Persuaded (16 page)

“That was awesome!” I heard Ethan yell.

“Kylie, you were amazing!” Carson’s shout was just as loud as his brother’s.

But it was the kiss Gregory gave her that stopped my heart. I’m sure it stopped Kylie’s, too. She looked like she was on cloud nine.

“Let me do it again!” I heard her exclaim. “Come on, move out of the way, guys, I’m going to do it again!”

Everyone moved back as Kylie revved the engine and peeled out. Her tires flew over the hill, and soon she soared quickly back again. I wondered briefly if she was going to try for three spins in the air.
I wouldn’t doubt it.
She sped to the spot but this time passed it to create her own donut in fresh dirt. She jerked her handlebars but failed to notice the rock beneath the tires. In one electrifying moment, we all watched Kylie’s ATV jolt to the left just as it was supposed to, but as she stood, the front tires bounced wildly on the rock, tipping the vehicle off balance. In a flash, the speeding ATV repeatedly rolled—top over bottom—crushing Kylie’s body beneath its weight.

Fourteen: The Day the World Stopped Turning

The world stopped. Everything froze around me as I watched the horrific scene. And then, as if in slow motion, the pieces of my brain began to click together and I realized what had just happened. This was real. I was not on some movie set in California. Kylie had just been seriously injured—or killed—when her ATV rolled over, taking her with it. It had ruthlessly slammed her head into the ground and then rolled over her again before it plummeted to a stop about three feet away.

Gregory was the first to her side. He was the first to move at all. Had it not been for his anguished cry of “She’s dead!”, I don’t think I would’ve come out of my trance-like state. As it was, his agony triggered me into motion.

All at once, I was speeding my ATV over to them, leaving my helmet and Kylie’s in the dust behind me. I heard someone scream as I jumped off the vehicle and ran toward Gregory, who was hunched over Kylie’s twisted body. I vaguely saw Ethan and Carson move forward, but neither of them came up to us.

My brain switched to an amazing clarity as I realized no one else knew what to do. My first-aid training from years ago suddenly came back to me as I quickly scanned Kylie’s mangled form.

And mangled it was. One of her legs was broken, and possibly the other as well. I leaned over and gently placed my fingers into the crook of her neck, feeling for a pulse, while I forced myself to scan her pale features for sign of life. There were none. Her neck had snapped back and there was a large, gaping wound from her forehead to her ear, and another where blood was pooling behind her left collarbone onto the dusty desert floor.

She really is dead!
I thought with horror. It was then, just as I was about to make the same declaration Gregory had, that I felt it. The faintest of throbs in her neck.

“She’s alive!” I cried. “She’s alive! She has a pulse!”

Cries and screams and shouts burst out all around me. The noise came so quickly that I began to wonder if it had been there all the while and I had subconsciously blocked the sound so I could concentrate.

“What do I do?”

I had forgotten Gregory was there until his words caused me to look up.

“What can I do? Tell me!”

A thousand instructions and commands whipped through my head. Which to settle on first? “Find something to stop that bleeding. Whatever you do, don’t move her.” I pointed to the pool forming by Gregory’s knees as I searched for something to slow the bleeding from the side of her face. “I need fabric, cloth—something!” I shouted to the group at large.

Collin was above me. His shirt was off and torn in half so fast I didn’t even see him do it. “Here.” He chucked one half at me, and the other was caught mid-throw by Gregory.

Carson and Ethan immediately followed suit and removed their shirts. Ethan dropped down and began to cover a large cut on one of Kylie’s legs. I hadn’t even seen it. “Be careful not to move her! We don’t want to risk paralyzing her, if she’s not already. And someone call 911. We need help now.”

Carson and Collin both whipped out their phones, but neither could get a signal.

“What do we do?” Gregory asked me frantically.

“Go find someone with a CB radio. Or get up high enough to get a signal.”

“Yes.” Gregory jumped up with the blood-soaked cloth in his hand. “A CB radio. You’re a genius.”

“Not you!” I snapped at him. “Stop that blood.” I turned to my left. “Ethan, you know these trails better than any of us. Go get help. Collin, take that leg from him. And Carson, do me a favor and stop those girls from screaming.” It sounded as if Lilly and Sydney were trying to have a wailing match to see who could screech the loudest. I watched Carson run over to the girls. Madison was already there, doing her best to keep them quiet. When I looked back, Ethan had already gone.

Gregory and Collin were extremely adept and calm as they followed my instructions—clearly they were grateful to have something to do. Between the three of us, after five or ten minutes, we had managed to slow Kylie’s blood loss, while I continued to take her pulse. It rose slower than I had hoped, but because it was rising, I had to prepare the guys for the reality that she might wake up. It was my worst fear. If she did, she would probably injure herself further.

“If she does wake up, I’ll need you two to help me calm her down so she doesn’t panic. The pain will be unbearable. If she jerks or moves suddenly she may become paralyzed, so we must keep her as still as possible.” I was also concerned about her going into shock if she gained consciousness.

“Where is Carson’s shirt? Didn’t he take his off, too? We need to keep her as warm as possible.”

“Yeah,” Collin answered, “it’s here.” He tossed the shirt to me. With our free hands, the three of us spread the shirt over Kylie’s torso. Then he asked, “Should we get some water? Clean her scrapes and bruises?”

I shook my head. “I thought about it, but I’m worried the cold water from the ice chests will either wake her up or put her into shock. We’re better waiting until the ambulance arrives. They’ll have the right equipment anyway.”

“How much longer do you think it’ll be?” Collin’s dark eyes worried into mine.

“I don’t know. How long has it been—ten minutes? We should expect to be here at least another twenty, maybe longer.”

At my announcement, Gregory and Collin adjusted themselves from crouching positions to kneeling.

We’re out in the middle of nowhere.
Our only hope is Ethan. Thank goodness he knows the trails as well as he does.

Gregory broke into my thoughts with a strangled whisper. “Do you—do you think she’ll make it?”

Our eyes collided then and my heart nearly stopped. His brown gaze held more anguish and worry and pain than anyone should ever be expected to feel. I didn’t know what to say. It was my best friend in between us, the girl who completely adored the only guy I’d ever loved. I could tell he cared deeply for her. Anyone could see it was not just a mask of concern he wore.

“She can’t die,” he whispered. “Tell me that she won’t die.”

“I can’t, Greg. I—I can’t,” I practically sobbed as the words came unbidden from my lips.

“Tell me the worst of your fears then.” His clouded eyes hounded mine. “Won’t you tell me what to expect?”

As much as I couldn’t bear to inflict more pain on him, I couldn’t deny him anything he wished, and after another moment under his intense gaze, I gave in. “She has broken her neck.”

He gasped hoarsely, as a strangled man gulps for air, and stared down at Kylie.

“Her chances of survival are not good. If she makes it out of here, if the paramedics are extremely careful, she may live. No one can move that neck—no one, not even her. I am worried about paralysis because of that. But in all reality she is probably already paralyzed. If she does live, she may be nothing more than a vegetable.”

Gregory nodded.

“No!” It was Collin’s strangled gasp next to me that made me look over at him.

“Do you think it would be okay for her family to stay in the Hadley’s home?” I asked. “She’ll be in the hospital for quite some time.”

“Yes. Of course,” Collin replied.

“Is there anything you don’t think of?”

I turned and was surprised to see a faint glow of admiration in Gregory’s eyes.

“I’m sure there is a lot I haven’t thought of.”

“You will stay with her at the hospital, won’t you?” he asked me.

“Yes. I wouldn’t dream of being anywhere else.”

“Good.” He smiled then. It was as rueful and sad as a smile can be, but it was a smile. “You really would make an incredible nurse.”

“I . . . er, thank you.” I half smiled in return.

He shook his head sorrowfully and latched his gaze onto mine again. “It’s my fault. All of it—it’s mine.”

“No. Greg, no. It’s not your fault. It’s not anyone’s fault.”

He snorted. “Are you kidding me? Who rented the stupid ATV for her? Who’s been flirting with her nonstop so I wouldn’t think of—so I wouldn’t think of—” His eyes drilled into mine.

Me. So you wouldn’t think of me.

“Never mind that,” Gregory went on. “Who challenged her to do the freakin’ donuts in the first place?”

“What about her helmet? Did you make her take that off, too?” I asked him. “Did you make her drive recklessly—as fast as she could—so she would lose complete control? Stop! You will drive yourself crazy, Greg. It was an accident.”

“An accident with huge consequences!” he shot back. “Can’t you see that?”

“Of course I can.”
Why is he doing this to himself?

“No—yes! Of course, there is this consequence.” He pointed down to Kylie’s motionless form. “But I meant more than that. There are more consequences than you can see.” His eyes pleaded frantically into mine for understanding.

What?

“Andy, I’m all she has. Can’t you see that? Can you tell me she doesn’t love me? I’m such an idiot. She needs me now. She’s going to be a wreck—an emotional, physical wreck. I can’t leave her, no matter what else I may have felt towards anything—or . . . or . . . anyone. Unless there is any reason at all that you can give that will prove she doesn’t love me. Can you do that? Can you give me anything?”

My gaze never broke from his. “No,” I whispered, quietly sealing my fate. “No, I can’t. She loves you.”

Fifteen: The Waiting Game

Allen Memorial Hospital was dark when I finally wandered out to the waiting area to find a vending machine. I wasn’t sure how long I had been hanging around to hear news of Kylie, but it had been a long while since the night shift came on duty. Kylie had been in surgery for over four hours now, and the first real pangs of hunger had begun to hit me.

I glanced at the vending machine and tried to decide what I would eat if I had my purse with me. It all looked good.
This is pointless.
I turned away and marched determinedly to the water fountain and took a long, cold drink.
Water is good.
I could feel my lips were chapped and knew I was dehydrated. I took another drink and prayed it would help my headache as well.

“Hey, are you okay?”