe he didn't remember sat across her forehead. A cast sat on her right hand that the doctor said could come off in 3 weeks that was in a sling. Chase walked carefully over to the bed and didn't fail to notice when Charlie flinched as he sat down at the end. "Hey." He whispered, his voice thick with tears that he wanted to shed. Seeing her like this broke his heart and set it afire with anger for the man who laid hands on this beautiful woman. "Hey." Her deep husky voice said as he gave her a sad smile. "I know you don't want to stay so the nurses are getting your discharge papers organised. You will come home with me okay and Harriet will help you settle into the guest bedroom. I promise you are safe now." Chase gently placed a hand on her covered leg and watched as her body shook and tear slide down her face. "I'm scared. What happens if he finds me? He will kill me." She sobbed and Chase slowly moved closer until he gently cupped her damage face and watched her green eyes widen around the swelling. "He won't Charlie and if he does, I'll kill him. I promise you he will have to kill me to get to you. Never again will he lay a hand on you again." He carefully wiped away her tears with this thumb before giving her uninjured hand a kiss. He wanted to beg her to hand him over to the police but know wasn't the right time so instead, he whispered to Charlie she was safe until the nurse gave with her discharge papers and a wheelchair. Chase helped Charlie into the chair and pushed her out into the waiting room. A few people looked their way, and he watched as Charlie lowered her head in shame.