My father lay on the bed with his eyes tightly shut. His face was mottled with bruises, his chest wrapped in thick bandages, and his leg shattered into a comminuted fracture, encased in a cast that made it look like a cold block of stone.
The moment my mother saw me, her tears fell instantly. She clutched my hand, voice shaking as she told me what had happened.
My father ended up like this… because of Caleb.
All because he wanted to protect his childhood sweetheart, who was pregnant. All because my father happened to glance at Heidi as he walked by.
Caleb hadn’t asked a single question, hadn’t confirmed anything. He attacked my father on the spot, calling him a pervert and claiming he had “frightened a pregnant woman.”
Hearing this felt like someone splitting me open with bare hands.
Looking at my father, barely clinging to life, I forced down my trembling and called the police.
Soon, the court date arrived.
That day, Caleb and Heidi walked into the courtroom hand in hand, as if they were attending a casual gathering.