Chapter 7 - Accidents Happen
Kayce turned and looked at the Cullens. Their beautiful faces appeared serene, even Alice. She wasn't sure if Alice would even receive a vision of what was to take place. Kayce turned back toward Bella who had no idea what was going to happen to her.
The van had started to skid across the lot, tires screeching loudly. She saw the van sliding right toward Bella...Kayce acted instinctively. She dropped her backpack and books, letting them fall haphazardly to the ground. Some of her notes had fallen out from her texts and fluttered slowly onto the snow, getting thoroughly saturated, ink bleeding streams of blue onto the asphalt. She thought that those notes she had worked so hard on during class and at home, all lost, which is a stupid thing to think about during a crisis.
She ran and put her body ahead of Bella at the back of her truck. Kayce then shoved Bella with all of her might away from the back end of her pick-up. Bella fell onto the sidewalk about four feet away, looking like a hoot owl with her huge eyes staring at Kayce and then the oncoming van. Kayce braced herself for the sudden impact, squeezing her eyes shut tightly, but it never came. Her sense of proprioception was skewed. She felt like she was flying or sailing through the air. Kayce was pulled aggressively away from the van. All she saw was that a male's arms had pulled her forcefully away from the impact zone.
Kayce hit her head on the fender of the tan car that was parked next to Bella's pick-up. Tiny black dots had started to form in her eyes as she gazed at the scene that had unfolded.
She heard screams coming from every direction. "Bella", "Tyler", "Kayce", "holy shit" and "Oh my God" were some of the words that filtered to her ears. Most of the voices were starting to become hysterical. The van never really stopped moving; it just shifted and slid, yet again, toward where she was resting.
Kayce had heard Edward curse as he pulled her around to the back of the tan car, bracing himself against the bumper for another impact. She felt Edward fold her body into his side. Kayce knew that he had used extreme force to keep her safe, that he had an indentation of his shoulders in the tan car's bumper. Glass had exploded everywhere with a loud pop.
Edward frantically started to brush the shards of glass away, and then gently picking out stray pieces away from her face. Edward started speaking as he shifted himself to hover over her, looking for signs of injury, "Kayce, are you all right?" She pulled a shaking hand up to her head, feeling for any gaping wound or blood.
"Careful, I think you hit your head pretty hard," Edward crooned out in a whisper.
"Ow," Bella said loudly. Edward's head whipped around to look at Bella, concern etched on his face.
"Can somebody give me the number of the train that just ran me down? I think I have brain damage," Kayce groaned out jokingly.
Edward turned his gaze back around on Kayce, chuckling at her joke.
She tried to sit up in an upright position, but her body wouldn't budge. Panic ran through her that she may be paralyzed from the chest down. She lifted her head and craned her neck slightly to the right. She noticed that Edward had his body hovering over hers in a protective fashion, so paralyzation was out.
Sirens were wailing in the distance, coming closer and closer. Coach Clapp and another male teacher she didn't know were trying to move the van enough to get them free from their make-shift auto cocoon, to no avail.
"Edward, are you hurt?" Kayce asked. She really wanted to wrap her arms around him and find comfort in his embrace, but she was tightly pinned down. Edward, still hovering, smiled at her. His eyes then moved quickly to where Kayce's gaze had drifted...to the two Edward-sized handprints in the side of Tyler's van. His eyes appeared worried, although he was still smiling.
"Edward, are you alright?" Edward turned his gaze to where his family had been standing for a moment with a worried look upon his face. "Edward, are you alright? Look at me! Are you alright?" Kayce said again more forcefully to change the subject from what she saw. Edward's cautious eyes now were glued to hers.
"I am fine, really. I'm just glad that I was right there to push you out of the way," Edward said.
Chief Swan arrived along with the ambulance. They all helped move the van away from Kayce and Edward. She was placed on a stretcher, cervical collar in place, while Edward was up walking around, looking like Adonis. The only clue that he was involved in the crash was disheveled hair, which only made him sexier.
"Kayce, are you okay?" Alice was standing near her stretcher, reaching for her hand, grasping it firmly. "Rose and I are going to follow you to the hospital," Alice said softly.
"I'm alright, Alice. Thanks." Kayce was grateful that Alice cared enough to go with her and that Rosalie was going too, especially after their chilly introduction.
Kayce smiled at her. Just before she was placed inside the ambulance she heard Chief Swan speak. "Bella, are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Char-Dad," Bella responded in a mortified voice.
"Let's get you to the hospital and looked over." Charlie said in his worried dad voice.
"Dad, I'm fine. Kayce pushed me out of the way. I don't have a scratch on me. I just want to go home," Bella whined, releasing a sigh of exasperation.
After he hugged Bella, Charlie approached the ambulance and stuck his head inside the door. A paramedic was looking Kayce over, taking her vital signs. "Thank you for saving my daughter..." He appeared really choked up.
Kayce smiled and responded, "You're welcome. I'm happy that she is okay." She really was happy. Bella drives her crazy sometimes, but deep down; Kayce would like to think she is a good person and would hate to see her or anyone hurt.
Chief Swan grinned at her and shut the door of the ambulance. Twice he pounded on the door and the ambulance started to drive away heading toward the hospital.
Once they arrived, the paramedics pulled Kayce out of the back of the ambulance, wheeling her inside the brightly lit Emergency Room. Kayce shielded her eyes as they entered. Once her eyes adjusted, Edward was nowhere to be found.
The stretcher was met by the ER nurses and they all helped transfer Kayce to a bed. The paramedics then left her there after a quick wave. Tyler was lying in the bed adjacent to hers.
"Kayce, are you okay?" Tyler said, a little out of it. He was bleeding from multiple cuts and scrapes and looked terrible.
"I'm okay Tyler. Really, Edward saved me. He pushed me out of the way just in time," Kayce said sincerely.
As Tyler frowned, blood started to drip even faster down his face. He looked gruesome to Kayce.
"Who saved you?" Tyler asked.
"Edward..." When Kayce noticed that Tyler had absolutely no idea who she was speaking of, she said, "Edward Cullen..." Recognition swept over Tyler's face. "I never even noticed him. I thought I was going to kill you. I was going to fast and I hit the ice wrong."
"I'm perfectly fine Tyler." A nurse had approached the bed and wheeled Kayce away for x-rays of her head. When she returned, she lay there hoping to leave soon. She realized that a medical career was out of the question because she hated the hospital smell.
Edward swept into the cubicle sitting at the end of Tyler's bed. "Hey Edward, I am really sorry," Tyler blurted.
Edward shifted his gaze toward Tyler and smiled, showing his teeth. "No blood, no foul," Edward said.
"Good news, I have come to spring you." Edward's eyes were mischievous. He turned his head and looked at the curtain. Suddenly, the curtain was pulled aside for her privacy and Carlisle walked to Kayce's bed with the x-ray films in his hand.
Carlisle placed the films on the light board and turned to face her. "Kayce, are you alright?" He swiftly hugged Kayce. Carlisle pulled away from her, with his hands on her shoulders, and looked visibly upset. "That van could have killed you, Kayce. That was a very courageous act."
Carlisle started to run his hands around the back of her head. She hissed in a sharp breath. "Does that hurt?"
"It hurts a little, but only when you touch it. If you leave my head alone, I may live," Kayce said laughing.
Well, having you joking around is a good sign. "Go ahead and get dressed. I will discharge you from the hospital, but only if you go straight home and let Edward and Esme take care of you."
Kayce mock saluted Carlisle. He hugged her again and pulled out her chart and started to write in it.
Kayce craned her neck to see what he was writing. "It won't work."
Kayce looked at him questioningly.
"My handwriting is extremely messy, so you won't be able to read your chart." Carlisle laughed and then said, "It is a prerequisite for a physician to have bad handwriting." Carlisle winked at her and walked to the curtain, pulling it aside to make his exit and then returned the curtain for her privacy so she could change clothes.
"Carlisle?"
He poked his head around the curtain to look at her.
"Do I have brain swelling or brain damage?" Kayce asked in a worried voice.
"No, you are just fine. Your x-rays are normal. You may have a concussion, so I want you to rest. If anything doesn't feel right, you make sure to tell Edward or Esme."
When Kayce was leaving the cubicle and walked over to the nurse's station to go home, she walked in on Edward talking to Carlisle, Alice and Rosalie. "What was I supposed to do?" Edward said.
"You did the right thing Edward." Alice replied.
"How much did she see?" Rosalie asked.
"I can't be sure." Edward said. "I can't read her mind, remember?"
"I think we need to tell her the truth," Carlisle said.
"This decision affects all of us. We all need a say before we just drop a bomb like that and ruin our lives," Rosalie said in an angry tone.
Kayce made sure to fake sneeze a couple of times before she came around the corner to give them time change the subject. Edward walked up to Kayce and put his hand on her back. "Are you ready to go home?" Kayce nodded and allowed Edward, Alice and Rosalie to escort her to the Volvo.
