Where We Meet Again, стр. 46
En route, they informed us of three victims—the truck driver and the driver and passenger of the car.
The truck driver stands outside of his cab, lifting his cap and running a hand over his hair repeatedly. He places the hat back on only to lift it up again seconds later.
A young male sits on the shoulder of the highway with a police officer, and the driver of the Ford, an older woman, remains in the vehicle.
“I’m going to the car. You go check out the kid.”
Nathan nods and takes off in that direction, and I approach the totaled vehicle.
“Ma’am, my name is Cami and I’m a paramedic. Can you tell me your name?”
Her eyes are open, though wide with fright. Her chest rises with quick, shallow breaths. When I speak to her, she moves her eyes in my direction. That’s a good sign. She’s responsive.
“Cecilia.” Her soft voice trembles. “We were going to dinner, m-my son and m-m-me. Where is he? I can’t turn my head. This man is hurting me.” Her eyes dart frantically.
“Cecilia. Look at me.”
Her gaze shoots to mine. I hold her eyes and keep my voice steady. “Your son is being looked at by my partner, Nathan. He’s really good at his job. You can see him soon. There’s a police officer holding your head steady. I need you to hold still and not move. You could have a neck injury. I’m going to put this around your neck.” I hold up the c-collar for her to see. Most people have seen these before, but that doesn’t make wearing one any less frightening. “It’ll help hold your neck still, okay?”
“Okay.”
“Good. Hold still and don’t try to help us. We’ll get it on you.”
She does as I ask and doesn’t move.
“You’re doing great, Cecelia. I’m going to listen to your lungs and check your pulse, okay?”
“Okay,” she whispers as some fear drains away.
The firefighters arrive on scene, ready to help lift her out of here. I unwind my stethoscope and listen to her breathing. It’s fast, but her lungs sound clear. I reach my arm through the driver’s side window and place my fingers on her wrist. Pulse is strong.
As I pull my hand back, she latches onto my forearm with a firm grip.
“Please don’t leave me.”
I twist my arm so I can squeeze her hand. “I’m not going anywhere. We’re going to get you out and take you to the hospital. I need to back up so the firefighters can get you out, but I’m not leaving. I’ll be close by the entire time.”
“What are they going to do with me?” Her lips quiver as she speaks.
“We want to be careful with your spine, so they’re going to place you on a long, hard board to keep it steady. I don’t want you to help at all, unless you’re told to, okay? You let them move you. I promise they’re all big and strong. You hang tight, and you’ll be out of there in no time.”
The officer in the car with her talks to her, so I run back to our truck for the long board. The tow truck arrives as I’m on my way back, and I wait to let it pass. A crowd gathers on the side of the road as passersby step out of their cars to watch the scene unfold. I roll my eyes at the amount of cell phones snapping photos and most likely recording videos. Nothing is private in this world of technology.
A familiar truck parked in the chaotic line of cars catches my eye. My stomach squeezes and my heart leaps into my throat. Directly across from my ambulance is Law.
And the bastard isn’t alone.
I am grateful he isn’t one of the curious idiots standing on the side of the road with his arm wrapped around the woman beside him, keeping her warm from the cold as they look on at another person’s misfortune. The thought flits from my mind as the jealousy invades and forces it out. My job calls, but I’m having trouble tearing my eyes away from the big-haired blonde sitting in his front passenger seat.
As if he feels my eyes, his head turns in my direction. The only indication he gives to my existence. His eyes don’t flash; he doesn’t smile or wave. To him, I’m any other emergency person at the scene of an inconvenient crash.
Turning on a booted heel, I jog back over to the white Ford. With the help of the firefighters, we get Cecilia out of her vehicle, onto the longboard, and strapped to the gurney.
“Here comes your son, Cecilia. Let’s get you out of the cold.”
“Thank you.” She holds out her hand, and I give it a reassuring squeeze.
Nathan arrives with her son, who has a large bandage taped to his forehead, and together we get them in the back of the ambulance. The hospital is less than five minutes from the accident location, so we have them there in no time at all.
I’m silent on the drive back to the garage. A little sad, but mostly trying to remain strong. Seeing Law with another woman has been a possibility in the back of my mind, but I didn’t think it’d happen now. The man kissed me just yesterday. Here I thought we had time to work things out between us. I guess I was wrong.
Nathan parks in the garage, and after cleaning the back of the ambulance, we head inside.
“You hungry? I could make you something to eat.”
“I’m good. I think I’m going to go lie down for a bit. I didn’t sleep well last night, and if it’s busy tonight, I want to be well rested.”
Concern flits across his face, and he grips the countertop. “You sure you’re