3. Chapter Three
Chapter Three
I blinked a few times before a sudden slice of pain shot through my entire body.
“Liv…” I muttered.
I cringed as her name left my mouth. The pain was worse than I initially thought, immediately firing up again and shooting through both my legs. I instinctively reached for them but was met with the feeling of cold plastic against my hands. I blinked a couple of times, trying to get my bearings, but ultimately failed.
“Liv!” I cried out.
Again, no response.
I did my best to turn my head in her direction, but the rest of my body wasn’t responding to my cues.
Panic began to fill my lungs and my breaths quickened while I searched for more air, gasping for anything that resembled another breath. I slammed my eyes shut and inhaled, hoping to bring myself a second of calmness.
Opening them again, I looked around, reorientating myself. I was able to put together that we were upside down. The weight of my body hovering above the seat was unbearable, freeing a new set of intrusive thoughts.
What happened? Is Liv okay? How bad is it? Is the other driver hurt?
Peering over, all I could see was crushed metal. Pieces of what appeared to be the sunroof had fallen in between us, making it almost impossible to make out where she was. I took my left hand and began to feel around, desperate to land on anything that resembled Liv’s body.
“MJ…” The faintest voice rippled through the air.
“Liv, I’m right here.” My voice quivered even as I did my best to sound confident. “Everything’s going to be okay.”
There was blood.
Everywhere.
I didn’t know if it was hers or mine, but from the lack of communication coming from her side of the car, part of me knew.
Everything was moving in slow motion. Thinking was hard. Hell, breathing was hard. The weight of being suspended upside down didn’t help, and my vision was slowly edging toward blurry.
I blinked repeatedly, attempting to clear my eyes as my hand anxiously searched for anything that resembled Liv. I finally landed on what I thought was her arm, trailing my fingers around until they landed on her hand. I grabbed it tightly and squeezed. “We’re going to be okay.”
Silence echoed through the space between us, but relief flooded me when a faint squeeze sent tingles up my arm.
“I… I love you… deeper…” Her voice was soft, barely loud enough that I could make out what she was trying to say.
“I love you too, deeper than the ocean.”
“Wake Me Up” was still pumping through the speakers and all I could think was I hoped we were lucky enough to wake up from this nightmare.
Because it had to be a nightmare.
I made one last-ditch effort to use what was left of my energy to draw attention to us.
“Help! We’re stuck! Please, someone help us,” I cried out as my voice weakened with each breath. The tears broke through the barrier of my eyelashes and swam up my forehead.
I began to fade in out and of consciousness, everything slowly washing away from the forefront of my brain. Then, faintly, I heard sirens in the distance.
A bellowing voice came from outside the car. “Can anyone hear me?”
“I can,” I mumbled.
“I’m Chief Williams with the Montauk Fire Department and we’re going to get you out of there.”
Tears plunged across my face and into my hair. “Please help us!” I cried out.
“What’s your name?”
“Miller Morgan,” I responded frantically.
“Miller, who’s driving the car?”
“Liv…” I said, scrambling for more. “Olivia Mitchell.”
“Okay, good. I’m going to walk you through what I’m doing as I make my way to you, but first—”
“No!” I shouted, “Please, help Liv first. I think she’s hurt badly. I’ll be fine. Please,” I begged, gasping on each word.
“Don’t worry, Miller. One of my other firefighters is on his way to your friend,” he said, his voice calmer than it should be.
“You don’t understand, she needs help. I just know it; I can feel it. Please, sir. Please help her,” I said, desperate for him to believe me.
“I hear you. I need you to take a few deep breaths. I’m walking over to the driver’s side of the car to check on your friend. Can you keep talking to me? What was the last thing you remember from before the accident?”
His footsteps echoed between the four windows as both the sound of his feet and the air were able to flow easily through the car. What I assumed was glass crunched underneath his boots with every step he took.
Sirens, voices, and movement filled the space around me. The air became heavy as it pressed against my body. I wanted to close my eyes to calm my breath, but I was afraid if I did, I would black out again.
“Olivia, I’m Chief Williams. I’m here to get you and your friend out of the car. Pretty good friend you got there, demanding that I help you first. Let’s get you out of here so we can help her. How does that sound?”
A few seconds passed before I heard the softest mumble fall from her lips. It almost sounded as if Liv was trying to say something but the words were caught in her throat. Realizing our hands were still clasped together, I squeezed. I wanted her to know that I was here, and I wasn’t going anywhere.
Gravity had taken advantage of me and my tears as they drained from my eyes and stained their way up my forehead.
“I love you deeper than the ocean, Liv,” I whispered. I vaguely registered movement on my side of the car, but I couldn’t turn my head away from Liv.
“Miller? I’m firefighter Goodwin and I’m going to get you out of here, okay?”
“Okay,” I replied as my heavy eyes finally closed.
“Miller? Miller, can you hear me?” A deep voice bounced around my head before my eyes opened. I blinked a few times to adjust to the bright light that hung overhead. My body felt stabilized, but I could tell we were moving. It smelled clean, but in a sterile, harsh way. Looking around, all I could see were medical bags and equipment that jiggled as the vehicle moved.
I blurted out as many questions as I could think of. “Where’s Liv? Is she okay? Have you called our parents?”
“We’re on the way to the hospital. You and your friend were in an accident,” a women’s voice echoed next to me.
“I know. I need to know where Liv is,” I demanded.
The paramedic started speaking to someone else who was bustling around the back of the ambulance. I could’ve screamed. I just wanted answers. I reached up to her, noticing the blood splashed across my hand and down my arm.
“Your friend is also on the way to the hospital. We’ve called your parents and they’re going to meet us there.”
“Is she okay? When can I see her?”
“Sweetie, I’m going to need you to calm down. You’ve banged yourself up pretty good and we need to keep you stable.”
I wanted to say something back, beg her to tell me how Liv was, but I knew it was no use. My thoughts came barreling in and there was no energy left to stop them. I was nauseous, anxious, and completely terrified at what was going to be waiting for me once we reached the hospital.
I didn’t know how long we’d been in the ambulance, but I was relieved when we finally came to a stop. Everyone around me was speaking in medical terms, and as much as I tried to piece together what they were saying, there was no such luck.
Somewhere between the transfer from the ambulance to the hospital room, everything blurred. The weight was heavy, almost unbearable. Like someone was holding me down and making me watch everything from outside of my body.
I blinked, trying to reorient myself and gain control of my limbs. The voices around me became muffled, and each time I opened my eyes, I was met with the glaring lights, forcing me to immediately shut them again. Slowly, the voices cleared.
“Miller, I’m Dr. Winterfield. Your parents are on their way, but in the meantime, I’m going to check a few things. If I press on something that hurts, just squeeze my hand. There is no need for you to waste your energy talking,” he said.
His warm hand was comforting against my palm.
“Mmm,” I muttered, ignoring his request. “I’m struggling to focus, and my eyes hurt every time I open them.”
“That’s okay. Your body is exhausted. You don’t need to open them to communicate with me. Just squeeze my hand and let me do the rest of the work.”
His free hand pressed and prodded against different areas of my body. He started with my stomach, mushing his hands into my lower abdomen.
“Anything?” he asked.
I shook my head while attempting to push out a few words.
“Ms. Morgan, what did I say about exerting your energy?” My eyes were glossy but clear enough that I caught the smile he was wearing.
I acknowledged his comment with a nod.
“Good. Now you’re getting it.”
Next, he slowly lifted my left leg and I winced. The pain was excruciating, shooting from the tips of my toes all the way to the top of my hip. My grip on his hand threatened his circulation.
“Okay, okay,” he said apologetically. “We’ll get you x-rayed for confirmation, but it looks like you’ve got a broken leg.”
The rest of the examination was uneventful for the most part, thankfully.
He released his hand from mine. “You look all right, kid. Minus a few superficial cuts here and there, a broken leg, and a minor concussion that we’ll want to monitor for a bit, I think you’re going to be just fine. You’re one of the lucky ones, Ms. Morgan. Car accidents like that don’t normally end up with minor breaks and bruises. I think someone’s looking out for you,” he said.
By now, my eyes had had a chance to focus, and the demeanor of the thirty-something doctor who stood before me appeared as kind as his voice had let on. His body shifted casually on my hospital bed as he made his way to his feet, gently placing his hand on my arm.
“I’ll give you some time to rest and come back to check on you a bit later to see if you have any questions.”
I let out a deep breath for what felt like the first time in forever, releasing some of the tension from my body.
“Can you tell me how my friend is? Olivia Mitchell. We came in together; we were both in the same accident. Where is she?” I pleaded, sucking in another big gulp of air as I shifted myself upright and managed to maneuver my legs to the side of the bed.
Dr. Winterfield was on his way out the door before quickly turning on his feet. “Woah, woah, woah! You’re not going anywhere! I’ll try to get you some answers about your friend, but for right now, I need you to stay in bed.” He stood in front of me, not allowing me to move any further.
His words angered me. What was he not understanding? The last time I saw my best friend, we were both suspended upside down in a wrecked car. Tears breached the surface as I begged, “Please let me go find her. I have to know that she’s okay.”
His voice was much sterner than before as he said, “Miller, I’m sorry, but if you don’t calm down, I’m going to have to give you some meds that will do the work for you.”
I wanted to listen to him, I really did, but my brain wasn’t obeying. He’d moved toward the computer, and I took that as my sign to try to stand up. Awful idea on my part. The pain in my left leg immediately brought me to the floor, but not before a passing nurse caught me.
“Go ahead and get her a dose of Ativan to help her relax.” The doctor walked toward me, acting as if I wasn’t even in the room. “She needs some rest. I’ll get her back in her bed if you can administer the meds through her IV.” The doctor took the place of the nurse and gently lifted me to my feet, allowing me to bear all my weight on him, and slowly lowered me back into the bed.
Guilt washed over me. “I’m sorry. I’m just really worried about her.”
“I understand. You’ve just experienced a very traumatic car accident, this is normal,” he said, calmer now.
My eyelids suddenly drooped with heaviness. I found myself reaching for his hand in an attempt to give it a squeeze.
Everything cluttered together, my body tingled, and then everything went dark.
Again.