Cammies pov
I could see the truck coming too fast in the wrong direction. My mouth was open and moving, but there was no sound coming out.
"OH MY GOD! I love you all!" I gripped Emily's hand. And with no more than a second to save ourselves, we collided into the front of the car in front of us.
I flew backward into the seat. My neck hit the headrest a little too hard. I thought it was over, but we were still moving. Flying through the air.
Gravity was taking over. We tumbled over three times before coming to a stop. I let go of Emily's hand and tried to open my eyes. Something warm and sticky was oozing over my head. Maybe her drink had spilled.
We were upside down. My seatbelt kept me from falling down. I put a hand up to catch myself once I undid the seatbelt.
There was no way I could see the front, so I looked at Emily. Her arm was bent at a weird angle. She made no noise. But I could see those bright eyes. They were filled with shock. As I moved to help her get out, glass fell out of my hair like water droplets.
Red.
My crimson red blood stained my hand. I was bleeding.
Something began to burn. We needed to get out. Fast. were there sirens in the distance?
Someone was tugging at the door.
Zach pulled me out. He was frantic. There were scratches covering his face. I reached out to help him. I wanted to make him feel better. He swatted my hand away.
"GET EMILY!" his voice was full of sheer panic. We dove towards her side of the truck. He came back up with her in his arms. She began to cry out, realizing what had happened. He sat her down with me.
"Just, just keep her calm." he kept moving. My head started to pound. Sirens wailed in the background. But the only thing I could hear were his cries.
Zachs pov
Emily was out. Cammie was out. People were on their way. But what about mom?
Nothing was moving on her side. There was no sound of her trying to get out.
"Mom?" I crouched down to dig her out of the wreckage. "Mom. wake up. Mom. MOM!" she lay there too still. Her breathing was labored and uneven. Her neck leaned back too far.
I dug into the mess. The metal scraped my hands, but I moved faster. I needed to get her out of there.
Hands were on my back, pulling me away. Emily screamed in the background. People were surrounding us.
"Get off of me!" I shoved them away.
"Sir, we're here to help."
"Zach!" Cammie cried out. "Let them help you." her voice was harsh. I stood up. "They'll save her." she was softer this time."
"Help her! She needs to get out! For the love of God, please help my mother!" I was crumbling. They weren't moving fast enough.
"Sir, please calm down. We're doing everything we can." someone led me to Cammie and Emily.
"But… she-" I stood there with nothing left to say, and a numb feeling took over my body. I was completely gone as they pulled her out with the jaws of life.
Cammies pov
A lady was bandaging my head. Saying things like trauma and brain bleeding. They had taken Emily to help with her arm. She was screaming and crying. It hurt worse than the gash in my head because I couldn't do a single thing to help her.
I turned around to take in the scene. And god I wish I hadn't.
Glass glittered in the headlights. Pine needles were mixed with it. Bits of metal were strewn across the ground. I followed the path to the front of the truck. It was absolutely mangled.
Zach was standing in the middle of us and the truck, not moving. He stared at the cab of the truck. I moved toward him. He fell onto me and I struggled to support all of him.
But as they pulled Rachels limp body out of the truck, I choked on my own breath.
His shoulders began to move up and down. Tears ran down his face and dripped onto my shirt. I wiped mine away. It was his turn to be weak.
I dont know when they got us into an ambulance. I had only seen them put her on a stretcher. I watched as the helicopter touched down and they wheeled her into. I saw when they put an oxygen mask and took her vitals. They began to shout things that didn't sound good. I focused on holding Zach and hoping that he couldn't hear what was going on.
We sped down the freeway. Emily had been hurt the worst out of the three of us. Zach and I took turns holding her while we held each other. We were in more shock than pain.
Zachs pov
I could feel the wind coming off of the blades from the helicopter. I knew who it was here for. And I couldn't bear to watch them load her into it as she clung to life.
Nurses ushered us to separate rooms. I caught a glimpse of the emergency room. It was hard to believe that some people were having worse nights then we were. I pulled the girls in for a hug before they left my sight. It took all I had- which by this point wasn't much- to not go after them and keep them safe with me.
A lady with platinum blonde hair and puffy lips walked in my room. She asked me questions. I answered them as best as I could, but my head was in a million other places. I needed to be with three other people.
Everything was fine except for some scrapes. The shock would wear off later. I didn't care about that. I needed to know if my mom was okay. If she was still breathing on her own.
The door opened and the nurse walked back in.
"Looks like we can let you go."
"Have you heard anything on Rachel Goode?" my voice was too desperate. I was too desperate. She looked at me with fake sympathy in her eyes.
"Right now she's in critical condition. The next twelve hours are going to be crucial for her. But we are doing everything we can." she paused, waiting for my reaction. I simply nodded. "Do you have a little sister by chance?"
"Yes."
"Would you like to follow me?" I jumped off the bed and we walked through the door.
"Em?" I got through first. She was sitting there on a table. Her cheeks were puffy. She had been here all alone for forty-five minutes. Scared, alone, and all by herself.
"Zachy!" her voice went all high. She was ready to jump off the bed but I stopped her.
"Just stay right there." I moved over to her. Her arm was wrapped in a cloth cast.
"Wheres mommy?" she sounded so small and vulnerable. She was. And I dreaded the answer I would have to come up with.
"She… she had to go somewhere else. But," I took a breath. "But she'll be fine." it pained me to look in her eyes and tell her that. Because I didn't know if it would be true.
"Can I see her?"
"Not right now Em." I looked down at her arm again. "What did they do for you?" I had to change the subject and not have her focus on that.
"They gave me an x-ray. I had to lay really, really still. It was impossible. But it doesn't hurt. Well not anymore at least. They gave me a good tasting treat."
"Well good job for not moving. Did they say what happened?"
"No. but theyre gonna tell you since mom can't be here right now."
"Ok. what color cast are you gonna get?" she yawned and leaned into me.
"I dont want to answer any more questions." she sounded so tired. "Wait, is Cammie here?"
"I haven't seen her yet, but you'll see her soon."
"Promise?"
"Promise." she leaned into my side.
"Zachary Goode?" another nurse walked in.
"Yes?"
"Would you come with me? We have paperwork to fill out." I sat Emily upright and stood up.
"I'll be back soon Em."
Before I wrote down anything, I picked up my phone. Three miss calls from him. I called him back and got more anxious as the phone rang.
"It's bad. It's really bad." a sob escaped my mouth.
"When can I come see her?" he sounded frantic, desperate, just as worried as I was.
"I- I dont know. They took her by life flight. No one will tell me anything. God, it's all my fucking fault." I shook my head and wiped the last tear away.
"Is Cammie with you?"
"In a different room.'
"Tell me everything you know as soon as you get information."
Cammies pov
They unwrapped the hastily done bandage job. The blood wasn't flowing like a river, but my head kept spinning.
"Have you gotten any news about Rachel Goode?" I asked the nurse who was still in the room.
"We can't share any information about other patients to people who aren't family. I'm sorry."
"I understand."
"The doctor will be in soon for your stitches. I have some numbing cream for you." she smeared a clear gel around the cut.
"Thank you." all that was left to do was wait.
My stitches didn't hurt too bad. But my chest did. I had no idea where Zach and were. If she was okay, if he was handling everything well.
We filled out paperwork for insurance. Thank god I had turned 18 because my mom was not getting pulled into this mess.
Other people sat in the same room with me, writing down similar things. All of a sudden someone stood up.
"Zach." it came out like a sigh of relief. I ran into his arms. He smelled like motor oil. The scent burned my nose. But I felt his arms around me and I was grateful that we were both still here. "Wheres Emily?" I stared into his eyes. They had gone blank. Simply balls of green with nothing else.
"She's in a room. They got her arm in a cast. She seemed calm, but I know she wants to see you immediately."
"Has… has she asked yet?"
"Yes."
"Babe I'm so sorry. Let's go get her and leave as soon as we can." we moved towards the doors, someone rushed past us. Zach's father.
"I didn't think you would come. Didn't think you had enough respect for her anymore." I tugged on his arm so we could get going. But Zach wasn't finished.
Zachs pov
I grabbed him by the collar and pulled him to my mouth.
"I can smell the skanks cheap perfume on you. Dont even bother coming to visit her. You've never deserved her." I put him back on the ground. Nurses were surrounding me. And then he laughed.
"I'm only here because you can't handle all the paperwork. Trust me, I have much better things to be doing. If you know what I mean. Oh, hello Cammie. Tell her hi for me." I curled my hand into a fist. I could put him in here for a month with the blink of an eye.
"Dont you dare even look at her." I moved to stand in front of her. "Let's go, Cammie." she reached for my hand. I turned around and started moving. She fell behind a little bit and I jerked her forward.
Cammies pov
Emily was asleep on the bed. She looked so peaceful, curled up in a little ball. Her left arm was stuck out and I could see the soft cast wrapped around it. I sat down next to her while a new nurse went over the discharge protocol.
"Before we begin, may I ask how you are related?"
"His wife. Her sister-in-law." I flashed the fake four karat ring on my left ring finger. "Is that a problem?"
"Not at all. Congratulations, by the way." she moved on to talk about helping Emily take care of her arm and the appointments that would follow up.
"I'm so sorry to say, but I heard about your mother." she looked up from the computer screen. She either linked last names or the resemblance. "Is your father able to help with all of this?"
"He's not in the picture right now." that explained all the late nights at the office or missed family dinner nights.
"Ok. and you are fine with taking on all this?"
"Of course." he looked to Emily. Almost all of us were so lucky tonight. Things could have been even worse.
The nurse left for a minute.
"Can you order an uber?"
20 minutes later, we were walking into the chilly night air. A red Audi was waiting for us. Zach put Emily in one seat and I crawled into the middle.
We sat in silence, watching the city fly past us. All of the lights blended together. I had been given medicine to help clear my head and it made me tired.
Bexs car was in Zach's driveway when we pulled up. She got out as soon as the driver stopped.
"I'm so glad youre ok."
"Thanks." I saw Zach pass by with Emily. He headed into the house. "Youre really ok to stay while we're out?"
"I think I can handle her sleeping." Bex shrugged.
"Just dont try to wake her up and you'll do great. You know how to get into my house if you need it."
Zach came back out.
"Gallagher girl, they have her in a room. We need to go now."
I actually got a little teary-eyed as I wrote this. Who knows what will happen to Rachel? Will she pull through? Or will fate take over? Who was Zach talking to in the emergency room? All will be revealed soon.