Delia was still behind the counter when she heard Melinda scream. In a heartbeat she was rushing towards the basement. She stopped for a moment at the top of the stairs when she saw Melinda sprawled out at the bottom, unmoving.
"Oh my God…. Melinda!" She exclaimed. She hurried down the stairs and sank to the floor next to Mel. Delia looked at her, fearing the worst. Her eyes were closed, and her head was turned to one side. She was bleeding from a wound on the back of her skull and her arm was twisted at a strange angle. With trembling fingers, Delia gently touched her hand. She knew better than to move her, in case there was any sort of spinal injury, but she had to make sure that she was alive.
Meanwhile, Jim was approaching his wife's store to meet her for their lunch date. He walked through the door and found the room empty.
"Hello?" He shouted. "Mel?"
He was about to start looking around when he heard Delia yelling.
"Jim!!" She screamed. "Help!"
Jim followed the sound of her voice and ran to the basement. When he saw Melinda his heart nearly stopped. In one swift motion he dashed down the stairs and kneeled beside her, opposite Delia. His eyes wide with panic, he looked at his wife and then glanced at Delia.
"What happened?" He asked.
"I didn't see." Delia said. Her voice broke and tears started flowing. "I heard her scream, and I found her like this. I think she fell down the stairs."
Jim fumbled for his phone in his pocket. He flipped it open and hit speed dial to reach the station. "Tim." He said quickly. "Get the ambulance to Melinda's store NOW. There's been an accident." He hung up and dropped the phone on the ground. He then took Melinda's hand in his and felt for a pulse in her wrist.
"Melinda?" He said, trying to wake her. "I need you to wake up. Come on, honey, open your eyes." His voice was wavering. Things weren't looking very good. Her heart was still beating, but her pulse was erratic. She was breathing, but it was shallow and constricted. He carefully tilted her head so that her neck was straight, and he kept his hands on either side of her face to keep her spine stabilized.
Jim heard Melinda take a quick intake of breath. His heart leapt; she was waking up. "Mel." He said. "Can you hear me?"
Melinda's eyes slowly fluttered open. For a moment she was confused; her eyes wouldn't focus and she didn't know where she was. She blinked a few times and then she started to make out Jim's worried face hovering above her.
Jim looked into Mel's eyes. They were glazed and her pupils were dilated. He tried to remain calm, but he was having a lot of difficulty doing so.
"Hey." He said shakily. "Talk to me, Mel. Do you know where you are?"
Melinda began to recall what had happened, and all at once she realized the excruciating pain she was in. She began to shake, and found it hard to catch her breath.
"Jim." She whispered anxiously.
Jim's hands continued to brace Melinda's head and neck. "Mel, you're going into shock. You need to keep breathing."
"It hurts." She whispered tearfully.
"I know, babe. It's gonna be okay. Help is coming." Jim assured her. He heard the ambulance outside, followed by the 'ding' of the front door opening.
"Down here!" Jim yelled to his coworkers. "I need some oxygen and a backboard!"
A moment later Tim and Will ran down the stairs carrying the necessary equipment. Tim and Delia locked eyes for a moment before he attended to Melinda.
"What's going on?" Tim asked.
Delia stood and backed away so the men would have enough room to do their work. "She fell down the stairs." Delia told them. "She was unconscious when I found her."
Will placed a brace around Melinda's neck and applied pressure to her head wound with a few gauze pads; then he and Tim gently lifted her onto the backboard. Jim kept talking to her in an effort to keep her as calm as possible.
"We're taking you to the hospital, Mel. I'm gonna ride with you in the ambulance. I'll be right here… I promise, I'm not going anywhere."
Melinda was only half-conscious and a bit delirious. She struggled to keep her eyes open. "Lucas…" She whispered.
"What?" Jim asked. "Who's Lucas?"
Mel closed her eyes and gasped. It hurt to breath. Her entire body ached unbearably. Jim grabbed an oxygen mask as Will and Tim picked up the backboard and started carrying her up the stairs. Jim walked alongside them.
"Look at me, honey." Jim said. Melinda opened her eyes and stared up at her husband. He placed the oxygen mask over her nose and mouth and caressed her hair.
"You're going to be alright." He said softly.
They made it to the hospital in record time. As soon as they got Melinda into the emergency room the doctors took over and rushed her into surgery. Jim paced around the waiting room restlessly. Delia had followed the ambulance to the hospital and now she sat in one of the plastic chairs, her head in her hands. Jim looked at her and took a seat beside her.
"How are you doing?" He asked her.
Delia looked up wearily and shook her head. "I should have taken that box to the basement myself. I should have at least helped her. I feel like this is all my fault." She said. Her eyes welled up with tears and she sighed deeply.
"Hey." Jim said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "It was an accident. Don't do this to yourself."
Delia wiped away her tears and took a deep breath. "Do you think she'll be okay?" She asked quietly.
Jim felt a lump forming in his throat. He leaned over, resting his elbows on his knees, and glanced towards the double doors leading to the surgery area. He was afraid for his wife. He could only hope that the damage wasn't as bad at it looked. "I don't know." He whispered. Then something occurred to him. Sitting back, he turned towards Delia. "Do you have any idea who Lucas is?"
"Lucas?" She asked.
"Yeah." Jim said. "Melinda said the name Lucas. I thought maybe you might know who that is."
"No." Delia said thoughtfully. "I don't know."
Jim searched his brain for any memory of that name, but he could come up with nothing. He rubbed his eyes dejectedly and continued to wait for any news on Melinda's condition.