“Age?”...”Do you know what kind of brain tumor?”...“We just found out.”...”How long has she been unconscious?”...“Her pulse is weak.”...“Is she taking any medication?”
Figures moved through the space in slow motion. People rushing in and out, Madison lifted onto a backboard, placed on a gurney, carried out of her room, out of the house, placed into the ambulance, and whisked away.
“Ma’am? Ma’am, are you okay?”
The voice grew louder with each word and Abby searched for where it was coming from.
“Abby?”
John’s voice shook her free.
“John?”
“Are you okay?”
“I think so. I’m not sure.”
“Ma’am, let’s get you back into the house. I’d like to check you out for a minute.”
“No, I’m fine. I just need to go with Maddie.”
“Honey, we’ll go. Just listen to the nice young man. Let him check your blood pressure or whatever he’s going to do and then we’ll go. I already called Megan, and she’s on her way to the hospital now.”
Allowing herself to be guided back into the house, Abby sat on the couch and allowed the medic to shine a light in her eyes, wave his fingers in her face, wrap a cuff around her arm, and listen to her heart. She politely answered his questions. Meanwhile, terror was coiling itself in her stomach, snaking around her heart, and threatening to burst out of her if she didn’t get to her daughter. Her eyes were focused on the door, and as much as she tried to pay attention to the young man, it was all she could do to keep from jumping up and racing after the ambulance. With every minute that passed, Abby couldn’t help but feel a piece of herself falling away.
CHAPTER 44
Racing down the road, Jake tried to punch Billy’s number into his phone but his hands were shaking too much to dial properly. Frustrated he threw the phone on the floor and looked over at Lily. With her head leaned up against the window, her complexion took on a ghostly appearance.
“You okay?”
She didn’t speak, just nodded slightly.
“So how long...the baby. When did you know?”
Turning her head slightly, she responded, “Two weeks.”
“You’ve known for two weeks?” His voice was panicky, and he knew he shouldn’t be mad right now. It wasn’t the time. Focusing on her was the priority, not the sudden anger he felt for being left in the dark. He was sure she’d had her reasons for not saying anything. But was she ever going to tell him? The question looped in his head liked a scratched vinyl record. “I’m sorry. We can talk about that later. You sure you feel all right? Are you going to be sick? You can throw up in the truck. I don’t care.”
He was babbling but couldn’t stop. She just closed her eyes and continued to lean against the window with her hand on her stomach. He noticed a stray tear slip down her face. Putting more pressure on the accelerator, he nearly doubled the speed limit through town. As he crossed through the intersection, he failed to notice the ambulance speeding through a turn.
Time slowed as he slammed on the brakes. He could feel his body push forward and he reached out to stop Lily from doing the same. The sound of colliding metal was deafening as each vehicle rolled to its side. A shower of shattered glass blew in and rained over them like hail. The ambulance siren wailed and its tires continued to spin. Smoke billowed from under the hood of Jake’s truck as he hung suspended by his seat belt.
Dizzy from whiplash, he took stock of what happened. Airbags deployed. Windshield cracked. Other than a few bumps and bruises he was okay. Turning his head to find Lily, she was unconscious and bleeding from her head. She’d taken the brunt of the accident as the car had flipped to the passenger side and her head hit the window hard.
“Lily?”
She didn’t answer when he spoke her name and she didn’t stir when he reached over to rouse her. Panic began to build as he jiggled his seatbelt buckle but it wouldn’t budge.
“Lily ,wake up.”
He searched his surroundings for anything that would get him loose. His keys were jammed in the ignition and he couldn’t reach the glove box where he kept his Swiss Army knife. Gripping the steering wheel, he tried to pull himself forward enough to get at least one foot on the car seat. He managed to shift his shoulder through the locked belt but it was too tight against his lap for him to do much else.
“Lily. You have to wake up.”
Reaching over, he jostled her shoulder to wake her up but her body flopped like a rag doll.
“Help! Somebody help us! Help us!”
***
The ambulance driver saw the pickup truck at the last minute but there was nothing Dave could do to avoid the collision. The brakes did little to slow the slide into the other vehicle. The sound of metal twisting in on itself was deafening. As the siren wailed, Dave turned the wheel attempting to prevent flipping over but as he watched the pavement approach through the driver’s side window, he braced for the impact. Lunging for the other seat, he held on as they slid to a stop at the side of the road. He quickly grabbed the radio and called in the accident.
“Marty! You okay?” he yelled to his partner in the back. “Marty, how’s the patient?”
There was no answer. Dave unbuckled his seat belt. Repositioning his grip on the seat, he pulled himself up and through the passenger side window. He ran to the back of the ambulance and opened the door. Marty was bleeding and his arm was bent at an odd angle. Dave checked his vitals and quickly pulled him out onto the side of the road. Marty was breathing and his pulse was shocky, but fine. Pulling a blanket from the back, he covered his partner to keep him warm.
The patient, however, was a different story. She was strapped to a backboard and gurney but the gurney had tipped and her face was now hidden in a storage compartment. He gently righted her, careful to keep her head still. Her nose was definitely broken and probably her right cheekbone as well. Her breath sounds were weak and he did what he could to stabilize her but before he was able to move her out of the vehicle, her eyes flickered, her body shuddered, and she stopped breathing.
After a few minutes of CPR, he heard someone yelling for help. Understanding he’d done what he could for the patient, he quickly checked on Marty before running to the other vehicle.
The pickup was in worse shape than the ambulance. The windshield was shattered and he could see two of the tires had popped. Carefully, he climbed the undercarriage and found a man dangling, strapped into his seatbelt, and a woman with her head settled against the pavement. The head wound looked bad, but he needed information before he alarmed anyone.
***
Jake heard footsteps and voices coming from somewhere, and he stretched his neck to find out where. The ambulance was smashed and lying on its side as well. It looked as though two people were able to escape the wreckage.
“Hey! Over here! Help us!”
Jake’s shouting caught the attention of one of the paramedics and he raced over.
“You guys okay? Anyone hurt?”
“I’m fine but my girlfriend’s pregnant. She’s unconscious.”
The paramedic climbed up so his head was at the driver’s side window.
“Do me a favor, look at me. That’s it. Follow the light. Do you know what day it is?”
“Wednesday.”
“What’s your name?”
“Jacob Morgan.”
“Hi Jacob. I’m Dave. How old are you?”
“Please, just help my girlfriend. I’ll answer whatever you want. Just help her first. Please.”
“Alright. We called it in. Help should be coming any minute. Can you reach her?”
“Yeah.”
“Feel her neck for a pulse.”
“Okay.”
Jake stretched over to Lily and was barely able to touch his fingertips to her neck. He was still and silent as he closed his eyes and waited to feel something. His eyes flashed open.
“Yeah. She’s got a pulse.”
“
Okay. Let me see what I can do. I’m going over to her side of the car.”
“All right. Hurry, please.”
“What’s her name?”
“Lily.”
Within seconds the paramedic was lying on the road peering through the windshield.
“Looks like she banged her head pretty hard. She’s got a gash on her forehead that’ll definitely need stitches. How pregnant is she?”
“What?”
“How pregnant is she? Six weeks? Eight weeks?”
Frozen, Jake tried to figure out the answer. He hadn’t even asked her.
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?”
“I just found out today.”
“Can you guess?”
“Probably what you said, six to eight weeks. But she was bleeding when we got in the car. I was taking her to the hospital.”
“Okay. Hold tight. I hear the sirens. I’ll call in the information you gave me. How old is she?”
“Twenty-five.”
“Good. You sit tight. We’ll have you out in a few.”
“Hey!”
The paramedic’s face came back into view. “Yeah?”
“Was anyone in the ambulance? Anyone sick, I mean.”
“Yeah there was.”
“Are they okay?”
“No, man. We lost her. Hang tight.”
Jake shut his eyes tight and slammed his head back on the seat. Someone died because he wasn’t paying attention. He was so focused on what was going on in his truck that he didn’t notice the ambulance. And now someone was dead.
When he heard a small moan, he looked over at Lily. Her hand was pressed against her forehead, and she was struggling to open her eyes.
“Lily?”
“What happened?”
“We were in an accident. We hit an ambulance. Are you okay? How’s your head? Does anything else hurt?”
She held up her hand to stop him from talking. It was bad enough she could barely open her eyes but she was sure her head would explode if he said another word.
“Just stop talking for a minute.”
Jake started pulling on the buckle of his seat belt. Jamming his thumb on the button, he pushed as hard as he could but it wouldn’t budge.
“I think I’m okay. My head feels like it was hit with a hammer.”
“Does your stomach hurt?”
As if she’d momentarily forgotten, her hands flew to her stomach.
“No. It doesn’t.”
“That’s good.”
“What does it mean if it doesn’t hurt?”
“I am sure it means the baby is fine. We’ll get out of here and get you to a hospital. You’ll see. Everything will be okay.”
“What if it isn’t?”
“Then we’ll deal with it. For now, everything will be fine.”
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“For not telling you sooner. I went to the doctor yesterday. I wanted to wait till I knew for sure.”
Jake reached for her hand and gripped it tightly. “Don’t be sorry. You had your reasons. We’ll be fine. I promise.”
She squeezed his hand and closed her eyes.
The sirens wailed as police and more paramedics approached the scene.
CHAPTER 45
Movement jostled Lily back into consciousness and the next thing she knew, she was being lifted into the back of an ambulance. Jake was stationed beside her, holding her hand talking to the paramedic. She was dizzy and barely had any recollection of the accident. The last thing she remembered before waking up was a slow motion feeling of falling.
Her head had stopped bleeding but it still felt like a knife was wedged between her eyes. She couldn’t get comfortable as they hooked her up to an IV. An oxygen mask was strapped across her face. Something about blood pressure was discussed around her. A racing pulse had become an issue. All she wanted to know was if her baby was okay. The tiny little person growing in her belly was in trouble, and she’d gladly have given up everything just to know it was fine.
When she tried to speak, the mask muffled the sound. When she tried to move, she noticed her hands had tubes taped to them. She needed to tell them about the strange sensation she was getting in her stomach again. Not quite as painful as back at the house but uncomfortable nonetheless. No one seemed to be paying any attention to her. Her eyes flicked back and forth from Jake to the paramedic. They were so engrossed in conversation they seemed to forget she was even there. She wanted to scream for their attention, do something to make them look at her, to let her speak, but she couldn’t think of anything.
Her head became foggy and she closed her eyes against the strange floating sensation that crept up on her. She heard a strange rushing beep. Her heart felt like it was going to beat out of her chest. She gasped for air and finally, when she was ready to sleep, Jake and the paramedic noticed her. The look in Jake’s eyes was strange, like panic was dancing through them. She felt his hand squeeze hers, and she tried to squeeze back but couldn’t muster the energy. Trying to smile softly to let him know she was okay, she couldn’t make her mouth work right. She couldn’t force her eyes open and the crazy beep grew faster and louder before distancing itself from her. Jake’s eyes filled with tears, and he leaned down to rest his head on her stomach. His hands reached up to her face.
Lily couldn’t understand why he was acting so strangely. She wanted to comfort him, hold him, and tell him everything was going to be okay. He was shouting, but she couldn’t hear him. Everything was silent, nothing hurt, and she was filled with calm.
She watched as the paramedic pushed him out of the way and as he placed his hands on her chest, she watched her chest cave with each push. Jake was sitting back up against the wall of the ambulance with his hands on his head, his mouth was moving but she couldn’t understand what he was saying. A jolt flew through her and her body jumped.
Looking down at herself, Lily realized her lips were tinged blue and her eyelashes were black against her pale skin. A red gash on her forehead stared back at her. Lifting her hands to her face, she came to a realization and took a step forward. The paramedic placed the paddles on her chest, and her body jumped again. Over and over again he tried, sweat beaded on his brow. He pumped her heart with electricity, filled her nonresponsive lungs with oxygen, and watched the monitor continue to flat line.
She laid a hand on the paramedics shoulder, whispered in his ear, and he stopped. Sitting back he stared at her lifeless body on the gurney. He turned to Jake, closed his eyes, and shook his head.
Jake’s face fell as he squeezed his eyes shut. She felt the grief pour off of him as he collapsed onto her. Shutting her eyes, she forced herself to hear him. His voice ripped through her as if the volume had suddenly been turned on.
“Lily! No, Lily! Wake up. Wake up. I love you! Please, Lily. Please.”
He screamed himself hoarse as he pleaded with her to come back to him. Sadness intruded upon her calm, and she knew she couldn’t console him. He needed to let all the pain and anguish fill him up. If he was going to ever get past any of this, she knew he needed to feel it, all of it, and she held herself back from going to him.
On his knees, he continued to plead for the paramedic to do something more. He continued to beg Lily to come back to him. All she could do was watch and wait until it was time for her to go.
Suddenly, a small hand wedged itself into hers. A small child looked up, smiled, and tugged at her hand. Lily reluctantly allowed herself to be taken away from where she stood. As she passed Jake, he looked up, eyes filled with tears. She leaned down and kissed him softly on the cheek. Confused, he pressed his hand to the spot where her lips had touched. With one last small touch on his shoulder, she left him behind.
CHAPTER 46
The ambulance pulled in front of the emergency room doors but there was no longer any emergency. Jake hopped out of the back and watched as the two paramedics gently lifted Lily out. He stood rooted as they
wheeled her through the doors. Billy came running up from the parking lot.
“Jake, what happened? Are you guys okay? Someone at the bar told me you two were in an accident. Where’s Lily?”
Jake couldn’t look him in the eye. Hands shoved in his pockets and shoulders slumped, the answer radiated from him. He could do nothing but stand there staring at the ground.
He heard Billy run into the hospital screaming for someone, anyone to bring him to his niece.
“Jake, what are you doing here?”
John Olsen walked up to him with Abby. Jake lifted his gaze and saw that they had been crying. He pointed to the emergency room.
“Are you here because of Madison?”
“Madison’s here?”
“Yes. We found her on the floor and the ambulance brought her here.”
A brick landed in Jake’s stomach as he thought to the accident and the ambulance.
“The ambulance?”
“Yes. That’s why we’re here. Did you see her come in?”
Sitting on the bench, Jake tucked his head between his knees and covered his face with his hands. He hoped he was wrong.
“I didn’t see her. Lily and I were in an, Lily was...Oh my God.”
“What happened, Jake?”
“Lily’s...Lily’s dead. We got into an accident with an ambulance on the way here.”
Abby clutched her chest and ran into the building looking for her daughter. John stared at Jake with sadness for a moment before following his wife inside.
Jake had no idea how long he’d been sitting on the bench when his father sat down next to him. Fresh tears began to fall just when he thought he had no more to shed.
“I’m sorry about Lily. She was an amazing girl.”
Jake’s head dropped farther down.
“I brought you some water.”
Three Days of Rain Page 21