Old Enough to Love... (Just One of the Guys) (28 page)

I squinted, protecting my eyes from the bright sunrays as I pried my eyes open. Ali was holding my hand and crying. I was lying in the bed of the truck. Ryan’s truck I think.  Ryan’s cell phone was stuck to his ear and I moved to sit upright. My head throbbed and the sky moved all around me.

“Emma, stay down,” Ali directed and Ryan jerked his head around.

“Let me call you back. She’s awake,” Ryan said and slid into the bed. “Runt. What happened? No one knew how you hurt your head.”

“Where’s Zach?” I didn’t care about my head.

Ryan gripped me by the shoulders. “The officer is talking to him and Grant.” Ryan’s eyes held an unspoken message. He was worried about the same thing that suddenly filled my mind. 

I rotated my head to the highway patrol car and Zach and Grant stood at the trunk of the car with their wrists handcuffed behind their backs. A shiver rippled through me as I looked at them. This was all because of me.

“Ma’am. How are you feeling?” I spun my head toward the voice and another officer stood next to the truck. He was tall and thin and young. An additional highway patrol car was parked to the side of the truck with its lights flashing. I tried to remember that but didn’t.

“Ma’am? Are you OK?”

I blinked a couple of times trying to make it make sense. “Yes. I’m OK.” The officer walked over to talk to his partner who was with Zach and they glanced over at me. Zach hung his head.  After a minute or two, the officer walked our way.

“Sir. Here’s your license and registration. Thank you for your cooperation.” He spoke directly to Ryan. I heard a siren in the distance.

“Get back against the car.” The voice was threatening.

I turned and watched Zach shaking his head and back stepping. “I just would like to check on my girlfriend, please. She’s hurt.”

“Against the car, now.” The officer pointed.

“Can I go over there?” I asked the officer with us.

“No, Ma’am. You have a head wound and you’ve lost some blood. Did one of these gentlemen hit you?”

“NO!” I was mortified at the thought. Wait. How did I hit my head? “The TRUCK!” I blurted the words out remembering it. “I was getting out of the truck and I hit my head on the door.”  The officer looked at me skeptically. The siren was getting closer. I wasn’t sure he believed me.

The officers were conferring again and I watched the tall one move to Grant and unlock his cuffs. Grant massaged his wrists and said something to Zach, who nodded. The officer was talking to Zach now. An ambulance entered the rest stop and stopped at the foot of the truck. Ryan shot me a hesitant look as he bit the side of his cheek.

My eyes darted toward Zach who was being led to the police car. The officer protected Zach’s head as he bent to sit him in the backseat.

“NO!” I shrieked so loudly I felt faint. Zach’s eyes found mine and the grimace on his face hurt more than my head could ever hurt. Tears swelled in my eyes. “Grant! Please! Tell them. Tell them he didn’t do anything.”

“I did,
Em.” Grant seemed sad.

“No. You have to tell them. Please, Grant.”

“Ma’am. We need you to calm down so we can treat your head.” A female paramedic climbed into the bed.

“Please sir, where are you taking him?” I yelled at the officer.

“We’re just questioning him,” he replied as he shut the car door.

“But he didn’t do anything.” The tears were streaming down my cheeks. My heart felt as if it would explode.

“Ma’am?” The paramedic asked, “you need to calm down.” 

“RYAN! I’m fine. Don’t let them take me. Please.”

“Em. Mom and Dad will meet you at the hospital and Ali and I’ll come straight there.”

I looked at Ali who was still crying.

“Ryan, please. Let me ride with you. I’ll go to the hospital,” I begged and promised at the same time.

He squeezed my hand. “I can’t. They said since you’re a minor that you have to be transported. There was a lot of blood,
Em.”

“We aren’t going to hurt you but your head needs sutures,” The paramedic explained.
             

“Stitches and an ambulance…it doesn’t make sense. I’ll go, I promise. But why can’t my brother drive me?” I asked more calmly.

She patted me in a condescending manner. “Because you’ve lost blood and you apparently lost consciousness. Please, don’t make us restrain you, sweetheart.” Her tone was soothing and I surrendered. 

Before I knew it, I was lying on the gurney. I didn’t want to do this. I sat up and fought to see Zach. The car hadn’t moved and his eyes were on me, his fist resting against his mouth. I quickly flashed the I love you hand sign and he flashed it back. The sadness in his eyes was unbearable. Then, the doors to the ambulance closed.

When the doors on the ambulance shut, so did the door to my heart. The time had come to end this. I was poison to her. Nothing good could come out of me staying.  I would hurt her when I left anyway, so if I stay it’s only delaying the inevitable. This commitment thing was overwhelming and she deserved someone to treat her right.

Ryan, Grant and Ali piled into the truck and followed the ambulance. The ache in my chest as they pulled away was nearly unbearable and like nothing I’d ever felt.  I didn’t like that. I hated it.  Ryan would take care of her though. I forced myself not to think about Grant. 
Dick.
How did he find out?

The ambulance siren faded. The heater in the Trooper’s cruiser was blowing on high and the police radio wouldn’t shut up. I banged my forehead on the headrest repeatedly wishing it was me in that ambulance. How the hell did she get hurt? The blood, her face…the images haunted me. I needed her out of my head.

The officer with the stale breath opened my passenger door and helped me out by lifting my tricep.              

“I’m sorry, Son. Just had to get an all clear of no pending warrants given your probation. Everything looks good but we will send a report to your PO in Medford.”

I closed my eyes, hearing the key unlock the cuffs. The outside air felt refreshing.

“So, I’m free to go?” I asked rubbing where the silver had circled.

He nodded. “Yes, Sir. And just so you know, she made it to the hospital. Still conscious.”

Knowing she was safe, in good hands, a relief I’d never known flooded over me.

“Thank you,” I said, giving the officer a nod.

“Go to her. She was pretty upset with us for keeping you.”

When I got in the Jeep, I could smell her and as soon as I brought the Jeep to life, I knew exactly where I was going. At the very least, she deserved a fair goodbye.  Besides, as soon as Grant told her what he knew, she’d end it with me. Either way, we were over; so for now, I’d go to her.

The look on my parents’ face was of sheer terror as the paramedics wheeled me into the emergency room. I felt terrible for their worry. My mom looked ten years older as she approached us with my dad keeping pace behind her.

“Emma!” she groaned in desperation.

“Mom. I’m totally fine. I have a small cut on my head,” I explained.

“Oh, honey. When Ryan called, you were unconscious.”

“She came right to after that,” Ryan said running in from the hallway. I was relieved he was there. “She’s a tough sister.”

My dad stepped to the bed. “How did you hit your head on the truck?”

“Well? Grant…”

Ryan cut me off. “Dad. I told you. We were swapping seats at a rest stop and she jumped up quickly and hit her head. It happened so fast. Knocked her silly. There was an OHP officer there and he thought we should call an ambulance because of the blood. You should have seen
Em. She was ticked!” He laughed and winked.

“Please,” I started where he left off. “An ambulance?  It was so not necessary.” Anything to get my folks’ mind off of what happened. “How does my head look?”

“Honey. The blood,” My mom whispered.

Why did everyone keep saying that? I glanced down at my shirt and saw drips of blood all over the front of it. Hmm. I hadn’t noticed before.

“Bring her into this room,” A woman in scrubs ordered pulling back a curtain. The door read TRAUMA. This was hardly traumatic. A bright light flipped on overhead and it hurt my eyes. Suddenly three or four people were hustling around me. One washed my forehead and hairline. A stabbing pain was suddenly there as they poked and pulled then warned me of the shots to deaden it. I kept my eyes closed as they worked; the stinging nearly unbearable. The medicine seemed to make my heart race and a funny taste filled my mouth. They talked to me as they worked which was nice. The smell of whatever they used churned my stomach.

I heard my dad’s deep voice in the hallway and I heard Ryan. I closed my eyes, and, for a moment, I dreamed I heard Zach. I ached for him and wondered where he was at this moment. Why would they have taken him in? What had started the fight? Grant made the deal with my brother that I was off limits. SO…I figured Grant said something to Zach. The nurse came in and examined the seamstress’s performance. Evidently, a job well done though I wasn’t allowed to leave. Ryan stepped into the room.  Mom and Dad were completing paperwork.

“How ya doin?” he asked with both hands in his pockets.

“Worried about Zach.”

“Grant knows. The officer said something about him being on probation. That’s what was with the further questioning. He doesn’t know why and I played dumb.”

“Do you know where he is?”

“No. We followed you here.”

“Where are Grant and Ali?”

“In the truck. Grant’s face is pretty whacked. None of us thought we needed to address that in front of Mom and Dad or anybody else.”

A smile touched the corners of my mouth as I thought about Grant. It wasn’t fair and it wasn’t nice but it served him right.  “So. What happened??”

Ryan shrugged. “Who knows. Grant got an ass
whoopin’ though.” Ryan smiled on that one.

“Was Zach hurt?” The words burned my mouth. I would rather die than have him hurt.
             

“Sis, he can hold his own. Don’t worry about him.” His cell phone rang and he muted it then walked to the hall. I laid my head back and closed my eyes but kept picturing Zach in the back of the highway patrol car. His eyes haunted me. I rubbed my neck and instantly realized my necklace was gone. Oh my God!

“Ryan!” My voice was an urgent whisper. No response.

“Ryan!” Louder this time. Nothing. I recounted my steps. Out of the Jeep, into the truck, out of the truck and into the ambulance. Where could it be? It made me sick to think about the chain breaking and losing…I couldn’t go there. Where was everyone? Everything seemed so quiet. My heart beat steady in my chest and I could even feel the pulsing in my wound. It was certainly throbbing and seemed to coincide with my heart. I heard someone running in the hallway. It made me sad as I thought about sad scenarios—stroke, heart attack, car accident and the running slowed then stopped. I heard the footsteps come into the room and I opened my eyes.

“Zach!” Nothing could have prepared me for the shock of his face. His lip was swollen and a line of dried blood curved down the bottom lip. Under his eye by his cheekbone, his skin was scraped and raw. Blood ran just below the surface of his skin. I rolled my lips together unsure what to say. In an instant, he was at my bedside taking me into his arms.

“Oh.” He breathed as if he’d held his breath underwater for as long as he possibly could stand.  He stroked my hair and I heard his heart now beating beneath my ear, pounding under his shirt. “I…am so…sorry.” His voice cracked and I pulled away to study his face. Why was he sorry?