“I would use a different description…”
“…but she’s still my sister and I know she loves me, even though she has a weird way of showing it.”
I sigh. She’s not wrong and I know it, but it’s hard to admit it. “I get to be in the room. If she says anything about adopting the baby, I can’t promise you I’ll behave.”
“I wouldn’t expect you to. Though, she didn’t really offer to adopt so much as buy,” she admits.
“What?” I half growl, half whisper.
“Yeah, to go along with the adoption, you know? She wanted to “make it right”,” she says, using one hand to make finger quotes.
“Good thing I didn’t know that earlier,” I mutter.
A nurse pops in, saying she needs to check Ashley’s vitals one more time and looks at a long printout that I hadn’t noticed earlier. Ashley explains it’s from monitoring the baby so when the nurse smiles at what she sees, I release the breath I was holding.
“Good. Everything still looks great, Ashley. Do you feel up to talking to the police? They’d like to get your statement for their records.”
“Oh. Now?”
“If you’re up to it. If not, I’ll tell them to come back tomorrow.”
“Might as well get it over with, right?”
The nurse gives her an encouraging thumbs up that makes us both chuckle. “Once they’re done, we’ll transfer you up to your room. Then maybe get you a little something to eat if you’re up for it. Sound good?”
“I guess,” she says, sounding like she wants to do anything but that. I don’t blame her, but she won’t be alone. I’ll sleep on the hospital floor if I have to, but she won’t be left alone in the hospital all night. Not to mention, the thought of eating hospital food after our dinner ended up on her passenger seat floor.
The nurse pats her on the leg. “It’ll be all right. I know it’s not fun or ideal but it’s best for you and the baby if we keep an eye on how you’re doing through the night.”
“I know, I get it,” Ashley replies, sounding sad as ever.
“Why don’t I go to your place while they’re getting you situated? I’ll bring back a change of clothes and whatever else you want.”
“Would you?”
“Of course. Just tell me what to grab.”
She rattles off a list of items and when she says “cell phone charger” her gaze drops.
“I don’t even know where my purse or phone ended up. Or even my car for that matter.”
Her car is without a doubt going to a junkyard. Not this second, obviously, because of insurance and whatever the police will need to do with it, but it’s completely totaled. Which sucks big time because it was brand new. She drove it off the lot with less than a hundred miles on the odometer less than a month ago. “It’s okay, Ash. We’ll figure it all out. I’ve got your spare key to your house in my truck. You’re here with me and that’s all that matters right now.”
She nods, tears in her eyes. “I don’t want to eat the food here,” she cries somewhat pathetically. “I was looking forward to our evening of Chick-fil-A and Netflix.”
“I know, baby. Me, too. I’ll pick up something for you to eat and sneak it in, okay?”
The nurse zips her lips and gives us a wink. “Didn’t hear a thing.”
She lets the police officer know he can come in and excuses herself for a few moments to give Ashley privacy. I won’t be doing the same. I haven’t had the chance to find out what the hell happened today either and need to know. I’ve restrained myself from demanding answers but my patience is gone.
“Ms. Porter, I’m Officer Luis,” the policeman introduces himself. He’s a younger guy, a few inches taller than me, and dark blond hair that’s been buzzed close to his scalp. “Do you mind if I ask you a few questions about what happened earlier this evening?”
“No. That’s fine. But you can call me Ashley.”
“All right, Ashley.”
He turns to me, extending his hand for me to shake. “And you are?”
“Nik. Ashley’s…” I trail off, not knowing how to explain our situation. I’m way more than her baby daddy, which is a term I loathe, but I’m also not her boyfriend. Even though I want to be. I mean, I consider her my girlfriend, and there’s nobody else for me. I’m about ninety-nine percent sure there’s no one else for her, either. But we’ve never had the talk to make sure that we’re on the same page. That, in itself, makes my stomach churn.
Ashley saves me from my inner turmoil and clears her voice. “He’s my Nik,” she states. Her Nik. I can live with that. Not exactly the only title I want, but it’s enough for now.
Officer Luis nods in understanding.
“Okay, Ashley. This should be relatively quick. I won’t take up too much of your time. Can you recall anything from today’s events?”
“Yes. I had just picked up food from the drive-thru and was on the phone with Nik,” she says, pointing to me. “But it was through the Bluetooth function on my car so it was completely hands free,” she quickly adds. He jots it down on his little notebook.
“Then what?”
“I was at a red light and it turned green, I know it did. I was just going through the intersection when out of nowhere I was hit in the passenger side of my car. The impact caused me to skid across the road and hit another car, or actually, no, it was a truck. A big full-size one. I’m positive it was. And I think the first one was a big SUV. Pretty sure it was a dark red color. The truck might have been gray? I’m not sure on that though. I was pinned against the truck but not the SUV. I never saw where it went after it hit me.”
“What do you mean?”
Ashley shrugs slightly. “I guess I never looked for it. It all happened so fast and seeing where that car went wasn’t my priority, you know? My airbags had deployed but I had hit my head. I assume it was against my window because it was on the side, not the front, and the airbags deployed. I don’t know if the driver left or if they hit another car? I’m not sure. A guy came over and said he saw the entire thing and he was on the phone with police. Then the ambulance came and here I am.”
Officer Luis nods and writes down a few more notes. “You have a good memory,” he comments.
“I paid attention. My dad’s a retired cop. He taught me what to take note of. Sorry I didn’t remember what happened to the car that hit me, though.” Her lips twist and her eyebrows furrow. “That kind of annoys me. I don’t know why I didn’t look harder.”
I press my lips together to stop from laughing. Only Ashley would be mad at herself for not remembering every single detail of an accident that could have killed her. Officer Luis looks at me out of the corner of his eye and smirks.
“That’s all right, Ashley. This is a big help.”
“Yeah?” she asks, her eyes lighting up.
He lifts his notebook in the air and nods. “Yup.”
“Can you tell us more about what happened? Is everyone involved okay? What was the cause?” I ask him, eager for anything else to go on. It was a beautiful day so weather-wise there was no logical reason why the accident would have happened. It had to be a case of distracted driving, drunk driving, or worse yet — the driver could have become suddenly sick and lost control. I’ve heard of accidents where the driver has a heart attack or a seizure with no warning. Scary to think about.