Chapter Twenty-Five

 

 

 

 

Megan

 

 

 

 

 

I woke up shortly after six Saturday morning and did things around the apartment for a couple of hours. Simon’s shift was supposed to end at seven but I wasn’t completely surprised that he hadn’t called. He rarely got out of there on time, especially during his weekend shifts. By ten that morning, I had the apartment clean, laundry almost done, and I’d made a pasta salad two ways- one with chicken and one without.

I was just folding the last bit of laundry when my phone rang with Simon’s name on the display.

“Good morning,” I answered as I tucked the phone between my shoulder and ear.

“Babe, hey,” he said in return and I could hear him tossing stuff into his truck. “I’m sorry. We had four different medical calls between nine and three and I passed out in the snooze room at four. No one bothered to wake me when our shift was over, though. Assholes.”

I laughed quietly and shook my head. “That’s okay. You obviously needed the sleep. Do you want to come here and nap?”

“Nah, I just had six hours of uninterrupted sleep. Did you decide what you wanted to do today?”

“I think so,” I replied, letting my head fall back against the couch. “Come on over and I’ll get ready to go.”

“I’m already on my way, beautiful. I’ll see you soon.”

I put the laundry away before slipping into my sneaker and I was packing us a lunch when Simon knocked on the door. I poked my head around the wall to the kitchen and smiled as he walked inside. He gave me a quick kiss before heading into the bedroom so he could drop off his stuff.

“Ready? I’m driving.” I said, sliding the cooler tote over my shoulder. Simon nodded and pulled the tote out of my grip.

“Let’s go.”

As we drove, Simon reached across the console and placed his hand on my thigh, squeezing gently.

“Where are we going?” he asked, but it didn’t sound like he really cared.

I gestured towards the two lane road we were on. “I was thinking of a spot at the base of Red Rock Canyon. Our parents used to take us there when we were younger. It’s pretty and I don’t have to do too much real hiking.” I laughed to myself as I thought back to the speed dating with Colt.

“That sounds perfect,” Simon said with a nod. “I feel like I haven’t seen you in days.”

I glanced at him briefly before looking back at the road. “How was dinner with the family?”

“It was good. Spending time with the kids was nice. Kendra asks about you every ten minutes, though.”

“I miss them,” I replied quietly. “I wonder if we’ll ever get to a point where I can be in their life again.”

Simon just squeezed my thigh again and silence spread through the car. We drove quietly for a little bit and I let myself get lost in the traffic. I watched as the car in front of me went into the left lane to pass the car in front of them and gasped when I saw that the lane wasn’t clear. Tensing my body up in anticipation, I watched the passing car attempt to swerve onto the left shoulder but their hoods slammed into each other with a sickening crunch. I pulled the car to the side of the road without thinking and Simon and I both had our doors open immediately. Simon already had his phone to his ear as he looked at me.

“Do you have a first aid kit?”

I nodded and opened the back door of my SUV, grabbing the red duffel bag I kept back there with different medical supplies. I pulled a handful of latex gloves out of it and shoved them into my pocket before offering the bag to him. Simon took it from me, slinging it over his shoulder, and we both darted across the street as he prattled off his NHFD info, requesting ambulance, fire, and police assistance to our location.

I ran to the car that had been attempting to pass while Simon rushed to the car that had been oncoming. When I made it to the driver’s side of the vehicle, I could see that the driver was conscious but had a stunned look on her face. The hood of the small sedan was sandwiched in and my stomach hurt as I took in the damage.

A young girl sat behind the steering wheel, which had a deflated airbag hanging from it, and she looked at me through her destroyed window as I pulled on a pair of gloves. I assessed her slowly as I reached my hand through the vacant window and let it rest on her shoulder. Blood trickled down her chin from where she’d obviously bit her lip during the impact. Otherwise, she looked okay.

“Hi, I’m Megan. What’s your name?”

She didn’t answer but turned her head to blink at me slowly. I moved my fingers to the pulse on her neck and kept count as I looked at my watch. Her heart was racing.

“A-A-Annie,” she stuttered quietly.

I smiled and nodded as I pulled my hand off of her neck. “Hi, Annie. I’m a nurse and I’m going to check you out. I need you to stay still until the ambulance comes, okay?”

She nodded and her eyes filled with unshed tears. “I didn’t see the other car.”

“It’s okay. We’ll worry about that later.” I ran my hand to her stomach and felt it gently. “How old are you?”

“Seventeen.”

I nodded again, pleased with her responses and mental capacity. “Does anything hurt?” Another motorist, an older lady, ran up next to us as I spoke to her.

“My stomach,” Annie whined as I put pressure on her abdomen and I gave her a sympathetic smile.

“The seatbelts can hurt you a little. Anything else?”

Annie shook her head and I pulled off a glove so I could take her hand. I gave it a gentle squeeze and Simon yelled from the other car.

“Megan!”

I squeezed Annie’s hand again and I turned to the lady next to me. “I need to help the other car. Can you stay with her?”

The lady nodded and looked at Annie.

“What’s your name?” I asked her quickly.

“Janice. I saw the accident and wanted to see if I could help.”

“Okay, Janice. Do not try to get her out of the car. We need to let the paramedics do that. I just need you to hold her hand and keep her calm.”

Janice nodded in agreement and I turned to the frightened teenager.

“Annie, this is Janice and she is going to stay with you for a minute, okay?”

“Okay,” Annie said feebly and I gave her hand to Janice before turning to run to the second car. Its’ passenger side front end was horrendously disfigured and Simon called my name again as I reached his side.

“I’m here. The other car has one occupant and her injuries seem to be minor.” I looked in the car and saw two scared kids, probably around five-years-old, in the backseat. Simon was standing at the open driver’s side door with his hands on the driver, who I assumed was the dad, and his gloves were covered in blood. I moved to the passenger side to assess the person sitting there, pulling on a new pair of gloves as I did, and Simon spoke softly.

“Megan.”

I glanced up at him and he shook his head. I looked back at the passenger, probably the mom, and I knew he was telling me she was dead. My body froze as I stared. Her head slumped forward but she was still restrained in the seatbelt. She looked to be about the same age as me and now she was gone. Gone with two little kids in the back seat.

“Megan. You need to snap out of it, babe. I need your help.”

I turned my head back to Simon and blinked rapidly before nodding. I made it back to his side where he had his hands pressed over the dad’s neck.

“His breathing is shallow but I have to keep pressure on this wound. Can you examine him?”

I reached into the bag I’d given Simon and pulled out my stethoscope. I pressed it to the man’s chest and listened for a moment.

“Sounds like a tension pneumothorax. His lung needs to be aspirated.”

Simon looked down at me, his face completely composed and passive. “Do you have a needle?”

I nodded and crouched next the red bag we’d brought. I dug in it until I wrapped my fingers around a spare syringe of insulin I kept for emergencies. I pulled out the plunger, empting the insulin onto the ground, and maneuvered so I was standing between Simon and the man.

“You know what to do, Megs? We’re kind of out of my depth with this.”

I nodded as I looked up at his calm face. “Find the second intercostal space.”

“You’ve got this, baby,” Simon said gently, his expression encouraging.

I ripped the man’s shirt to expose his skin and used my fingers to feel his chest before driving the needle in. Simon and I both listened as the air escaped and the man inhaled a deep breath. Sirens filled the area and I mimicked the man’s intense breath.

“Good girl, Megan. You’re doing great.” Simon gave me a small smile and I didn’t respond as I moved around him to look at the kids. They were both buckled in car seats and the little boy was silent as he stared wide-eyed at us. The little girl, however, was screaming at the top of her lungs and her face was a dark shade of red.

“They don’t look hurt,” I murmured quietly and I saw Simon nod out of the corner of my eye.

“Scared, but they need to be cleared before we move them.”

Paramedics and firefighters filled the area within minutes, allowing Simon and I to step back. I grasped his bloodstained hand in my own and watched as they began extracting the family from the car, covering the mom with a thin, white sheet. I dropped Simon’s hand and ripped my gloves off quickly, letting them fall to my feet.

I took a deep breath before heading back to Annie’s car, and I was grateful when I saw that Janice was still with her. She was just being moved to a gurney and I prattled off the information I’d collected when we’d first arrived. The paramedic nodded and asked me some questions as they began to move her. When I leaned over the stretcher, Annie let out a sob.

“Megan. Megan, can you call my mom?”

I gripped her hand and offered her a smile. “We’ll get ahold of your mom, sweetie. Just let them take care of you, okay?”

She nodded the best she could with her neck immobilized. “Can you tell the other people that I’m sorry? I’m so sorry.”

They wheeled the gurney away and I let her hand go as tears stung the back of my eyes. So many lives forever changed in the blink of an eye.

I stayed rooted to my spot as emotions flooded my body and my hands started to tremble uncontrollably. Simon’s arms wrapped around me from behind and I turned in them, burying my face into his shoulder as a sob escaped my throat. He held me tight while I cried, and I heard him murmur to someone that I was okay. When I finally felt like I was empty, Simon kissed the top of my head several times.

“Let’s go over to the engine and clean up, baby.”

He led me over to a fire truck and I stood there while he poured water from a jug to clean the blood off of both of us. When I saw his shirt was stained with blood from the father, I glanced down at my own and wanted to vomit when I saw that mine was, too. A firefighter handed Simon a new shirt and he pulled his off before wiping the blood off of his stomach. I watched him pull the clean shirt over his head and he gratefully accepted another clean one from the same fireman.

I didn’t bother to help as he pinned me between him and the truck to hide my body from view and tugged my shirt off over my head. I stayed still as he wet the sleeve of his soiled t-shirt and quickly wiped the small amount of blood from my stomach. Once I was clean, he pulled the new shirt on me and wrapped his arms around me tight.

I stood with him numbly as the police took our statements and I didn’t know how much time had passed when Simon gently pushed me into the passenger seat of my SUV.

I just stared out the window blankly as we drove back to Canyon City, clutching Simon’s hand in my lap. I’d done a rotation in the emergency room at the hospital, but I had never felt as helpless as I had at that accident site. I’d been around both births and deaths but only in the controlled hospital environment. I glanced over at Simon and envied his cool, collected demeanor. He was accustomed to the pressure, to the adrenaline, to the possibility of loss.

I hadn’t even realized we were back to the apartment until Simon was at my side, pulling me out of the car. He led me to the front door, using my keys to unlock it, and tugged me inside. Kelly sprang up from the couch with a frantic look on her face.

“Is she okay?”

Simon nodded and I just stared at my little sister. “She’s okay. I think she’s in shock. I’m going to put her in the shower.” He began to lead me towards the bedroom when I stopped him, turning back to Kelly.

“How did you know?” It was the first thing I’d said since I’d talked to Annie, and I heard Simon sigh in relief.

“There’s video and pictures on Channel Seven’s Facebook page. I saw the two of you running around out there like heroes.” Kelly offered me a small smile and I just frowned.

I didn’t say anything else but instead let Simon tug to the bedroom and I helped him pull my clothes off. I walked into the bathroom where he had already turned on the shower, and he stepped back as I climbed in. I stood under the warm spray like a statue, and eventually I felt Simon get in behind me. He tenderly washed my body and hair and when he had me all completely rinsed off, he quickly washed himself before turning the water off. He wrapped me in a towel and maneuvered me back to the bedroom, gently pushing me down until I was l lying on the bed.

Simon sat next to me and brought my hand to his lips so he could kiss my palm, but he didn’t release me after that. I watched as he measured my pulse with a concerned expression on his face and I shook my head.

“I’m okay.”

He moved until he was lying down and cuddling me to his chest. “I know. You’re perfect. That man will live because of you, baby. It hurts knowing we couldn’t save her but those kids won’t be orphans and that’s the important part.”

“I couldn’t do your job,” I confessed in a whisper. “I can’t handle it. You were a hero out there.”

Simon ran a hand through my hair. “You would be great at it. The adrenaline is hard to handle at first but you learn how to manage it. You did so great. I couldn’t have done that without your help.” He pressed his lips to the top of my head. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.” I didn’t move from where I was for a while and eventually fell asleep. When I woke up, I was alone in bed and still in just a towel. Simon had covered me with a blanket at some point and pulled the bedroom door shut. I grabbed a pair of shorts and a tank top from my dresser and walked out to the living room.

Kelly was in the kitchen, stirring something at the stove, and I mumbled a greeting as I sat at the kitchen table. She turned her head to look at me with a small smile.

“Hey. How are you feeling?”

I shook my head and rubbed my eyes with my fists. “Drained. I have never experienced so much at one time.”

“I can imagine.” Kelly sprinkled some pepper into the pot in front of her. “Simon had to go get ready for his game tonight. He told me to tell you that he loves you and that he called the hospital. The father had to have surgery but he came out okay and the two kids weren’t injured. Also the teenager, Annie, was treated and released, too.”

I stared at my sister as a smile stretched across my lips. I knew immediately that he had called for my sake in order to ease my worries. He also would have had to work some magic to get that information. I just shook my head at her as I continued smile.

Kelly brought her spoon to her nose and sniffed once before continuing on. “He also told me to tell you to not feel like you have to go to the game.” She paused and grinned at me. “But he’d love it if you did.”

Simon only had a few games left and I didn’t want to miss anymore. I knew that if I stayed in the apartment, I’d just dwell on the morning’s events. I wanted to surround myself with fun and happiness instead.

“I guess I should go get ready then,” I said as I glanced at the clock on the microwave. “Want to come?”

Kelly stopped stirring her concoction, which I assumed was soup, and looked at me for a moment before nodding. “Yeah, actually, I’d love to. Let me put this in the fridge and I’ll make you some coffee.”

“Okay. Let’s leave in thirty.” I stood from the chair and stretched my arms above my head before walking back to my bedroom to get ready.