by Reber, Tina
The last thing I remember was hearing the jingling sound of my collection of keys when they landed on the ground.
Then… everything went black.
Chapter 31 - Broadsided
I heard the dark shadow whisper “she’s not breathing” before his lips pressed into mine. The shadow’s warm breath was stale and lifeless, and tasted like a mixture of blood and cigarettes. I felt the shadow’s strength when he touched my face, pinching my nose with force.
Ow, that hurts! Be gentle!
The wind that he blew into my chest burned my lungs like fire.
“Oh my God! Oh my God!” a female voice cried out. Her halo glowed like a sparkling rainbow around her head. “I tried to stop!” she sobbed.
Don’t worry heavenly angel. It’s okay! I tried to say, but no words came from my mouth. I wanted to calm her, stop her from crying. Why can’t I speak to her?
“Miss Taryn!” the male voice cried, blowing another gust of searing wind into my chest. His third gust filled my soul; I felt my breast rise to the sky towards the light. The wind scorched me from inside and I squeezed my eyes tight from the pain.
Everything was dark again; my body craved new air. My mouth and eyes flew open when my lungs pulled in a sharp breath on their own. I gasped repeatedly for more air; it couldn’t come into my body quick enough.
Dazed and disoriented, my eyes tried to refocus on all the faces that looked down at me. Some faces were sideways, some were upside down. How peculiar! I tried to reason with these new visions but the burn in my chest and the taste of blood in my mouth overpowered those thoughts. Who are these people? Why am I lying in the street?
I turned my head to see who was talking to me. It was Jimmy Pop; he was kneeling next to me.
“Oh Miss Taryn. Oi!” he cried.
“Oh Miss Taryn! Stop taking pictures of her!” Jimmy yelled. He tried to shield my body with his own.
I wanted to get up; I didn’t want to be laying in the cold snow and the street. When I tried to move, the pain blasted in my gut and radiated out towards my hips.
In the distance I could hear the screaming sound of sirens; the noise was coming towards me.
“Don’t move, don’t move! Stay still!” another voice shouted at me.
The shrill of sirens was more pronounced now. Their tones changed as they approached. I could see the red and blue flashing lights reflecting off the puddles on the wet street.
“Jimmy,” I choked. “Jimmy.” The blood in my mouth clogged my throat.
I looked at the old, Italian man kneeling next to me; his eyes were wrinkled and wet with tears.
“My purse…” I garbled. “Phone. Call Ryan.”
“Move back, everyone move back,” I heard a man shouting. A new face appeared in my vision; this one too was upside down. I felt the leather of his gloves when he wrapped his fingers around the sides of my head. Even though his face was reversed, he still looked familiar.
“Don’t try to move,” he cautioned me. “Tell me your name.”
“Taryn.” I tried to swallow. The blood tasted horrible. “Taryn… Mitchell.”
“Taryn, it’s Officer Carlton. The ambulance is on its way. Are you allergic to any medicines?”
“No.” I felt relief knowing I’d be rescued soon.
“Can you tell me what happened?” the officer questioned.
I could see from the corner of my eye that Jimmy Pop had my phone in his hand. He and another man were fumbling with it. If they would just hand me the phone I could call Ryan. “Give me…” I weakly asked, holding my arm out to them.
“Taryn!” Do you remember what happened?” Officer Carlton asked again with more urgency.
“I was… crossing the street. She was… car… waiting.” I tried to lift my left arm and point in the direction where Angelica’s car was, but when I tried the pain shot down into my elbow. My arm must be broken.
“I didn’t see.” I tried to swallow. The blood was congealing in my mouth.
“Oh, Mister Ryan, Mister Ryan. It’s Jimmy. Oh, come. You come quick! Miss Taryn, she’s been hit by a car! Oh, ho, ho!” He started to cry.
New sirens joined in the mix of noise and confusion. They seemed to come from all directions towards me, and they had different tones.
“I’m alive,” I mumbled, hoping Jimmy would tell Ryan the same. The police officer that was holding my head still kept asking me questions.
“Um, I’m on the pill... just birth control.” I answered his question about what medicine I take. Someone covered me with a blanket.
“She’s talking to the police,” I heard Jimmy say in the phone. At least he knew I was alive. Oh, Ryan, I cried inside.
“Ambulance is here. You come now!” Jimmy ordered. “I don’t know. I find out.”
I was glad that the police made the crowd move away from me. There was too much going on; it was confusing.
“Tell me your name,” a new voice asked. Latex clad hands replaced the policeman’s hands and I was looking at a new upside down face. The paramedic was attending to me now.
“Taryn Mitchell.” I tried to pick dried blood off my lip. It felt strange to talk; my lip seemed way too big. Swollen. My right arm moved with only the slightest bit of pain.
“I’m twenty-seven,” I muttered, answering his age question.
He asked me the same questions about medicines and allergies. Just get me off the damn cold street is what I really wanted to say. My head was wrapped in some red colored rubber collar thing. It made me feel claustrophobic when they squeezed it to my cheeks. No longer could I glance at Jimmy Pop and the phone that connected me to Ryan.
I heard the ambulance driver tell Jimmy that I’d be transported to Saint Luke’s Hospital, which was one town over. He conveyed the message to Ryan. I was so relieved that he knew where to find me. I’d never make it to Miami or his hotel... not today.
The ambulance crew rolled me to my side; I cried out in pain when they rolled me onto my arm. Slowly they rolled me onto my back and I was strapped down in place on a stiff board.
“I tried to cross the street. We have a stalker. She was waiting, in her car.” I had to catch my breath. The pain in my stomach was excruciating. “I thought she was going to run me over. So I ran. I ran. I didn’t see the other car. I wasn’t looking.” My words came easier now, even though my teeth were starting to chatter together and my lip felt twenty pounds over-inflated.
“Officer,” the paramedic shouted. I had to repeat my story.
“Angelica… Staunton. She’s… stalking me and my boyfriend. She must have gotten out of jail. We have a restraining order; it’s in my purse.” I tried to point. It hurt to breathe. “She was waiting in her car, and she pulled away from the curb when she saw me. I thought she was going to hit me, so I ran. I didn’t see.” I swallowed hard. “I didn’t see the other car. It was my fault.”
I was glad to finally be up and off the street, even though I was lying on a stiff board. I know they tried to be careful but I was still jostled a bit when they rolled me into the ambulance.
The cameras flashed repeatedly off the glass in the ambulance. Great, more embarrassing publicity - just what Ryan needs!
I felt a needle stick me in the arm, but the discomfort was minimal. Needles, tape, questions, shoes removed… my head swirled.
The sirens blazed to life and we were finally on our way to the hospital. About time!
I sighed, relieved we were moving. My eyes glanced over at the paramedic; he had menacing silver scissors in his hand. No sooner did the ambulance get going, he stuck the scissors into the pants leg of my jeans and started cutting.
“What are you doing?” I panicked as he cut my jeans, the same jeans I was wearing the first day I met Ryan.
“Stay calm, Miss Mitchell. I need to assess the level of your injuries.”
I closed my eyes while he cut up the front of both legs of my jeans, all the way to my waist. Next he cut through the layers of my shirts, snipping my white lace b
ra open between my breasts. He cut my underwear and pushed the tattered, wet remains of my clothing out of his way, exposing my naked body. I felt like I was being raped and there was nothing I could do about it.
All my clothes were cut, one by one, piece by piece, from my body. Tears formed and dripped out of the corners of my eyes.
He started running his hands from the top of my head down every part of my body and I shivered with fear. He squeezed my arms, stopping at my left wrist when I cried out. Damn, it’s definitely re-broken.
He was listening with his stethoscope and when he ran his hands over my ribs the pain it generated made me moan out in agony. He squeezed my legs; I was glad that it didn’t cause any major pain. I could feel every touch of his warm hands. I was naked, fully exposed, and freezing.
He hooked me up with that annoying oxygen thing that fits in your nostrils. Although it was uncomfortable, it actually helped.
“I’m freezing.” My teeth chattered. I was glad when he finally covered me with a nice, thick blanket.
“Unit 1784 inbound, ten to twelve minute ETA…”
“Is the driver okay?” I asked when he finished talking on the radio.
“Let’s just worry about you right now,” he flatly replied.
“What did I hit?” I murmured.
“It was an SUV ma’am,” he answered.
“I remember silver. Was it silver colored?” My eyes squinted, trying to remember the details.
“Yes, it was.” He nodded.
I sighed, relieved that I could remember.
The paramedic and his partner wheeled me through the glass doors of the emergency room where I was immediately rolled into a curtained room. Nurses and doctors descended like flies and I was moved from the stretcher to the hospital gurney.
I spent the next five hours being poked, prodded, X-rayed, and MRI’d. I had a new IV stuck in the top of my right hand and a clip to measure something was snapped on my finger. Everything was taped securely in place. I had a rectal exam, a vaginal exam, was stuck repeatedly with needles, and they took my blood pressure with that stupid automatic machine a thousand times.
During the moments that I wasn’t being poked or quizzed, I allowed myself to cry. I felt so alone; I just wanted to see Ryan. I needed him to hold me.
Eventually my left arm was wrapped in a cast, from my hand to my elbow. The doctor gave me a blue wrap because he said the color matched my eyes. I think he was just trying to calm me.
An older female orderly wheeled me back into the emergency room, returning me to the same little curtain area I was in before. A doctor and a nurse came in a few moments later; the nurse was pushing a large machine into the room with her.
“Ms. Mitchell, I’m Doctor Willsten. I’m the attending OBGYN. We have the results of your urinalysis and you’ve tested positive for being pregnant. We’re going to do an ultrasound of your uterus.”
“What?” My thoughts spun wildly. I shook my head in disbelief. “Um, that’s impossible. I can’t be pregnant. I take birth control pills. You must be mistaken.”
He smiled as he wrote something on a clipboard. “You know that birth control pills are not one hundred percent effective in preventing pregnancy. Have you recently taken any other types of medications? Any over-the-counter products?”
I remembered how sick I was after Thanksgiving, but that was weeks ago. “I had a bad sinus infection and bronchitis at the beginning of December. My doctor gave me antibiotics.”
Doctor Willsten looked up from his paperwork and smiled at me again. “That will cancel out the effectiveness of the birth control medicine.”
I heard a commotion coming from outside my room, distracting me momentarily.
“She’s this way,” I heard a female voice say. I pulled the cover up higher to my neck in case reporters or photographers were going to come ripping around the corner.
The weight of a thousand worries lifted off my chest when Ryan came running around the curtain. He rushed right to my side.
“Honey, are you all right?” He kissed my face, my forehead. I knew I had a busted lip. I could feel it was swollen. “Oh Honey,” he cried out softly. His eyes looked me over to assess the damage.
Tears of relief streamed down my cheeks; all I could do was nod my head.
“I was just about to review the extent of her injuries with her,” the man with the Doctor Carlino nametag announced. “Could we please get you to wait outside for a moment, sir?”
“No,” I said fiercely, holding Ryan’s hand with my good hand. “He stays. This is my boyfriend.”
Doctor Carlino nodded. “We have reviewed all the test results and I’m happy to inform you that your injuries are minimal. Your left ulna is fractured above the wrist, but as you see we’ve already addressed that with a cast. Your ribs are severely bruised, but luckily there are no fractures. You’ll be quite sore for several weeks though. The contusions on your skin will eventually fade. We will treat your injuries with pain management medications. Your lip and face are swollen from the impact, but fortunately it doesn’t require stitches. And you’ve got a fair amount of bruising and what we call ‘road rash’ but that will all heal with time. We expect you to make a full recovery.” He smiled. “My colleague, Doctor Willsten, has been called in to assess the fetal risk.”
I looked up at Ryan; he was trying to soak that one in.
I gasped in a few ragged breaths.
“Ryan, they just told me I’m pregnant.” My voice was shaky with fear of telling him this news. “I’m sorry,” I whispered. My eyes flickered back to his.
“Pregnant?” He shook his head slightly. “I thought…”
“The doctor said that the antibiotics I took a couple of weeks ago could have affected my birth control pill.” I felt a tear leave my eye. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.”
“I’d like to do an ultrasound now,” Doctor Willsten announced, rolling the cart closer to the bed.
My legs were draped in a sheet while the doctor inserted a long probe inside me. The anxiety of finding out that I was pregnant made my legs shake.
“Ow…” I winced from the pain.
“Sorry, I know it’s uncomfortable.” My pain didn’t stop him.
The doctor was hitting a lot of buttons, taking some sort of readings. He marked an X at one end of a circle and another X on the opposite side. I was staring intently at the monitor, wondering how the hell he knew what he was looking it.
“You’re about six and a half weeks along. Hmm.” He looked at a little calendar and counted backwards. “Christmas baby!” He smiled at us. I felt Ryan squeeze my hand.
He clicked a few more buttons and we heard this strange noise over the machine’s speaker. It was a fast whooshing noise.
“What is that?” Ryan asked hesitantly.
“That’s the heartbeat,” the doctor stated.
The machine printed out a picture, which the doctor handed to Ryan. “That’s the embryo.”
Ryan leaned on my pillow next to my head. A huge smile crossed his face.
“That’s our baby? I’m going to be a father? Oh, Tar!” He kissed my forehead.
I was so scared to see how he would react. Nervous visions of him being angry and fleeing the emergency room were instantly replaced by calm and joy. I was so relieved that he seemed okay with the news. Our life had just made a monumental turn in a new direction.
Doctor Willsten spoke to another doctor on the other side of the curtain. I could only make out several words, some of which were “continue to monitor” and “possible placental abruption.” When he returned to speak to me, his face was stoic.
“Ms. Mitchell, we have a private room ready for you now. We’re going to move you to the neo-natal wing. We’ve noticed some abnormalities on the ultrasound. We’re going to continue to monitor you overnight just to keep an eye on things. The impact from the accident was centered on your abdomen and we’re concerned about your well being. If all goes well, you should be able to go home in a day
or so.”
I was wheeled into a room with two beds but they assured me that I would have the room to myself, considering our status. Random nurses kept passing by my door, all gawking in my room to get a look at Ryan.
Ryan pulled the guest chair over to the side of my bed and took my hand in his. “Honey, what happened?”
I swallowed hard, trying to remember the details of the last few hours. “I was leaving for the airport; I came down the alley. Just as I was ready to cross Mulberry, I saw Angelica sitting in her car.”
“What? Are you telling me she’s out of jail?” His voice bellowed his anger.
“Yeah. She was sitting in her Plymouth. I was terrified.” My lips trembled. I felt like crying.
“She was on the other side of Mulberry where she always parks. Just when I got to the edge of the alley she pulled up to the stop sign. I thought she was going to run me down.” I scratched my fat lip. “I ran across the street. I was so stupid. I was watching her instead of looking where I was going.”
Ryan softly kissed my cheek. “I love you so much.”
“I probably look horrible.” I wanted him to stop staring at me for a minute. I attempted to place my new blue cast over my eyes. “Ow,” I cried out. Pain immediately shot into my shoulder when I moved my arm, forcing me to remember additional parts of the accident.
“You were hit by a car! I don’t care how you look. I’m just glad you’re alive.”
I tried to smile. “Do I look like you did when you fought those bad guys?” I held the ice pack closer to my lip.
He smiled and nodded. “Yeah! Just a little! But your makeup looks real.” He trailed his finger over my cheek.
Of course we weren’t alone for long. Two young nurses came into my room, smiling frantically at the sight of Ryan.
“Hi there! My name is Kerry,” a slender brunette wearing bright purple scrubs announced. “This is Natalie. We’ll be taking care of you tonight.” Natalie was busy writing their names and the date on the dry erase board on my wall.
While they tended to me, Ryan was off in the corner, making phone calls. He called his parents and spoke to his father. His parents were going to take the first available flight out.