Scars of the Future (23 page)

“Don’t leave!” I cried. “Don’t leave me alone.”

“You’re not alone, Amanda. I’m here. Keep talking to me.” David’s voice was a plea.

“Where’s Matt?”

“He’s going to meet us at the hospital, sweetheart.”

I could hear the firefighters trying to pry the door open and I moaned in pain.

“David, where are you?”

“I’m almost there. I’m just a little over a mile away. Do they have your door open yet?”

I shook my head. “No. God, it hurts.”

“I know, but it will be okay. You are so strong, sweetheart, and you’re doing amazing.”

It felt like an eternity passed and then David’s face appeared in the passenger window. It was a welcome sight and he gave me a small smile. “Amanda, I’m here and I’m not leaving, okay? They’re going to use the Jaws of Life to cut your door open. It’s going to be loud, but it will be quick and we’ll get you out right after.”

I nodded and wiped my face. I couldn’t reach David at the passenger window from where I was, but he laid on the cold asphalt, staying in view. An earsplitting noise filled the area, and I tried to focus on that instead of the pain that coursed through my abdomen. It felt like hours had passed when the door was pulled off and the noise stopped.

David stood, moving from his spot, and he appeared again on the driver’s side with someone who looked like a paramedic.

“Amanda, hi. I’m Connor. We’re going to get you out of the car, okay? We’re going to lower you onto this backboard on your stomach, and we’ll flip you onto your back once you’re out of the car.”

“Please. My baby.” I cringed as the pain hit me again.

“We’ll be careful, I promise.”

David couldn’t reach my hand but he moved back onto his stomach where I could see him near the windshield. He kept saying words of encouragement as the paramedics moved in backboards, secured my neck, and eventually cut my seatbelt to lower me down. They slid me out of the car and then, as Connor promised, they turned on my back so I was staring at the gray sky.

“David? David?” I tried to turn my head, but the neck brace they’d slipped on had immobilized me. His face suddenly appeared over mine and he gave me a smile.

“You’re out and we’re going to head to the hospital.” He turned to someone behind him. “I’m going to ride with the ambulance. Can you try to find her purse and her phone, Patty? Thank you.”

I let out a cry of pain and David slipped his hand into mine. “Just hang on, girls.”

I was jostled around as they loaded me into the ambulance, and soon I could hear the siren wailing above us as Connor the paramedic did all sorts of things over my body.

“My baby,” I grit my teeth and looked up at him. “Is she okay?”

“I don’t have a way of monitoring her from here, but she may just be reacting to your stress. We’ll be at the hospital soon.”

I closed my eyes as a wave of nausea hit me, and I heard David mumbling into the phone. “Amanda’s fine overall. She’s going to need stitches in a couple of places, but otherwise she’s just banged up. My biggest concern with her is her head because she blacked out. Her contractions are about thirty seconds apart. Tell your mom we need to have her doctor in the emergency room. She’s okay, Matt. She’s very alert and very aware. We’ll be there soon.”

“I’m starting an IV line, Amanda. Just a little poke.”

The pain from the IV was nothing compared to the contractions, and suddenly I couldn’t hold it back. “David, I’m gonna be sick.”

“Connor, we need to turn her.”

I was turned sideways on the backboard as I lost everything that had been in my stomach. Vomiting was terrible, but vomiting while immobile? Way worse.

“I’m sorry,” I mumbled, embarrassed.

“Don’t be sorry. You’re doing great.” David wiped my mouth with something and smiled at me. “Sydney and Matt are both waiting to see you when we get there.”

“Thank you.” My voice was so meek and unlike itself as I grasped David’s hand with my fingers.

“No thanks needed, sweetheart. We’re just pulling up to the hospital.”

He had barely spoken the words before the doors were opened and Connor jumped out. David stayed with me, his hand still clutched in mine, and I noticed his white dress shirt was ruined.

“You’re all dirty.”

He smiled down at me. “I can get another shirt. We can’t get another Amanda.” We moved inside and I heard Connor talking rapidly to someone I couldn’t see.

A different person appeared next to David and looked at him. “Are you the father?”

He shook his head quickly. “No, he should be here somewhere.”

“Okay, I’m sorry sir, but only family can stay with her.”

David shook his head again. “She’s my sister.”

The nurse nodded quickly and moved to the foot of the bed

David grinned down at me. “You are.”

Despite all of the crap going on, I managed to give him a genuine smile.  “Definitely.”

Everyone around me spoke rapidly and I tried my best to focus on David’s face. His dark blue eyes held contact with mine and the encouraging smile never left his face. I absolutely loved this man and was very proud to call him family.

My bed finally came to a rest as another head popped up next to David’s and the newcomer wore a smile on his face.

“Dr. Eaton.”

“Amanda, you’ve had quite a day. Let’s check on Olivia, okay?” His reassuring smile helped until another contraction cut through my stomach.

“Let’s get the steroids onboard in case we have time before we have to deliver. I want twelve milligrams of celestone. Get these clothes off of her.”

Despite Dr. Eaton’s attempts at being reassuring, listening to the urgency in his voice was frightening and I dug my fingers into David’s hand. “What’s going on?”

“They’re looking you over. They’re going to have to cut your clothes off, but that’s normal. Deep breaths.” David looked over and smiled at what he saw. “Matt’s here.

My hand was pulled out of David’s and I immediately knew who had taken it before I saw his face.

I couldn’t contain the sob when Matt looked down at me. “Matt.”

“It’s okay, sweets. It’s going to be okay.” He gave me an encouraging smile, but I could see the worry behind it.

A new face appeared above my head and she smiled. “Hi Amanda. I’m Dr. Leighton. Does anything hurt?”

“My stomach.”

“Dr. Eaton is working on that, what else?”

“My head.”

“Okay, let me look at it.”

“Matt. The baby.” My vision was blurry from the tears and I wanted to reach up and wipe my eyes, but my arms were restrained to the bed.

He squeezed my hand as he reached to wipe my eyes for me. “They’re checking, Manda.” His eyes left mine and he glanced at Dr. Eaton. “My daughter…?”

“We’re looking for her heartbeat now.”

Matt and I didn’t speak again and I felt hands all over my body. I knew it must have looked bad because my big, strong boyfriend’s eyes were wet with unshed tears. Eventually, the sound of the baby’s quick, tiny heartbeat filled my ears, and I sighed in relief. Matt closed his eyes and discreetly tried to hide his tears with his sleeve.

“She needs debridement and stitches above her left ear, left shoulder, and on the top-left side of her scalp,” Dr. Leighton was saying to someone. “They’re not too deep, but we need to make sure there isn’t any glass in there. I’ve cleared her neck, so we can take that brace off. Her spine needs to be cleared and then I can give her to L and D to take care of. Neuro will clear her pending a scan because of her level of awareness. As soon as the baby is delivered they want an MRI.”

Someone’s fingers unhooked the neck brace and I was instantly grateful. I turned my head to look at Matt and he gave me a shaky smile. “You’re okay.”

I attempted to wipe my eyes on my shoulder and Matt brought his hand up to help, his big thumbs swiping under my eyes.

“How long was I in the car?”

“About forty-five minutes. David called me and I’ve been here waiting for the ambulance with Syd. Mom’s here, too. She was just ending her shift when I called her, so she’s upstairs waiting for us.”

I scrunched my face as another contraction hit. “Where’s David?”

“I’m here, Amanda.” David’s face came into view and he was wearing a soft smile. Another face moved into view and I saw Sydney’s frantic expression.

“Hey babe. You’re both going to be okay.” She squeezed my shoulder and tried to smile. “Maddie’s on her way, too.”

David turned to look at Matt, speaking quietly. “He blew a point two one. Almost three times the limit. They have him in custody.”

Matt nodded. “Thank you so much, David.”

“Of course.” David looked down at me. “They’re going to move you up to the maternity ward now. We’re going to wait down here for Maddie and then we’ll all come join you, all right?”

I nodded. “David…”

“No need, Am. I love you.” He bent over and kissed my forehead before disappearing.

Sydney nodded her head with a smile. “I love you, too, babe. I’ll see you in a bit.” She moved in the same direction David just had and I let out a pained sigh.

“Okay, Mom and Dad, we’re going to move this party upstairs.” Dr. Eaton gave me a reassuring smile.

“Is she okay?” I trained my eyes on Matt as the bed moved beneath me.

“She appears to be fine, but your contractions are right on top of each other, and I think we might be seeing her today.” Dr. Eaton answered the question instead of Matt, but my eyes still didn’t leave Matt’s face.

“It’s too soon, Matt.”

He ran a hand down my face. “Dr. Eaton will take care of her. She’s in great hands, sweets.”

I nodded, but I wasn’t sure I believed him.

Chapter Twenty-Three

“Amanda.” Linda’s face appeared next to Matt’s almost immediately after the elevator doors opened.

“Linda. The baby…”

“We’re trying to slow down your contractions, sweetie, but if she’s born now she’ll be okay. Thirty-two weeks isn’t too early.” She gave me a comforting smile, but the pains that wracked my body didn’t make me feel any better.

Suddenly, I felt a warm liquid gush from me and I froze. “I think my water just broke.”

Linda lifted up a blanket that was covering me and nodded. “It sure did.”

“Let’s transfer her to a delivery bed,” Dr. Eaton said, and I felt someone finally release the restraints that were on my arms. “Amanda, we’re going to move you. Hold still.”

I suddenly flew through the air as a dozen hands moved me to the next bed. Matt stood on my left side, and I saw him glance up at his mom. “What about these cuts?”

“They need to be cleaned and stitched but they aren’t emergent. We’ll deal with them after we get the baby all settled.” Linda fixed me with something that felt like a belt, and the baby’s heartbeat filtered into the room.

“Okay Amanda, I’m going to check to see how dilated you are, okay? There’s going to be uncomfortable pressure between your legs for a moment.” I nodded at Dr. Eaton and focused on Matt.

“Was anyone else hurt?”

Matt shook his head. “It doesn’t sound like it. The asshole who clipped you was sloppy drunk though and I want to kill him.”

I squeezed his hand as tight as I could. “Matt, I think I need a new car.”

He just stared at me for a moment before he burst out laughing and leaned down to kiss my forehead. “Yeah, I think you do. We’re going to get you a tank this time, too.”

I closed my eyes and focused on his laughter instead of the pain.

Dr. Eaton was talking in a low voice to the nurses as he checked me, and when he was done I heard the words ‘NICU’ and ‘Preemie’.

“Okay, guys, there’s no stopping this little lady. We’re waiting for our receiving team to get in here and we’re going to have a baby. She’s head down and ready to go.”

The bed behind me was raised so I was sitting at an incline, and for the first time I was able to look at my own body. I was wearing a hospital gown, and my left arm and leg looked like they had taken the brunt of the damage with abrasions up and down them. There was an IV sticking out of my right arm, but otherwise I looked like me.

Linda smiled at me and pat the hand Matt wasn’t holding. “You’re doing great, sweetie.”

A bunch of people moved into the room, wheeling in some more equipment, and another nurse said, “NICU is here.”

“Okay. Let’s get her out. She’s having a few decelerations.” Dr. Eaton sat at the end of the bed as Linda and another nurse adjusted my legs. “Okay, Amanda, when I tell you, you’re going to push.”

I looked at Matt and shook my head desperately. “I can’t. It’s too soon.”

“Manda, you can. You’ve been an awesome home for her for the past seven months, but it’s time for her to come, okay?” He leaned forward and pressed a small kiss to my mouth. “You can do this.”

Linda stood opposite Matt and took my other hand. “Okay, Amanda- push.”

I did as I was told and Dr. Eaton smiled. “Okay, hold on. We’re going to do just one more small push on the next contraction and that should be good.”

Matt furrowed his brow. “Only two pushes?”

“Because she’s too small.” I shook my head and bit my lip to keep from crying.

“Okay Amanda, last push.”

I did and I watched as a Dr. Eaton handed a baby that looked smaller than a doll to the waiting arms of the NICU team. Matt stared, clutching my hand like it was a lifeline, and neither of us spoke for a few heartbeats.

“She’s not crying,” I whispered. “She’s not crying. Why isn’t she crying?” I reached up and wiped the tears from my cheeks and Linda turned, forcing a smile to her face.

“We can help her breathe if we need to. I’m going to go check her stats.”

It felt like an eternity, but a small sound came from where Linda was. Suddenly, a low, weak cry sounded and another sob left my chest.

“She cried, Manda.” Matt leaned down and kissed my face in several places. “She cried.”

Olivia’s sweet crying was quiet, but you could tell she was mad. I tried to get a glimpse of her but the mass of nurses hid her tiny form. Linda finally walked back over, tears running down her face, but wearing a smile. “She’s breathing on her own. She’s three pounds fourteen ounces, eighteen inches long. The NICU team is going to let you hold her for just a moment, and then she needs to go to the NICU to be fully assessed, okay?”

I nodded, my eyes fixed on the, no longer crying, little bundle that a nurse was walking over to me. I held out my arms and she placed the tiny baby in them gently. The nurse held an ambu bag about six inches from her face, squeezing every few seconds.

“Olivia,” I breathed, gazing at her perfect, little face. She fussed a little but her eyes stayed closed.

“She’s so amazing,” Matt whispered quietly, his finger looking huge as he ran it down her miniature cheek.

“Pull back her cap,” Linda said next to me, and Matt gently pushed the ugly little hat off her head. A lot of sticky, light-red hair was matted the top of her head, too light to match mine but too red to match his.

Matt let out a chuckle. “She has her mama’s hair.” He took out his phone and took several pictures of her and when he held it up to get me in the shot, I shook my head.

“I look scary.”

“You look perfect. Smile, Manda.”

I did and he handed the phone to his mom who took several as well. I glanced up at him. “Do you want to hold her?”

He nodded furiously, and his mom helped us transfer her into his arms. I just smiled in awe watching that big, muscled man hold the tiny, delicate baby. I could hear Matt whispering to her softly, and Linda snapped several pictures of the exchange.

“Okay Mom and Dad, we need to take her now. “ A nurse stepped towards Matt and I felt panic bubble in my chest. Several people looked towards the heart monitor that was connected to me and Linda cupped my cheek with her hand.

“Calm down, sweetie. They need to observe her, but after we get you fixed up we can take you to see her, okay?”

I nodded, watching Matt lean forward to give her another kiss before he brought her to my face so I could do the same.

“Okay,” the nurse said as she received her. “Come on, little…” She looked up at me and Matt expectantly.

“Olivia,” Matt said, not taking his eyes off our daughter. “Olivia Linden Thomas.”

“Come on, little Olivia.” She placed her into the huge, rolling incubator and I watched as they wheeled my baby out of the room.

Two hours later I had several stitches in my arm and head, and I sat still as the nurse rubbed an ointment over the scrapes on my face. I had flipped through the pictures that Matt had taken and I definitely did look scary. I cringed when I realized I had dried blood caked to my forehead and cheek in the first photos with my daughter. Matt just shook his head and said it would be a great story when she was older.

“The airbag got your cheek and your neck has a nice burn from the seatbelt.” The nurse’s peppy voice was grating on my exasperated nerves. “The left side of your body is pretty beat up, but the right side doesn’t have hardly a scratch apart from these old bruises. I tried to get the blood out of your hair, but we’re going to have to get you in the shower for that. We’ll do that tonight, okay?”

I nodded and looked where Matt was sitting, watching intently. “When can we see Olivia?”

The nurse smiled. “We’re going to move you over to the maternity ward. It’s the same floor, just on the other side of the hospital. The NICU is over there, too, so we’ll be able to take you then. Maybe another hour, okay?”

Another hour. I wanted to scream in frustration but instead I simply stated, “Okay.”

They had already taken me down for an MRI, and a doctor I hadn’t seen before came in to tell me that there wasn’t any damage done internally when my head hit the window. Other than the stitches, I had survived the accident with minimal damage. When I praised my little Corolla for saving my life, Matt had scoffed and said that he foresaw something with side airbags in my future.

The nurse finished lathering me with the different ointments and left the room. A knock sounded on the door almost immediately, and I looked up to see Sydney and Maddie standing there. I smiled at them and they both rushed over, taking turns to hug me.

“How do you feel?” Maddie asked, looking me over.

“I’m sore everywhere but okay otherwise.”

Sydney pointed towards a suitcase that she had next to her feet and Matt took it from her. “Maddie and Josh stopped by the house and got you guys some things. It should hold you over for a couple of days. There’s nothing for Olivia in there, though, but we have to go back for her car seat anyway.”

Matt smiled. “Thanks girls.“

David stepped through the door and he held up my purse. “Patty pulled this and your work bag out of the car before they towed it off. We’ll be able to reclaim more stuff from it later, but it’s definitely totaled.”

I just stared at him for a moment and let the memories of the day assault me. I reached my hand out for David and he took a few steps forward to grasp it gently.

“I don’t know what I would have done without you, David. I really don’t.” He leaned forward and I wrapped my arms around him, tears falling slowly down my cheeks.

“I feel privileged that you called and trusted me, Amanda. I’ll always be there for you.”

I didn’t let him go for a few long minutes and when I finally did he just smiled at me.

Matt pulled him into a hug, too, and they embraced beyond the bro-code standards. When they separated, Matt just looked at David. “I owe you so much. You and this Nathan guy. Did you get his information?”

David nodded. “He asked me to update him on the girls. He was an amazing help in keeping Amanda calm. Do you want me to call him or do you?”

“I’d love to, if that’s okay,” Matt said. “Actually, I’m going to step out and do that now before they move Amanda.” Matt gave me a quick kiss before he and David left the room together.

Maddie sighed, glancing around the room. “Too many ambulances in the last year.”

“Amen,” Sydney said with a grin. “I don’t want to see you assholes at my place of employment anymore.”

I laughed and shook my head. “Sorry.”

“Tell us about little Liv, Amanda.” Sydney grabbed my hand.

“Oh, Matt took his phone, but we have pictures on there. She’s so tiny and gorgeous. It’s dumb, but I miss her so much already.”

Maddie smiled. “You’re such a proud mommy. I love it.”

Josh knocked on the door holding a pink balloon. “Can I come in?”

I nodded and gestured him forward. “Please.”

He walked towards the bed and leaned in to give me a hug. “I’m so glad you’re both okay. I am so done with the frantic phone calls, though. I swear- it’s getting to where I dread the phone ringing.”

Sydney nodded, closing her eyes briefly. “It’s been a hell of a year. No coming back unless it’s for having babies the right way.”

I caught a look that Maddie and Josh shared and I narrowed my eyes. Maddie turned back and when saw me looking, she blushed a deep color of red.

“You’re pregnant,” I gasped, and Sydney snapped her head to Maddie.

“You are?”

Josh’s face transformed into a huge smile and he pulled Maddie close. She nodded, her face still burning, and she grinned at her husband. “We were going to tell you all at Christmas. We’ve just hit ten weeks.”

Sydney pulled Maddie into a hug and I grabbed for Josh before we switched.

“Today is about you girls, though,” Josh said and I shook my head.

“No way, it’s about family. This is fantastic news.”

Maddie glanced towards Sydney. “Your turn.”

Sydney rolled her eyes. “If you bitches don’t keep your legs closed I’m going to have to fight David off with a stick.”