Page 75 of Enticed
“We’ll have to give her an injection,” the other EMT said, opening his medical bag. He put on his gloves and prepared the injection while his partner began to cut a slit up Jasmine’s jeans.
“What are you doing?” I growled.
“The shot has to go in her thigh. It’s the fastest way to get the glucose into her system,” the man with the syringe explained before cleaning her skin with alcohol and plunging the needle into her leg. I flinched and held her tighter, whispering soothing words into her hair despite her being unconscious. “We need to grab the gurney and get her loaded up,” he said, standing.
“That will take too long,” I said and slid one arm beneath her shoulders and the other under her knees.
“Sir, you can’t—” the paramedic began, but I ignored him and lifted her into my arms. I stood and headed toward the exit. The paramedics scrambled to gather their supplies and catch up to me. They hurried on ahead, grabbing the gurney and rushing to meet me. I gently laid Jasmine on it, and they secured the straps. I followed them to the ambulance, and my gut twisted with anxiety as they loaded her up.
“Are you family?” the paramedic who’d given her the injection asked as I prepared to climb in after her.
I swallowed hard, unsure how to answer. “I-I’m her boyfriend.” That word seemed vastly inadequate, but it was all I had.
He gave me a sympathetic smile. “Then you’ll have to meet us at the hospital.”
“No,” I said, my chest tightening with anxiety. I couldn’t let her out of my sight. “I know her medical history. I’m the only person here with her. They’re going to need that information when she gets there. She doesn’t even have her ID on her.”
He held up his hands in a placating gesture. “Give us her name and date of birth, and the ER staff will get the rest of her info when you get there.” I gritted my teeth together and reluctantly agreed.
I watched helplessly as they shut the doors and drove off with the love of my life.
“When will she wake up?”I asked the doctor, clutching my cowboy hat to my chest to keep from wringing my hands together. They were still shaking with the shock of seeing Jasmine lying in that hospital bed, hooked up to tubes and machines. My knees had nearly buckled when the nurse let me into her room. The adrenaline from racing here at breakneck speed had flooded my system, and seeing all those wires sprouting from her shirt and IV fluids being pumped into her veins had only amplified my terror. I’d barely held it together as I recounted the events leading up to her arrival at the ER and answered all their questions.
“It should be any minute now. We’re giving her IV fluids with dextrose to stabilize her blood sugar levels, and she’s nearly back in normal range,” the doctor replied, offering a sympathetic smile.
“Thank you, Doctor.” She left me with instructions to call if Jasmine woke up before the nurse returned, but assured me they would be in to check on her often. They were monitoring her closely and would need to check her blood sugar at frequent intervals.
The doctor stepped out, and I scrubbed a hand over my face. Turning to face Jasmine, my chest constricted and tears welled in my eyes as guilt gnawed at my stomach. It was eating meup inside. I couldn’t believe I’d left her. She’d needed me, and I hadn’t been there. I’d thought I was doing the right thing. We had no other way to monitor her glucose, and we needed to know what her levels were. I wished I had insisted on her coming with me. She could've asked to push back her run. They would’ve understood. At least I hoped they would have. If not, her missing her race would’ve been better than this.
Then again, she could’ve passed out on the way to the trailer from exerting herself and using up whatever glucose stores were left in her body. At least at the arena, there’d been people there to help.
My phone buzzed from my pocket, drawing me out of my reverie. I pulled it out, noticing instantly it was Jasmine’s phone, not mine since hers was larger. My blood ran cold when I saw “Pops” flash across the screen.
Shit. I hadn’t even thought about calling her family. I’d been in too much of a hurry to get here. It had thankfully only been a fifteen minute drive from the arena, but I’d used every last second to pray to any deity that would listen to keep Jasmine safe, to bring her back to me. I couldn’t answer her phone. It would seem suspicious. Plus, I needed a minute to think about how I would break the news to them that Jasmine was in the hospital. He was probably just calling to see how her race went and would be blindsided.
I let the call go to voicemail and stuffed her phone back in my pocket. Pulling out my phone, I contemplated calling him, trying to decide how I would break the news to them. My finger hovered above his name in my contacts, but a rustling sound drew my attention toward the hospital bed.
Jasmine shifted restlessly, her brow furrowing as she let out a moan. I rushed to her bedside and picked up the hand without the IV in it, cradling it as I watched on hopefully.
“Jasmine,” I croaked out. “Open your eyes, baby. Look at me. I need to see those pretty eyes.”
She moaned again and turned toward the sound of my voice. “Gabe.” The word came out low and scratchy, but it was the sweetest sound I’d ever heard.
“I’m here, baby. I’m right here,” I assured her. A moment later, her eyes fluttered open, and I covered my mouth to stifle a relieved sob. Swallowing down the emotion, I smoothed a hand over her disheveled hair. “Hey,” I cooed, offering her a watery smile.
She blinked up at me confused, then glanced around the room. “You’re in the hospital,” I provided, hoping if she knew where she was, she wouldn’t be as scared.
“Ugh,” she groaned and dropped her head on her pillow.
“You passed out during your race and fell off your horse.” Her head shot up off her pillow, and she began patting herself, searching for injuries. “You’re okay. You didn’t get hurt.” Her eyes flashed to me and narrowed as though searching her memory.
“Y-you rode in on a Pegasus and saved me,” she claimed, and some of the tension eased from my chest. I chuckled and kissed the back of her hand. The confused crease between her brows was adorable.
“It was Kelsie’s white gelding.” I explained how I’d noticed she was struggling and knew she was too stubborn to stop the race, so I hopped on the closest horse and rushed out there.
“Thank you,” she said, tears welling in her eyes. “I really thought I could push through it. I thought I had time.” Her voice cracked, and I pulled her into my arms.
“Shh, it’s okay. You’re okay. You’re safe, and that’s all that matters.” I held her and rubbed soothing circles over her back. When she’d calmed down, I called for the nurse to let her know Jasmine was awake. She and the doctor came in and assessedher, shining a light in her eyes and asking her lots of questions to make sure she wasn’t confused or disoriented.
