Chapter 2 - The Ambulance Ride
The small, confined space of the ambulance felt like a sanctuary compared to the bloody bathroom floor.
A female paramedic gently wrapped my injured wrist in a temporary splint while another checked my daughter's vital signs.
The heavy metal doors were still wide open, revealing the flashing red and blue lights bouncing off the neighborhood houses.
Outside on the wet driveway, Mark was aggressively arguing with the police officer.
I could easily hear his voice carrying through the cool morning air, thick with misplaced anger.
"You cannot take my child away based on the lies of a hysterical woman," Mark yelled at the top of his lungs.
The officer stood firmly between Mark and the back of the waiting ambulance.
"Your wife has physical signs of assault, sir, and we have an emergency dispatcher who heard your mother lock her in," the officer replied calmly.
Mark aggressively pointed a shaking finger at the open ambulance.
"She bruised her own wrist banging on the walls, she always throws these massive tantrums," he lied effortlessly.
Hot tears streamed rapidly down my face, mixing bitterly with the dried blood on my chin.
I had spent three painful years making desperate excuses for Mark's intense attachment to his mother.
I had convinced myself that he was just a loyal son, completely blind to how sinister their bond truly was.
But hearing him actively participate in her dark, twisted narrative shattered my heart into a million irreparable pieces.
The paramedic squeezed my good hand gently to offer a small sliver of comfort.
"Do not listen to him, honey," she whispered softly.
"We are taking you to the most secure ward in the hospital, and they will not get anywhere near you."
She reached up to close the heavy ambulance doors, signaling the driver to quickly go.
Just as the doors began to swing shut, Eleanor suddenly broke violently past the police officer's line.
She lunged toward the back of the ambulance with terrifying, unnatural speed.
Her pale hand shot right through the closing gap, her jagged fingernails violently scratching my bare leg.
The paramedic shouted loudly and forcefully pushed Eleanor back, slamming the doors shut and locking them tight.
The ambulance lurched heavily forward, speeding away from the house with its sirens blaring loudly.
I exhaled a massive breath of pure relief, looking down lovingly at my perfect, sleeping baby girl.
Then, I felt a strange, terrifying warm wetness soaking entirely through the thick hospital blankets beneath me.
The paramedic noticed my sudden pallor and quickly pulled back the heavy white sheets.
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Her eyes widened in absolute horror as she violently slammed her hand on the driver's glass partition.
"Step on it right now, she is heavily hemorrhaging and we are losing her pulse!" the paramedic screamed frantically.
