Seth hurried around after shutting my door and got in behind the wheel. He drove out to the main freeway, and I called Clara to let her know we were on our way and should be on time just as we took the exit.
“We’re on our way,” I said.
“Okay, we’re almost there,” she said. “We’ll meet you out front. Be safe.”
“Okay, see you soon.” I hung up the phone and placed it on my leg instead of putting it away.
Seth glanced over and smiled as the light changed. “At least we won’t be late.”
He had no sooner gotten the words out of his mouth than the light changed. When he went, I caught something out of the corner of my eye, but when I turned my head, it was too late. The truck was going to hit us, and there was nothing I could do.
I felt the impact on my side, and that was the last thing I remembered.
Chapter 18
Seth
I barely saw the truck out of the corner of my eye as it ran the stoplight and crashed into Avery’s side of the car.
I was knocked out on impact, and when I came to, fighting through the fog in my brain, I could hear a lot of action going on around me. Traffic was still moving on the freeway beside us, and I could hear a man talking to someone who wasn’t filling in the empty spots with their responses.
“Yeah, the girl is bleeding. I need an ambulance. I’m trying to stabilize her, but this little car is a mangled mess. She might have to be cut out. The male? Yeah, I think I can get him out.”
The conversation became two-sided to my ears when another officer arrived on the scene. “Are they stable?”
“One is. One is critical. I need you to help me get him out, and I’m going to need us to do some cutting for the girl.”
Cutting? It didn’t make much sense to me as I started to fade out again.
“Come on, man, I need you to stay awake,” said a man in an EMT uniform. “We’re going to transport you to the hospital, okay? You’ve been in an accident. Can you tell me your name?”
“Seth—Seth Mills,” I said, realizing I had chills.
“Okay, Seth, let’s work with me now, okay? I’m going to put this on your neck.” He had a brace, and I began to panic.
“Avery? Where’s Avery?” I hadn’t heard her voice. I knew the truck that hit us was on her side, and I tried to replay seeing it a split second just before it hit us, but it was like I couldn’t keep a clear thought.
“She’s being helped. I need you to focus on you for a second, okay? Tell me if you have any pain anywhere.”
“No,” I said, feeling like my body had been shut down. Maybe it was just shock. “Where’s Avery?” She was the only one I was worried about.
“Seth, let’s get this brace on you and get you to the hospital.” He put the brace on me, but I wasn’t happy that they wouldn’t tell me about Avery.
I must have blacked out because when I woke up, I was out of the car and on a stretcher being loaded into an ambulance for transport. “Avery!” I shouted. “Where is she?” I begged him to tell me where she was.
“She’s being transported too, sir. Just relax.” The man was patient.
Another man next to him was speaking much more softly. “We have to get that pressure down.”
I blacked out again, and when I opened my eyes, I saw Bryan standing with Avery, looking down at me. They were whispering to each other and shaking their heads.
“You can’t take her!” I shouted.
“Oh, you’re awake,” said a soft voice.
I opened my eyes and found myself in a hospital bed. “Avery,” I said as I tried to raise up.
“Is that the girl they brought in with you?” the woman asked with a somber tone.
“Yes, where is she?”
“She’s in surgery. You need to stay in bed. You have a nasty concussion, and we’re trying to get your blood pressure down a bit more before we let you up.”
“What time is it?” I didn’t know how much time had passed.
“It’s nearly seven thirty.”
Had all of this happened in just over half an hour? “I have to call her sister.” I knew Clara was probably worried sick when we didn’t pull up at the restaurant.
“Just a moment,” she said. She stepped away and waved another person into the room.
The woman was much older than the other, and she gave me a sympathetic smile. “Hi, I’m Linda. We were looking for information to call your friend’s family. The police have called asking for ID, but no one answers at the residence the car is registered to.”
“I can do it. I just need my phone.” I looked at the nearby table, but it wasn’t there. The last time I’d had it was in the car. It was probably still there.
The woman nodded. “Okay, just let me get with the EMTs. They should have brought your things in from the scene.”
About that time, another girl in scrubs walked into view. “They put them in the cabinet in case someone came in.” She walked over and got my phone.
I looked at my contacts a minute as the women stepped away. I had to call Clara and tell her what happened, but I didn’t even know her number, and I didn’t know how to tell her Avery was in the hospital in surgery.
I took a deep breath and called Omega House. Micah answered the house phone.
“Hey, I need Dillon’s number. It’s an emergency.” I knew I sounded like shit, and the news would spread fast with me telling the head of the Omegas.
“Sure, is everything all right?” Micah’s voice was steeped with concern.
“No, I was in an accident with Avery. They were expecting to meet us for dinner, and I have to tell them what happened. Just get the number please.”
“Damn. Okay, man. I’ll text it to you.”
“Thanks.”
He hung up the phone, and a second later, I had Dillon’s number. I dialed it and waited.
Dillon picked up. “Hello,” he said frantically.
“Dillon, it’s Seth.” My voice broke a little knowing what I had to tell them. And I didn’t blame the guy if he was mad at me for letting this happen. Even though it wasn’t my fault, I should have been paying better attention.
“Man, where the fuck are you two? Clara is in a panic mode. We just left the restaurant, and we rolled up on this accident. Don’t tell me that’s really Avery’s car.”
“It was us. Avery is in surgery. Man, get down here please. And call her parents. They can’t get anyone on the phone. And they won’t tell me anything.”
“Sit tight. We’re on our way.” He ended the call, and I closed my eyes as the phone rested on my chest. I opened my eyes when the lady in scrubs walked over and patted my hand.
“Did you get them?”
“Her sister is on the way. Is she going to be okay? Please tell me something.”
“They are doing all they can. She had some bleeding from the impact. You’re lucky to be alive.”
Not if Avery died. If I lost her, I wouldn’t be lucky at all. I felt the lump in my throat grow so big it nearly choked me. I said a silent prayer for God to bring her back to me.