6. Chapter 6
Jake
Ikeep staring at my phone, hoping Lottie will call or text. She should be home by now from dinner with her parents, and I know she definitely will have listened to my voicemail; she wouldn’t be able to leave that ignored. She’s not that type of person.
Feeling restless, I call Lottie again, needing to hear her voice, to know we’re ok.
This time, instead of ringing out, it goes straight to voicemail.
Like her phone is off. Something’s not right, I can feel it.
Just as I’m about to get up and grab my keys from the side, my phone rings.
I don’t recognize the number, but the area code is local.
“Hello?” I ask, wary of the caller. It could be some gossip rag for all I know.
“Hello, can I speak to Mr. Jake Smithson, please?” the voice at the end of the phone says in a calm, controlled voice.
“Ah speaking, can I ask who’s calling?” Who the hell is this? I stand from where I’m sitting on the sofa and start pacing the room. This guy is putting me on edge.
“This is Officer Shaw from the San Diego Police Department.” The police?
What do they want with me? “You’re listed as the emergency contact for Miss Charlotte Bennett.
I’m calling to let you know that she’s been involved in a car accident and is currently being transported to San Diego General Hospital. ”
My stomach bottoms out, my vision goes blurry, and I fight to stay upright, gripping the kitchen counter to steady myself. No, no, no, this can’t be happening.
“Is uhm, is she ok? What happened?” I manage to choke out, fighting back the blur of tears that are going to fall at any moment.
“Drunk driver in the wrong lane. Head-on collision. She’s unconscious at present, the hospital team will examine her when she arrives. I suggest you head down there.”
“Wait, she was with her parents, are they there as well?” I ask.
“Unfortunately, sir, both her parents were pronounced dead at the scene.” Fuck. Louisa and David are gone? I feel my stomach lurching, and I manage to make it to the sink to throw up the contents.
“Sir? Are you still there?”
Wiping my mouth with the back of my hand, I continue. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m here. Was there a dog there? A beige Italian Greyhound?” I need to make sure Bella wasn’t there.
“No sir, no dogs involved,” the officer confirms.
“Ok, ok.” I try to swallow, but it’s like I have a thousand knives stuck in my throat. “I’ll head straight to the hospital now. Thank you, uhm, for calling.”
I move on autopilot, my feet slipping into my shoes and grabbing my jacket from the hook. As I pick up my keys from the side table, I slip off Lottie's key, leave it on the counter, and text my sister.
Jake - I need you to go to Lottie's house and grab Bella, take her to Mom’s.
Jake - I’ll explain later.
Alyssa - Ok…Jake what’s going on?
Shoving my phone into my jacket pocket, I rush out the door and to my car.
Breaking every speed limit known to man, I make it to the ER in record time, where the police and ambulance crew who brought Lottie in are waiting for me.
I actually don’t remember getting in my car and driving here.
The last hour has been a whirlwind and one massive blur.
My head is swimming, and my heart feels like it’s going to beat out of my chest. Good job I’m in a hospital, I feel like I’m going to have a heart attack.
How did we get here?
I’m shown to a family waiting room by a nurse who lets me know a doctor will be along shortly to give me an update once they’ve finished their assessment of Lottie’s injuries.
Head in my hands, I let go of all the emotion I’ve been holding onto.
What I really want to do is beat the shit out of the asshole who crashed into them, but he’s already dead.
And just like that, I’m thinking of Louisa and David again, which then makes me think of Lottie.
She has no other living relatives; her parents were only children and so was she.
I vow from that moment on, my girl will not be alone—she has me, my family, and her friends.
It feels like forever has passed, when in reality, it’s been no longer than about forty-five minutes when someone enters the room.
“Mr. Smithson? I’m Dr Carter, I’ve come to give you an update on Miss Bennett.”
Fuck, come on Doc. Give me some good news, give me something. My pulse is thundering through me like a steam train, and my blood pressure is probably through the roof.
“I’m going to cut to the chase. Miss Bennett is lucky to be alive, and the next twenty-four to forty-eight hours will be critical.
” Critical? He’s talking like it’s life or death here.
I can’t lose Lottie, I can’t. Ringing starts in my ears, and I can’t focus on a damn word he’s saying.
I need to sit back down before I fall down.
“Mr. Smithson? Can you hear me?” The doctor's hand is on my shoulder, which breaks me out of whatever panic I was in.
“Ah yeah, sorry. This is all too much to handle.” My voice is shaking as much as my body.
“Miss Bennett is currently in surgery and is likely to be there for a while. She has multiple injuries and, until we get a good look inside, we can’t determine how serious they are.”
Dr. Carter gives me a run-down of Lottie’s injuries that they know of, and with each one, I feel my heart shattering even more.
Ruptured spleen, internal bleeding, broken femur, a punctured lung, broken ribs, and swelling on the brain.
Once she’s out of surgery, they’re placing her in an induced coma for her body to heal and to get the swelling on her brain to go down.
They can’t determine if there’s any damage until then.
It’s a waiting game right now, so the only thing I can do is wait for her to come out of surgery and see what the state of play is. All I know is, I am not going anywhere; I will stay by her side for as long as it takes. They’ll have to forcibly remove me.
Drinking what must be my sixth cup of stale coffee, I finally pull myself together enough to check my phone, where there’s a text waiting for me from Alyssa.
Alyssa - Got Bella, what’s going on?
Jake - Lottie’s been in a car accident.
Jake - Her parents were in the car too.
Alyssa - OMG are they ok?
Jake - They didn’t make it.
Alyssa - Jake….
Alyssa – Right, me and mom are on our way.
Jake – No!
Jake – Please, just stay with Bella. I just want to wait here on my own. I’ll call when I have news.
Alyssa – Are you sure? Let us be there for you.
Jake – No, honestly I’ll be fine here on my own. I promise.
Shit, I haven’t called Wren. Running my hands through my hair, I dial her number, and she answers on the second ring. “You better be calling because my girl is in an orgasm coma and can’t come to the phone.”
The word coma stabs me through the heart all over again, and I manage to choke out “Wren…”
“Oh my god, what’s wrong? Did something happen?” She cries down the phone.
“It’s Lottie, she’s been in a car accident.” I manage to grit out. I relay what I know, which still isn’t a lot, as she sobs.
I hear her tell Sawyer to prepare the jet, whoever he is, and then she’s back on the line. “I’ll be there as soon as I can. Which hospital are you at?”
“San Diego General, call or text when you’re here. I’ll come and find you.”
“Ok.” she sniffles. “I’ll see you soon.”
And just like that, I’m alone again in the waiting room.
Closing my eyes for a brief moment, I reflect on the past twenty-four hours, how things could have been so different. It’s at that moment I make the decision, as soon as Lottie wakes up, I’m telling her how I feel. I can’t go on like this any longer.
The waiting room door opens, and Dr. Carter finally comes in, letting me know Lottie is out of surgery and is being taken to the ICU. Once the nurses have got her settled, I can go and sit with her.
About half an hour later, a nurse appears to take me to Lottie’s room, and I am so unprepared for what I see that I have to grasp the side of the door to hold me upright.
There she is, my best friend, the love of my life, hooked up to every machine known to man.
There are tubes everywhere: in her arm, up her nose, down her throat.
Covered in cuts and bruises, she looks unrecognizable.
Her tiny body dwarfed by the hospital bed.
I know I need to be strong for Lottie, and for Wren when she arrives, but my heart feels like it’s being butchered by a machete right now, and I’m struggling to stay in control of my emotions.
The sound of beeping from the various machines pulls me out of my thoughts, and in a weird way, the noise soothes me. It lets me know Lottie’s alive, and at the moment, that’s the best I can hope for. I take her hand in mine, kiss her palm, and whisper, “I love you.”