Chapter 19 #2
The paramedics get to work, one stabilizing Madison’s head and neck while the other checks her vitals. I know they’re speaking, but the words are a jumbled mess, like the sound of adults talking in Charlie Brown. All I can focus on is what they’re doing.
A blood pressure cuff slipping around her arm. A pulse oximeter placed on her finger. A penlight sweeping across her pupils.
None of it seems real, and yet I know it is.
“Did the horse kick her in the fall? Did she hit anything other than her head?” one of the paramedics asks.
I swallow, forcing myself to pay attention. “I-I don’t think so. She glanced back at me and the horse reared. Meadow threw Madison and ran off…” My words trail off and the paramedic nods.
“Okay. Good.”
Good? Nothing about this feels good.
I don’t let my thoughts return to where they were before help arrived, instead I focus on the thing I can do something about. My gaze shifts in the direction Meadow ran. I didn’t think about going after her, but Madison would hate it if something happened to her or Oakley as a result of this.
“Meadow,” I whisper, but Aiden doesn’t let me continue.
“I’ve already got someone on it. They’ll make sure Meadow is okay and get her and Oakley taken care of.”
There’s a moment I just stare at the man next to me, stunned at the way he’s able to manage so many things at once, especially considering the person involved. But the man was a profiler with the FBI, I’m sure he’s had to compartmentalize way more than an injured sibling.
“We’re going to get a cervical collar on her,” the blonde paramedic says, drawing my attention back to Madison.
The rigid brace slides carefully around her neck before they begin the painstaking process of rolling her just enough to inspect her back.
“No obvious injuries.”
“Let’s board her.”
The two of them work in tandem, every movement made with expert precision. A gentle lift, a quick slide, hurried movements as they secure wide straps across her shoulders, waist, and legs.
Three.
Two.
One.
And she’s off the ground as they transfer her onto the stretcher.
As they begin wheeling her toward the ambulance, my feet move in their direction, the next words coming out of my mouth with no real thought. “I’m going with her.”
One of the paramedics glances over, his gaze moving past mine and directly to Aiden. I have no doubt they know exactly who Madison is—who I am—and as a result, they know I have absolutely no right to be in the ambulance with her.
Before either of them can say anything else, Aiden steps beside me. “He’s with her.”
The paramedic gives a short nod. “All right. Ride up front.”
“No.” The word leaves my mouth before I think. “I need to stay with her.”
Need. I don’t know how true that word is until it’s past my lips. If I can’t stay with her…if I can’t see with my own two eyes that she’s taken care of…I don’t know what I’ll do, but I think I might break.
I know it doesn’t make sense, but there’s a part of me that truly believes if I lose sight of her, she won’t survive. I can’t be the reason someone else dies.
The medic studies me for half a second before looking to Aiden again.
Aiden doesn’t hesitate. “He stays.”
The rear doors swing open and Madison is loaded inside, monitors already being connected.
The blood pressure cuff inflates around her arm while adhesive leads are placed across her chest. The rhythmic beeping of the cardiac monitor fills the small space, and some of the tension lifts from my chest at the sound.
I climb in after them and take the narrow seat along the wall, trying to stay out of their way.
The doors slam shut behind me and one of the paramedics settles onto the bench across from me. I don’t know if he says anything or even pays me any attention, all my focus is on Madison, my eyes never leaving her.
For one terrifying second nothing changes. Then a tiny crease forms between her eyebrows and her fingers twitch at her side.
“Madison?” I lean forward before I can stop myself.
Another small movement as her eyelashes flutter.
“Madison,” I say again, my voice shaking now. “Hey…you’re okay.”
A soft groan escapes her lips and pain washes across her face as she fights to open her eyes.
“There you go,” the paramedic encourages. “Don’t try to move. You’ve had a fall.”
Her eyelids lift only halfway before squinting against the bright lights overhead. She looks disoriented, struggling to focus as her gaze drifts across the ceiling before slowly landing on me.
For a heartbeat, she simply stares.
“Beckett?” The sound of my name has never meant so much.
“I’m here,” I force out through the emotion swelling in my throat.
She blinks slowly, her brow furrowing. “What happened?”
I feel the burn in my nose and have to swallow before I can speak. “You took a fall,” I answer softly, reaching for her hand, finally giving in to the urge to touch her. “We’re in an ambulance on our way to the hospital.”
Her eyes begin to close again, and I squeeze her hand, silently begging her to keep them open. She answers with another quiet groan before opening her eyes once more, this time they immediately land on me.
A multitude of emotions flash through her eyes—fear, confusion, panic—and I force a smile despite the knot tightening in my chest. “You’re gonna be fine. I’m not going anywhere.”
The ambulance bumps along, sirens wailing as it speeds away from the cottage, and I stay exactly where I promise—right beside her.