Page 95 of Forever Mine
“Over here!” I shout, waving an arm to get their attention.
EMTs, police officers, and firefighters rush down the embankment carrying equipment, voices raised in a mix of urgency and professionalism.
A paramedic kneels beside us, quickly assessing Julien’s condition while another one asks me more questions.
I’m moved aside to give them room to work, but I stay close, refusing to let Julien out of my sight. I fear if I blink, he’ll vanish.
Another paramedic wraps a blanket around me, tends to my cuts, and barrages me with even more fucking questions that I reply to automatically, not fully cognizant of what I’m saying.
After securing an oxygen mask and a neck brace to stabilize his head, they lift Julien onto the stretcher and secure him with straps and blankets.
“I’m coming with him.”
They don’t argue. It wouldn’t matter if they tried. They would have to knock my ass out to keep me from him.
With help from a paramedic, I clamber up the slippery incline of the embankment to the awaiting ambulance. Once inside, I hold Julien’s hand, my thumb tracing soothing circles over his knuckles. I can barely breathe, every intake of air feeling like it might shatter me from the inside out.
Time loses all meaning as we bump over every rock, pothole, and divot in the road. When we finally reach the hospital, the ambulance doors burst open, and a team of nurses and doctors take over.
Julien’s stretcher gets transferred to a gurney.
“Call Jay,” Julien says as they wheel him inside.
I try to follow, but a nurse gently holds me back.
“We need to check you out,” she says kindly.
Fuck that.
“I’m fine.”
She stops me when I try to go around her. “That’s for a doctor to determine.”
I’m not ashamed of the tears or the fact that I start crying like a bitch baby.
“That’s my boyfriend.”
Her face softens with understanding. “What’s his name?”
“Julien.”
She gently guides me inside, past triage and through automatic double doors into the ER corridor.
“Julien is in great hands. We’ll take care of him, just like I’m going to take great care of you. Let’s get you set up in here, and then I’ll get you some dry scrubs to change into. You’ll love them. Pea soup green.”
I sit on the small, uncomfortable hospital bed, my muddy clothes clinging to my skin, but I barely notice past the numbness that has taken up residence inside me. I can’t stop shaking.
All I can think about is Julien. His smile, his laugh, the way his eyes light up when he’s happy. I cling to those images, praying with every fiber of my being that he’ll be okay.
The nurse lays the scrubs next to me. “Please turn the ringer to vibrate. Hospital policy.”
She points to the phone in my hand that I didn’t realize I was clutching.
Doing as she asked, I turn my ringer off.
“Do you need help changing?”
“No.”
