Page 125 of Heart & Hope

Blood and strawberries.

I sweep my thumbs over her cheeks. “Baby, wake up, please. We gotta get outta here,” I whisper.

The warmth I felt earlier reaches my shoulder. My white dress shirt is now red on my left side. Bile rises in my throat, burning. I run my hand over her neck, hunting for a pounding pulse, only to find a thready one.

We need help.

I scan the truck for one of our phones. Mine is wedged between the seats above me. I grab for it. My hands shake too badly to tap the screen.

“Siri, call 911, on speaker.”

“Calling 911.” The ringtone starts.

“911. What’s your emergency?”

Eyes closed, I swallow down a ragged breath.

“Help, please. Highway 87 northbound from Great Falls. The truck has rolled. She’s out cold. Please, hurry.”

“Stay on the line, sir, an emergency unit will be...”

Hushed voices float around. The pounding in my head is gone. But something holds me in place. Body heavy with fatigue, I open my eyes. Florescent lights burn my eyes, and a light-green curtain sways, surrounding the hard bed I’m on.

An IV is sunk into a vein in my hand. The cotton stretched over me is not my shirt. I push to sit up. My head spins, but the sensation fades with a few deep breaths.

Ruby.

I swing my feet from the bed and rip the needle from my hand, tossing it onto the covers. The curtain moves, and Ma has me in her hold a heartbeat later.

“Oh, my boy. You should be resting, sweetheart.”

“Where’s Ruby?” I choke out.

Ma pushes back, holding me at arm’s length. “She’s down the hall. I tried to call her family, but her father’s receptionist said he wasn’t to be disturbed.”

“Did the hospital try?”

“They did. Same response.”

“Fucking hell. Pack of lousy, good-for-noth?—”

Ma’s hand lands on my arm, and she gives me a sad smile. “She has you.”

I push past Ma and make for the curtain. Cool air swirls up my legs and over my ass. Fuck me.

“Here,” Ma says, handing me clean jeans and a t-shirt with a sad smile that sends my gut plummeting. She slips out, and I pull the clothes on as quick as my aching body will let me. Every single cut on my skin burns. The glass is gone, but the sting remains. On bare feet, I rip the curtain back and stagger toward Ma, who is standing outside a bay marked Emergency 1.

Closest to the nurse’s station. That’s not good.

When I reach the curtain, Ma grabs my hand and nods, scrunching up her face. I know that look. She is trying to prepare me. Air leaves my lungs like a fucking vacuum. Harry appears by the corner of the hall and walks over, wrapping himself around Ma.

I turn back to the curtain and will my lungs to expand, to fill with air so I can move forward. With a shaking hand, I slide the fabric back. Ruby lies on the bed in the same gown I had on a moment ago. Her hair is still caked with blood, her face is cut up from the glass. A bruise the size of my palm is over her forehead and temple. Her chest rises and falls in a steady rhythm, her hands by her side. One finger is covered by a gadget, the other hand has an IV drip in it. The machines nearby monitor her vitals.

I fiddle with the bed rail, getting it to go down, and sit on the side of the bed. I trace my fingers over her cheeks and tuck a stray piece of hair behind her ear. The curtain hisses, and a doctor walks in.

“Mr. Robbins?” His glance drops to my hand, where the wedding band still sits on my ring finger.

“Yes.” I offer up my hand. “Reed.”

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