Page 70 of The Gathered Fragments of Us
I nodded, "yes. I've only seen them driving or on TV. I've never been inside one before."
"Well, this will be your first time then!" she responded with a smile. "Normally I'd ask if you want to turn on the sirens, but you're probably too big for that now."
"No, I'm not! I would totally turn on the sirens. Do you think Mike will let me?"
Mike was a little bit in front of me and said, "you bet, kid!"
"Okay cool! Thanks Mike!"
"You're welcome Macy."
I saw Mom again. I could see her lips move but couldn't hear anything she said. There was no one with her though in the back seat, so I think she's talking to herself.
"Will she be okay?" I asked Mike as we got in the ambulance.
"The doctors are going to do everything they can to help her," he said. "Sometimes when people take too many pills, it takes time for their bodies to get better."
"Officer Lia?"
"Yes, Macy?"
"My mom said she took some money. Do you know what she means?"
"Oh honey, don't worry about that right now. Your dad can figure all that stuff out. Right now we should just focus on getting your arm fixed up. Okay?"
I leaned back against the stretcher thing and closed my eyes. "Okay." My arm still hurt, but I felt safer now. Dad was coming, and soon this whole scary thing would be over.
I wonder if he'd hug me right away or if he'd look me over first. I hope he isn't too scared. He will probably cry when he sees me.I won't cry when he sees me, that way he won't be scared anymore—he'll see I'm strong, so he won't worry.I felt tears roll down my cheeks. Better to cry now instead of when my dad is here.
Chapter 28: Not Completely Broken
~Felicity~
The emergency department at Berkshire Medical Center was quiet—we were definitely not in Boston. The makeshift room separated Macy from other patients with surrounding curtains. When Caden and I had entered the hospital, looking for her with Detective Morrison, my stomach was in knots. Still trapped in the whirlwind of the night, it was too hard to even unpack everything that had happened so quickly.
When we found Macy, she was lying back on a hospital bed that would be small for me, but looked like it was ready to engulf her little body. She looked over at us and her eyes lit up. Caden broke down into a blubbering mess of emotions. He ran to her bed and pulled himself up short, stopping before he might hurt her if he embraced her. He ran his hands lightly over her arms, shoulders, and head.
The hospital had called to get verbal consent to treat her when we were on the way, so we knew what her injuries were already. But seeing it in real life is so very different. It was hard to even describe. She had a bandage on the side of her head, bruising that ran down her temple close to her eye. Her arm was in a cast, from fingers almost to her elbow. She had an IV in the other arm—the nurse explained that Macy was somewhat dehydrated, so they were giving her fluids.
Caden leaned forward and kissed his daughter's forehead. "I am so sorry, honey. I'm so sorry for everything you have beenthrough." He laid his head on top of hers, I could tell he was trying to be careful of all her injuries. "We love you so much. Everything is going to be okay."
We sat quietly as the nurse came in and took her vitals again. Once we were alone, I asked, "Does it still hurt, sweetheart?" adjusting the blanket around her for the third time in ten minutes.
"Not really—not anymore, that is. The medicine they gave me helped. It was so bad before, Felicity." She looked up at me with droopy eyes that were fighting to stay open. She whispered, "but it's much better now."
"That's good, honey. You tell us if that changes, okay?"
"Okay. Felicity?"
"Yes, honey?" I leaned closer.
"Are you and Dad still fighting?"
Caden and I exchanged glances over her bed. The question took me aback for a minute, though it shouldn't have.
"We're working on things," I said carefully. "But right now, we're just focused on you."
"Good. Because I was scared you might not want to be my family anymore."
