Tears streaming from his dark brown eyes, Shane launched himself at Howie, grabbing hold of his leg and refusing to let go.
"Hey, buddy. C'mere." Howie forced himself to smile as he pulled the little boy into his arms. "Your mom's going to be okay. Here, why don't you go see Nicky, while I check on your mom, okay?"
Still sniffling, Shane nodded, his dark curls bobbing as he did so. Howie hugged him gently, then passed him to Nick's waiting arms.
"Hey little dude." Nick said softly. "Why don't we go check out your room while Howie looks after your mom?" Shane nodded, so Nick walked down the hall to Shane's room, the little boy's arms wrapped tightly around Nick's neck.
With a grateful sigh, Howie turned to where Rhiannon was sitting, leaning heavily on the side of the couch. He knelt next to her. "Rhi?" He whispered.
Her blue eyes opened and promptly filled with tears. "Howie. I'm sorry." Her voice cracked as the tears spilled over and slid down her bruised cheeks.
Howie gently wrapped his arms around her and whispered. "Shh. Sweetie, it's not your fault. You didn't do anything wrong."
"Yes, I did. You told me from the beginning what he was like and I didn't listen."
"It's my fault, too, Rhi. I should have done something long ago." Howie said softly, tears beginning to collect in his own eyes.
"You tried." Rhiannon reminded him.
Howie winced as he remembered the first time Rhiannon had called him after David had come home drunk and nasty. Howie had phoned the police and asked them to check on the situation. All it had accomplished was to send David into another rage.
"I'm sorry." He whispered.
"I'm not. You tried to help, which is more than I can say for myself."
Howie sighed and dropped a kiss on the top of her head. "C'mon Rhi. We have to get you to the hospital and get you stitched up and get your wrist looked at."
"I don't want Shane to come."
"That's okay. I'm sure Nick will stay with him. Kevin's crashing at my place, while we're in rehearsal, so I'll call him and ask him to come over, too. Just in case David comes back."
"Okay." Rhiannon agreed.
"I'll be right back. I'm just gonna call Kev and tell Nick we're leaving." Howie got to his feet and walked down the hall to Shane's room. He opened the door to find Nick sitting on the floor, a sleepy Shane in his arms. "Nicky?"
"Yeah?" Nick looked up from the little boy he was holding.
"I'm gonna take Rhi to the hospital."
"Hopsital?" Shane looked up, worried.
"It's okay, buddy. I'm taking mommy to the hospital so the doctor can fix her wrist okay? She's gonna be fine. Nicky's gonna stay with you and maybe Kevin will come over and see you, too." Howie explained, giving Nick a look. Nick nodded wordlessly, knowing exactly what Howie wasn't saying.
"Okay, Howie." Shane said, relaxing into Nick's arms once again.
"See you later, D." Nick said.
Howie waved at the two as he left the room, heading back to the living room. Once there he retrieved the backpack he'd dropped when he came in, pulling out his cell phone and dialing Kevin's cell.
"Kev?... Yeah... I'm just gonna take her to the hospital... Yeah... I was just gonna ask if you would... Yeah, just in case... Thanks man... Later." Howie closed the phone and stuffed it back in his bag, then slung the bag over his shoulder. "Rhi? Let's go, sweetie." He said, carefully helping her to her feet.
Holding tightly to Howie, Rhiannon made it down the stairs, before sitting on the bottom step to put her shoes on. Unable to tie them because of her wrist Howie tied them for her. Howie had just retrieved her purse for her when they heard a vehicle in the driveway. Rhiannon tensed, then relaxed.
"It's not David."
Howie opened the door to see Kevin stepping out of his rental. He sighed with relief. At least Shane would be safe if David came back to the house. Like most wifebeaters, he was a coward and wouldn't stand up to Nick or Kevin alone, let alone both.
Kevin reached the door and had to hold back a gasp as he caught sight of Rhiannon. His eyes narrowed in anger. This was undoubtedly the worst yet. That bastard was going to pay, one way or another.
"Kev?" Howie had seen the flash of anger in Kevin's eyes and knew David wouldn't stand a chance if he came back. "Nick and Shane are upstairs in Shane's room. We're gonna go. Hopefully this won't take too long."
"Okay. We'll see you when you get back." Kevin closed the door softly behind them and Howie half guided, half carried Rhiannon to his car and helped her into the front seat.
