**** Content Warning for Referencing Abuse and Violence****

It felt like it had been hours since Mary had entered the waiting room. If she didn't make it... she had to make it. Uncle Anton was talking to the police in another room. They'd come to ask us questions soon.

Lilly's lower lip quivered as she clutched a hospital coffee cup too hard. Shayna was holding Maddy, who had mercifully fallen asleep. I was grateful for that, but I hated that I didn't have the strength to hug my little sister right now.

My stomach was flipping. Dr. Porter said they were going to do their best to save Mary. I wanted to jump in and help, but I couldn't do anything. I was powerless here. One of my sisters was on an operating table, and the only thing that flashed through my mind were all the times I should have stood up to my dad.

The officers came out of the room they were using. Uncle Anton walked out behind them. There were tears in his eyes.

"Uncle Anton," Lilly said. "What did you tell them?"

"What I knew," Uncle Anton said.

Lilly's eyes went wide with distress. I knew she feared separation from the rest of us. Uncle Anton was Mom's only sibling. Our grandparents on both sides of the family were dead.

Besides our uncle, who lived on a delivery driver's salary, our only family was Dad's great-aunt. Aunt Virginia lived up north with a collection of stuffed giraffes. Dad had lived with her for a year during law school after his parents passed, and he didn't like her much.

"We dispatched a unit to your home to bring in Mr. Garrison," one of the officers told me. "We do need you to come with us, Jack Garrison."

"Please don't go," Lilly's eyes pooled with tears.

My sister's panic snapped me back to reality. "Uncle Anton... Stay with them. Please..."

Uncle Anton nodded solemnly. I followed the officers from the hospital hallway and back downstairs. Lilly's sobs echoed in my ears until we exited the building.

The officers were nice enough. They didn't press or ask questions until after they loaded me in their car and drove me to the station. One of them tried to tell a joke, but he couldn't make me smile.

At the station, a few officers were working the night shift. Fewer people than at the hospital, but it was no less fear-inducing. By the time we sat down to talk, my hands were shaking. I couldn't help it.

"I'm Officer Lewis," the first cop said. "This is Officer Holland. Do you want to tell me how this all went down? Your uncle seems to think you know much more of the story than he did."

"Where is my father?" I looked around nervously.

"We sent a pair of officers to bring him to the station," Officer Holland said. "We want to question him as well. Tell me how you ended up at the hospital, Jack."

"I didn't know he had a gun," I said. "I swear. If I knew he had a gun, I never would have let them stay there."

"Your sisters?" Officer Lewis asked.

I nodded. "He gets angry sometimes. My mom has cancer. His work is stressful. He's always been a little testy. After Mom this last time relapsed and we found out it was terminal, he snapped. He got angrier and angrier. His belt came off more often. I thought he was stressed. I did my best to keep the girls clear."

"We can come back to other incidents," Officer Holland said. "What happened tonight?"

"Dad is on his computer until three in the morning almost every day," I said. "He brings his work home, he claims. I've never snooped. After midnight, I got ready for bed after doing a ton of homework. I'd been in rehearsal and was behind. The girls were already asleep. He stormed up the stairs with an art project in his hand. Mary showed it to me after her class. She's in an advanced art class at the middle school."

"What did she make?" Officer Lewis asked.

"The teacher asked them to draw their dream," I said. "She drew Mom. She was healthy and smiling. I think she slipped it under his office door."

I liked the project. Mary was getting really good at realistic 3D sketching. She hoped it would cheer up Dad. Unfortunately, it had the opposite effect.

"Dad woke her up and started yelling," I said. "He said that Mom was terminal and going to die any day. He told her to get over it because no matter what, dreams didn't come true. Dad, Lilly, and I had agreed we weren't going to tell Mary and Maddy she was terminal. He broke that promise."

I thought telling the girls there was no hope would crush them. Mary, especially, was just such a happy girl, and Maddy was so little.

"This woke Lilly and Maddy," I continued. Mary started crying, and Maddy came up behind Dad and told Mary it was a pretty picture."

"Where were you?" Officer Holland asked.

I looked down at the table. "Brushing my teeth. I tried to grab Maddy, but she evaded me. Lilly came out of her room and told Dad to stop scaring Mary and Maddy. He threw Lilly out of the way and stormed into his room. Lilly is tough and got right back up. Dad came back out of his room with a gun."

Officer Lewis raised an eyebrow. I didn't think he was questioning me. He was just curious. I took a deep breath.

"I knew right then we were all in danger," I said. "Lilly did, too. She tried to block Mary's doorway, and I grabbed Maddy and tucked her behind me. He didn't point the gun at us. Instead, he walked into Maddy's room and seized her guinea pig, Howie. Dad said he was going to teach us to grieve. I moved forward to stop him from firing the gun, but I was too slow. Dad missed the guinea pig who escaped into Mary's room. Dad pushed Lilly and fired the gun at the guinea pig again."

Howie might have been Maddy's guinea pig, but Mary was the one who took care of him. She loved stroking his long fur and giving him carrots.

"Mary dove to save Howie," I said. "He hit her with two shots. I screamed for Lilly to run and scooped up my sister. A third shot grazed my arm, but I got her out of there. We headed for my jeep and drove. I just knew I had to get them as far away as possible."

It was a lot for the officers to process, so I got a short break while they looked over their notes. I saw the door to the station open, and two officers pushed my father into the building. His icy eyes met mine, and I felt frozen to the spot.

"Jack, tell them it was a mistake," he begged. "Tell them."

They took him down the hall to another room before I could form any words. There was nothing I could say to him. He'd fired a gun in our house, and he might not have been aiming for Mary, but it didn't change what happened.

Officer Holland brought me a cup of water. I drank it slowly. Then we returned to the interview, and I told the officers about taking the girls to the theater and how Dr. Porter met us there.

"You said your father snapped," Officer Lewis said. "Has he done this before? Your uncle mentioned you showed up to his theater rehearsal with a black eye not long ago, the edge of your eye is still yellow, and I noticed your sister's arm is in a cast."

"He was drunk when he kicked me in the face," I said. "And Lilly's arm broke when he pushed her. Dad threatened us not to tell anyone what happened. After he broke Lilly's arm, he stopped trying to apologize and wrote it off as an accident."

The sun had already risen when they drove me back to the hospital. I had told them everything about Dad that I possibly could. After my testimony, I doubted they'd let him back on the street.

Walking back into the hospital waiting room, I sank into an uncomfortable chair. Shayna and Lilly were in the lobby with a sleeping Maddy. Lilly looked at the officers and frowned.

"Everything is fine," I said.

"We'd like to talk to you too, Miss Garrison," Officer Holland said. "If you would come with us. We can talk in one of the extra rooms here."

Lilly looked at me. Her eyes were full of terror. I gave her a sad but reassuring smile. She frowned.

"What could you need from me?" Lilly asked.

"A second opinion," Officer Lewis said. "You might remember details your brother does not."

Lilly clutched her broken arm with her working one. She eyed me, and I nodded, giving her my approval. She followed the officers further into the hospital.

I didn't see my uncle in the waiting room. Maddy was sleeping with her head pillowed on Shayna's lap.

"Thank you for staying," I said.

"No problem," she said. "Your uncle went to talk the nurses into letting him visit his sister. My mother was going to put in a good word for him."

"Do you know if anyone told her what was going on?" I asked.

Shayna sighed. "All I know is Mary got out of surgery. She's not awake yet. There was a social worker here. He was arguing with your uncle. They were talking about Virginia. Do you have family there?"

"My aunt," I said. "Never met her since dad doesn't like her much."

"Maybe it's a good thing?" Shayna tried to look hopeful.

We both still had blood on our clothes. I still wore the basketball shorts and old football shirt I used as pajamas. Maddy was in a nightgown.

Slumping back in the chair, I was so uncomfortable that I nearly laughed. Maybe I was just delirious or delusional, but it made me crack a smile.

"I'm glad you're here," I said. "I don't think Lilly and I could have done this alone. Lilly was scared of the police finding out about this and separating us all."

"What are you going to do next?" Shayna asked.

I sighed. "I don't know. The police are involved. A social worker is snooping around, as you said. My mother is terminal. I don't even know where I'm going to get breakfast."

Shayna smiled. She was gentle as she moved Maddy's head off her lap and back onto the seat she was asleep in. "I'll get donuts. If you want some clean clothes, I think one of Parker's old gym bags is in my car... except I drove your car here."

I tossed her my keys. "The girls will like Mimi's donuts. I have some cash-"

She held up her hand. "Don't worry about it. I'll get you those clothes and some donuts. Need anything else?"

"You're doing enough already," I said.

I felt kind of guilty. I'd dragged Shayna into this because of my inability to drive in a shocked state. It was my fault she was with Maddy and Lilly all night while the police interrogated me.

"Actually," I said as she turned. "Can you get a chocolate maple log donut? It would mean a lot to the girls. It's our mom's favorite."

"Of course," Shayna said.

Watching her go, I half expected her to drive off with my car and wreck it out of spite, but I knew she wouldn't do that now. She felt sorry for me, which was even worse than her hatred.