Page 30 of Save Me
AMY
Rosa and I don't want to leave as we watch the fire engine turn the corner. Both of us agree without words that we want to wait and make sure that Gunner comes back safe and sound. I think we both need that after what happened with Nathan.
I'm playing on my phone, and she's coloring on a coloring book we had in the trunk of my car. I'm checking social media for any news of what's happening at the Grandview Inn, but all I see are videos that are harrowing.
I'm nervous as I watch the minutes tick by on my phone. That's when a car pulls up, and I see Trish get out.
Trish is the first to spot me. "Amy, what are you and Rosa doing here?"
"We brought Gunner food. We made meatloaf," I say lamely. "What are you doing here?"
"I heard about the fire and came here to wait for Gunner. Cora's with her dad and I didn't want to be by myself."
I scoot over, offering her a chair with us. "Come and worry with me," I offer.
She snorts. "I'm so glad I don't have to be here by myself."
I don't know what to talk to her about, because we don't know each other that well, and I'm about to ask her what's going on with her husband when both of our phones ring. Her caller ID says Mark, and mine says Ash. We look at each other, and a fear I've only ever felt a few times in my life rolls through my body.
"Hello?"
"Amy, this is Ash..."
I want to give him a moment, let him explain, but I can't. "Is he okay?"
Ash speaks quickly. "Gunner was trapped in a collapse of the front part of the building. They're taking him to the hospital. He's good, but looks like he broke his arm. Totally fixable. He's awake, but he's in a lot of pain."
My stomach rolls, but I tell myself that things are okay.
The words echo in my head as I hang up the phone. He's good. Totally fixable. I repeat them like a mantra as Trish grabs my hand, her own conversation with Mark ending with similar reassurances.
"They're both okay," she says, but her voice is shaky. "Mark said the same thing. Broken arm, but they're taking him to Midnight Cove Memorial."
I'm already standing, gathering Rosa's coloring supplies with trembling hands. "We need to go. I need to?—"
"Mom," Rosa's small voice cuts through my panic. She's looking up at me with those wide brown eyes that see too much. "Is Gunner hurt bad?"
I crouch down to her level, forcing my voice to stay steady. "He hurt his arm, but the doctors are going to fix it. He's going to be okay."
She nods solemnly, and I can see her processing this the way she's had to process too many scary things in her short life. It breaks my heart all over again.
"Can we go see him?" she asks.
"Yes, baby. We're going to the hospital right now."
We head out to the parking lot while I quickly text Eve to get her to meet us and get Rosa so she doesn't have to wait with us. The drive to Midnight Cove Memorial feels endless, even though it's only fifteen minutes away. Trish follows behind me in her car, and I keep checking my rearview mirror to make sure she's still there. Rosa is unusually quiet in the backseat.
When we arrive, I'm surprised to see how calm the emergency room is. Somehow, I expected chaos and sirens, but it's just a normal Tuesday evening at the hospital. The fluorescent lights are too bright, and everything smells like disinfectant and that particular hospital smell that makes my stomach turn.
Eve is there, and she takes Rosa with a whisper to text and let her know what's happening.
Ash is already in the waiting room when we walk in, still wearing his turnout gear, his face streaked with soot. He stands when he sees us, and I can read the exhaustion in every line of his body.
"How is he?" I ask before I even reach him.
"In surgery," Ash says, running a hand through his hair. "The break was pretty bad. They're putting some hardware in to make sure it heals right."
Surgery. The word hits me like a punch to the gut, even though I know it's routine. Even though broken bones get surgery all the time.
