It was an oddly warm night for January. Even in Texas. The front door was open, letting a nice breeze roll through the house. Taiyang was asleep on the couch as the TV quietly showed a late night talk show. Summer had put Ruby down for bed a few hours ago and then went to bed herself. So Taiyang had the living room to himself. Instead of drinking a beer or watching sports like a regular adult his age, Tai ended up falling asleep watching a rerun of one of those cop drama shows.
Sadly, he was pulled from his peaceful slumber by the sound of the phone ringing. He rolled off the couch and got to his feet. Wondering who would calling this late at night. He looked at his watch, seeing it was about eleven as he walked to the kitchen. Yawning as he answered the phone. "Hello?" He said.
"Hello, is this Taiyang Xiao Long?" A voice said back through the phone.
Tai was a bit confused. They sounded to professional to be a telemarketer. "Uh, yes. Can I help you?"
"Yes. I am officer Miller of the Telluride Police Department. Were looking for the father of one Yang Branwen. Her birth certificate says that's you?"
Tai was even more confused at this point. Why would an officer be calling him about Yang? It couldn't be about the child support. It was taken out of his paycheck automatically each week. "Uh, yes. That's me. I don't have... What's going on?"
"There has been an incident and your daughter is now here at the hospital in intensive care."
The words hit him like a brick to the head. His eyes widened as he let the words sink in. Yang, his daughter. His daughter he never gets to see was in the intensive care unit. "Wait, what?" He asked. "What the hell happened? Where is Raven?"
"She's been taken into custody. This would be easier to explain in person, is there any chance you can come up here?"
"Yes, yes. Of course. Let me... I leave in the next thirty minutes. Give me an address and I'll be on my way. The officer agreed and gave the address telling him he'd see him soon before hanging up. He let out sigh, rubbing his eyes. "What the hell is happening..?" He asked out loud to no one in particular.
"I heard the phone ring. What's goin' on?"
Summer's voice came from behind him. He turned around to see his wife standing there in her pajamas. She looked worried. "I dunno... Something involving Raven being arrested and Yang in the hospital." The worry was visible on his face.
Summer walked up and hugged him. "If it's about Yang, it's okay to be worried. She's your daughter and Raven screwed you on custody."
"Whatever happened, they... They say Yang is in the ICU." The worry in his voice was tremendous. He was unable to hide it.
Summer pulled back, her own eyes widened. "Oh my god. You don't think Raven would have..?" She couldn't finish her sentence. The thought unbearable to the woman.
"I really don't know. I hope not, but Raven... Raven is harsh." He let out a sigh. "But it seems the only possibility." There was a shakiness in his voice.
"Go pack. I'll tell Ruby. See if she wants to see you off." Summer said with a smile, cupping the man's cheek.
He nodded and Summer went upstairs and Tai into the master bedroom off the side of the living room. Grabbing a duffel bag and throwing some clothing into it. Not knowing how long he'd be gone, he packed more than just an overnight bag. He slung the bag over his shoulder and walked out just as Summer was walking down the stairs, carrying the sleepy six year old in her arms.
Rubbing her eyes, she looked to Tai and he took her from Summer. "Mommy says you're leaving, daddy." She said. Her voice quiet.
"Yeah. Daddy has to take a trip up north." He said smiling to her.
"Why?"
"Well," he began. "Remember how I told you that you have an older sister?" He asked. Ruby nodded. Still rubbing her eye. "Well, I need to go visit her."
"Can I come?" She asked, perking up a bit.
"Not this time, little rosebud." The small girl began to pout. He ruffled her hair with a smile though. "But if we're lucky, maybe she'll get to come home with me. Then you can meet her."
This made the child perk up again. "You mean it!?" Tai nodded and the girl seemed to shake with excitement.
"Now you need to go back to bed. You have school in the morning."
"But how will I ever sleep with how happy I am!?" She asked excited. Her sleepy state completely gone by this point.
"Mommy will sing you song, how about that?" Summer tried to reason with her daughter as Tai handed her back to summer. She nodded.
"Bye daddy." Ruby said with a wave.
"See ya later, alligator." He said with smile.
Ruby giggle and finished it. "In a while, crocodile."
From there, Tai walked out the door and to his truck. Throwing his duffel bag in the back seat and getting in. he started the old truck and it rumbled loudly to life. He pulled his phone from his pocket and called his boss. Hoping he would be awake. He needed to call off. Surely they would be angry though. Having to call out of work as teacher the night before was a pain. They had to scramble to find a replacement. So needless to say he felt a little bad. But this was his daughter. And now he finally had a chance to be in her life. He was tired of being stuck out of her life.
The road to Telluride was long and boring. Throughout the drive Taiyang thought about what could possibly be happening. Afraid of what Raven did. He practically gnawed his lip raw through the fifteen hour ride. Not stopping for much besides a food break and a few bathroom breaks, but soon he saw the sign of the hospital. A small wave of relief washed over him as he pulled into the parking lot.
He got out of his truck, walking at a fast pace inside. He got to the desk, asking the woman at the desk. "Hello, My name is Taiyang Xiao Long. I'm looking for my daughter, Yang Branwen."
The woman looked to him. "Right. I'll send someone to notify the officer that you have arrived and bring you to a conference room." she said, standing up and leading Tai to a room.
He sat down and the officer walked in minutes later. He held his hand out for Taiyang as he stood up. "Mr. Xiao Long." he sade, shaking his hand. "I'm officer Miller. We talked on the phone."
"Right, right." Tai said with a nod, sitting back down as the officer sat across from him. "So, what's goin' on?" he asked. Wanting some answers.
The officer let out a sigh. "Last night we got a call about some commotion at the Branwen household. Nothing really out of the ordinary. We've been out there before. Her and her boyfriend would fight a lot when drunk. Nothing ever physical. So we took our time to get out there. Which was a bad mistake on our part."
"What do you mean?" he asked, though already knowing the answer.
"Well we got there and found Raven cleaning up a mess of glass. My partner noticed some blood in the snow and he followed it. Found your daughter nearly dead, laying in the shed. She had several cuts on her body. Some with glass in them, and a very badly bruised face and torso. An x ray showed a fracture on her skull and a few cracked ribs. Her lungs also appeared to have water in them. As if she was being drowned." the officer said, looking down. "She had some minor frostbite and has been treated for hypothermia. Luckily we got her here in time and she's currently in stable condition. Raven was well intoxicated when we arrested her."
Tai took a few moments to take it all in. He didn't know what to say. He just learned the mother of his daughter tried to kill her in a drunken rage. He clenched his hands and gritted his teeth. Relaxing after a moment. "Can, can I see her?" he asked. Needing to see her. The officer nodded, standing up and motioning for Tai to follow.
As they walked down the hall to the room. A fear came over him. He was afraid to see her. How would she react? Would she recognize him? Would she hate him for not being there? He gnawed his lip again as they walked. Soon arriving at a room. The officer opened the door and the blonde man walked in. Thanking him.
He felt his heart break when he saw the girl laying in the bed. She was covered in bandages and had an IV in her arm. He walked to her side and brushed her hair from her eyes. He felt a knot form in his throat as a few tears began to blur his vision. How could he have let this happen to her. It hurt him to see her like this. Like someone was stabbing him in the chest. He wiped some tears from his eyes. "I'm so sorry, Yang…" he pulled a chair up and sat down next her. Holding her hand as he finally began to catch up on sleep.
Author's Note: So this will continue to update regularly so long as I am as ahead as I wanna be. So far, so good. Please tell me whatcha think. Till next time.