“Will she be okay?” MJ asks worriedly as he begins to pack his equipment back inside the medical bag.
“She sustained a serious wound. We’re going to take her to the hospital to get checked out by a doctor, so the possibility of a concussion can be ruled out,” Andrew says as he wraps one strong arm around my shoulders and helps me up into a sitting position.
The world around me spins, and nausea slams into me again.
“Can you walk?” Andrew asks.
“I-I think so.”
He studies me with a frown, then glances over his shoulder and waves at someone. Moments later, two paramedics roll a stretcher to a stop beside us. It doesn’t take them long to load me atop it and secure my body with the belts for transport. Then we’re heading toward one of the ambulances parked nearby.
As we roll by, my gaze scans the spot where Sol and Levi were lying, but it’s empty. Glancing around, I catch a glimpse of two stretchers being loaded into separate ambulances.
MJ appears in my line of sight, blocking my view. She wipes the wetness on her cheeks, and tells me, “I’m going to lock up the house. Ivan and I will follow you by car. Everything’s going to be okay.” Even though her words are meant to be reassuring, the slight tremble of her bottom lip and the tears brimming in her eyes contradict them.
Her expression says it all.
Things are far from okay.
This is really bad.
“Where’s Ivan? Did he tell you what’s going on with Levi and Sol?”
She averts her gaze, looking everywhere but at me. “We’ll know more when we get to the hospital.” Andrew tells her that we have to go, and MJ nods, taking a step back.
“Wait!” I cry out. Andrew’s hand on the door pauses. “MJ, what did Ivan say?”
Her shoulders sag, and it feels like an eternity before she finally meets my gaze. “It’s not good, Grace. See you in a bit.”
She takes a few steps back, and the door slams shut. Sirens begin to blare, and we drive off. Squeezing my eyes shut, I let the tears fall as the memory of what happened less than thirty minutes ago replays in my head. I don’t bother to shake it off. It’s what I deserve for the wreckage I caused.
Please don’t let them die, I pray silently. Take me instead. They don’t deserve to die because of my actions.
I wait for an answer—a sign—but silence greets me instead, interrupted by Andrew saying, “Don’t fall asleep, Grace. Open your eyes and look at me.”
As soon as the ambulance pulls up in front of Mercy Medical Center’s loading bay, the doors open. From where I’m lying, I see two nurses rush out of the glass double doors and jog toward the vehicle. After a quick update from Andrew, the stretcher I’m on is unloaded from the ambulance, and the nurses take over.
My eyes dart to my right where two ambulances are idling, which I assume are the ones that brought in Sol and Levi, right before I’m rolled inside.
We end up in the emergency room, and I’m wheeled into one of the unoccupied cubicles. After being moved to the bed, Andrew leaves, taking the stretcher with him. Someone cries out in agony from somewhere close, and one of the nurses excuses herself and dashes off, probably to check on the patient.
“The boys,” I say, struggling to sit up. A woman with short dark hair and black-rimmed glasses—Nurse Beatrice Roth, according to the tag on her blue scrubs—faces me. “The two boys . . . they were brought in before me. Do you know how they’re doing? Are they okay?”
“Their injuries are being assessed, and they’ve been taken back for tests. That’s all I can tell you at the moment,” she says. “I need to check your vitals. Please lie back down.”
“I feel fine.” She gives me a pointed look as she unhooks the stethoscope from around her neck, then proceeds to slip the blood pressure cuff around my arm. “What kind of tests?”
“We need to know the extent of their injuries. Now, Miss—”
“It’s Grace. My name is Grace,” I say, scrambling to sit up and attempting to ignore the pain stabbing my head from the inside. “I swear I’m feeling fine. Look, I just need to know how Sol and Levi are doing. Please just check for me, Nurse Roth.”
Dropping the stethoscope, she puts her hands on my shoulders. “You need to calm down, Grace—”
I twist my body from her hold and hop down on the floor, but my vision spins, forcing me to slump back on the bed, “I am calm. I just need to know if they are okay. That I didn’t kill them.”
Nurse Roth’s eyes widen. “What?”
I tug my hair back, trying to contain everything I’m feeling. “It’s all my fault. Jesus, why am I like this?” I let go of my hair and wipe the tears streaming down my cheeks with my hand.
“Shoot,” she mutters as she stares at my palm, now covered in blood from pulling at my hair and aggravating the wound. The sight makes me woozy, and then I’m reaching for something to grasp. The nurse catches me, grabbing me by my waist before my head can hit the metal IV stand, and guides me back down onto the bed. Without taking her eyes off me, she yells, “Hey, Jane. I need help.”
Moments later, the nurse from before—Jane, I assume—comes back into the room, and Nurse Roth whispers something to her. Darting a quick glance in my direction, Jane nods and hurries out of the room.
“How long will it take? I need to get out of here. My mom will be worried if I don’t go home. I still need to check on my friends—”
“You’re not going anywhere until we make sure you are okay.”
“Is my friend here? Her name’s MJ. She was supposed to follow us in her car. She can talk to my mom and let her know where I am. And my two friends . . . could someone please find out what’s going on, please? Please.”
The last image of Sol and Levi flashes in my head. They have to be okay. The driver might have hit them, but I’m the one who put them on that street.
I take a deep breath because my lungs are on fire, and I need to breathe. Oh God, I can’t breathe. I claw at my throat. “I-I need air. Please help me; my chest hurts . . . I-I can’t breathe.” I try to move, but darkness dances around the edge of my vision.
“Grace! Grace, listen to me. I need you to stay calm, okay? You’re in no shape to stand, let alone walk,” Nurse Roth says insistently.
This is bullshit. “I’ll calm down once you tell me what’s happening to Sol and Levi,” I say, much more forcefully than I intend to, then I gulp in air through my mouth.
I try to sit up again, but everything seems to be spinning. A firm hand on my shoulder keeps me down. Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Nurse Jane reappear, holding something in her hand. She hands it to Nurse Roth.
“What’s that?” I ask, my stomach tightening with dread.
“I’m going to give you something to calm you down, all right?” Nurse Roth says, and my eyes dart to the syringe in her hand. “A little help here, Jane. She’s losing too much blood—” The rest of her words are cut off as the pounding in my ears gets louder.
“No!” I scream, waving my hands to ward her off as I scramble to get as far away from her as I can. If she sedates me, I’ll be useless. Helpless. “Please don’t do this. I’m calm. See?”