Page 96 of Bea's Book Wagon
‘That’s so lovely to hear. I’ll have a think about what to recommend him next time I visit,’ said Bea.
‘Excellent! See you soon, and thanks for tonight, it was great,’ said Rose.
‘Oh Christ, is that rain?’ asked Nathan, his palms suddenly outstretched.
‘I think so, yes,’ said Bea, pulling up the hood of her sweater.
‘Better get a move on then,’ said Phoebe, throwing the empty bottles and rubbish into bin bags.
‘Shit,’ said Bea, as the raindrops started to fall.
Bea, Nathan and Phoebe packed away as quickly as they could, as the rain started to hammer down upon them. When they’d finally got everything cleared up, they didn’t stop to say a proper goodbye to each other, they just climbed into their respective vehicles and waved farewell.
Bea was soaked through to the skin, but she’d be back home soon enough and was looking forward to a hot shower, clean pjs and a glass of wine.
Bliss.
Phoebe gave her horn a little toot as she pulled off the green, and Nathan wound down his window, yelling, ‘After you,’ and waving his arms at Bea with a flourish. She smiled, put her foot on the accelerator and set off.
Bea flicked her wipers to full speed. She could barely see out the window now, the rain was so heavy.
The journey back to Meadowgate Mead took her down a winding lane that led out of the village, so she slowed down, dropping into a lower gear. She could just about make out Nathan’s headlights behind her in her rear-view mirror when, all of a sudden, she was dazzled by a flash of lights that appeared to be speeding directly towards her on the wrong side of the road.
She pumped her brakes, tried to slow down, but, with the other car heading directly for her, she had no choice but to swerve to try to avoid a collision.
Bea screamed as the car flipped on its side, her head thumping hard against the window as it crashed to the ground. She felt something hot and sticky flowing down her cheek as her vision began to fade, her consciousness gradually slipping away.
She was out cold.
CHAPTER 27
Nathan couldn’t believe what he was seeing. One minute he was following the red glow of the horsebox’s rear lights, the next Bea’s car had swerved off the lane sharply, flipping up and onto its side, before coming back down to earth with a thud in the ditch. He slammed on his brakes as he saw a pair of oncoming headlights hurtling towards him, the other vehicle coming off the road behind him. He didn’t think, he just yanked on his handbrake, jumped out of his truck and sprinted towards Bea’s car.
Smoke was pouring from the engine, the windscreen smashed, the airbag deployed. The horsebox was on its side, back doors open, books all over the road and in the ditch.
It was carnage.
‘Bea!’ he yelled, banging on the driver’s-side window. He couldn’t see a thing. ‘Bea!’ he shouted again.
There was no response.
He peered through the windscreen. He could see her. Her head was slumped forward, resting on the steering wheel, her hair soaked in blood and falling across her face.
He pulled his phone from his pocket, his hands shaking as he dialled 999.
* * *
‘Is she breathing? Does she have a pulse?’ the emergency response operator asked after taking his details.
‘I don’t know, I can’t get to her.’ Nathan tried the car door again, but the impact had jammed it shut. ‘Hang on,’ he’d said, throwing the phone to the ground, pulling off his sweatshirt and wrapping it around his arm. He slammed it hard against the driver’s side window, which shattered, covering Bea with shards of glass.
‘Shit,’ he muttered. ‘Bea? Bea?’ he said, desperately. ‘Come on, wake up,’ he pleaded, through gritted teeth. He laid a hand on her neck and felt for a pulse, relief flooding through him when he felt it thrumming steadily beneath her skin. ‘Yes,’ he said, retrieving his phone. ‘I can feel it, she’s got a pulse.’
‘That’s good, really good,’ said the call operator.
‘Should I get her out? The engine might explode!’
‘No, absolutely not, she could have a spinal injury. You need to wait until the ambulance and fire crew are with you. What about the other vehicle. Are the occupants okay?’
