Page 113 of What We Break
So what the fuck do I do? I hate feeling useless.
The mother.
I turn and find her sitting on the guardrail. She's staring at her daughter, hands pressed over her mouth. Shaking. There's blood on her—cuts on her hands and forearms from the broken glass when she tried to reach her kid. Not serious, but bleeding enough to look scary.
I grab more gauze from the kit and walk over to her.
"Ma'am." I crouch down so I'm at her level. She doesn't look at me—can't take her eyes off her daughter. "Ma'am, I need you to look at me."
She drags her gaze to my face. Her eyes are wild, wet. "My baby?—"
"She's in good hands." I keep my voice low and calm. It's the voice I learned to use overseas when talking to scared civilians. The same voice I use with vets who see threats everywhere. "See those two? They do this every day. Your daughter is getting the best care possible right now."
She moans. "There's so much blood?—"
"Head wounds bleed a lot. It looks worse than it is." I don't know if that's true. But she needs to hear it. "Can I see your hands?"
She looks down at them like she forgot they existed. The cuts aren't deep, but there's glass embedded in her hand. She hasn't even noticed.
"I'm going to clean these up while we wait for the ambulance, okay? Just focus on me."
I take her hands in mine, gentle as I can manage with fingers more used to gripping tools than people. Trying to be gentle, but hating how clumsy I feel, I pull out a piece of glass and she flinches.
"Sorry." I grab an antiseptic wipe and start cleaning the cuts. "What's your daughter's name?"
"Emma. Her name is Emma."
"That's pretty. How old is she?"
"Eight. She just turned eight last month." The woman's voice breaks. "We were going to Sunriver for her birthday. She wanted to swim in the lake, look for fish."
"Yeah? She like the water?"
"She loves it. But she won't go in past her waist until she's checked for seaweed." The mom almost laughs, then chokes on it. "She's so careful about everything."
"Smart kid." I wrap gauze around her palm, careful not to pull too tight. "My buddy's brother was the same way. Always thinking ahead. Turned out to be the bravest guy I ever knew."
The words bypass my filter completely.
My lungs seize up, the air suddenly too thin to breathe.Jared.Why the fuck did I say that? He has no business being in this conversation. He belongs in a closed box in the back of my head where I don't have to look at him.
My hands tremble. I lock my wrists, forcing them still.
But the woman's breathing is slowing down. Her shoulders drop from up around her ears. The distraction is working.
"Is she going to be okay?" she whispers.
"They're going to do everything they can."
It's not a promise. I don't make promises I can't keep. But it's enough. She nods, grips my hand for a second, then lets go.
I finish bandaging her cuts and stand up, knees popping.
Behind me, Reid's speaking. "Okay, we're going to move her now. Laine, you ready?"
"Ready."
"On three. One, two?—"
