Page 119 of Love You, Mean It
I dropped to sit, and as I was getting her settled between my legs, a hard kick hit my back, and we slipped forward.
Denise landed on my back—she’d clearly kicked me and lost her balance—and I fell forward.
I did everything I could to adjust Harper. Both of my arms wrapped around her as one of her legs hung off the slide, and I frantically tried to pull it in. I was partly turned sideways. Denise had all her weight pressed against my back, and we were moving fast. Harper had her back pressed against my chest as she giggled and squealed as if this was the best thing she’d ever done.
I could hear a boy laughing behind me, and I realized more kids had jumped on behind Denise.
I wrapped myself around Harper the best I could as we approached the bottom, and we hit the ground on a hard whoosh.
I tried like hell to protect my girl.
My girl.
Jeanne and two other mothers were there trying to pull us all apart as Denise and two older boys tumbled on top of us. We got everyone off, and Harper let out a loud cry.
She was lying on her back, holding her arm and wailing.
“Are you okay?” I frantically touched her face and her head.
She nodded as tears ran down her face. “My arm hurts, and my neck hurts, Vi.”
I could see the way her arm was bent, and she wasn’t moving her neck at all, and I knew she wasn’t okay. Her arm was clearly broken.
“Call an ambulance,” I said to Jeanne, and she already had the phone in her hand.
I didn’t have a car here, and I was afraid to move her.
“Sorry, I fell on top of you guys,” Denise said with a sniff as the two older boys ran off.
I looked up to see her mother watching us, and I’d never felt so much rage in that moment. “Come get your damn kid, Quigley!”
She actually ended her call and jogged over.
I just sat over Harper, stroking her face and keeping her still as I told her she was going to be okay over and over. Luckily the ambulance showed up within minutes, and I told them what happened, and I was crying now too. They assessed her and quickly got her on a gurney, stabilizing her neck. I held her hand as we loaded her up in the ambulance. Jeanne said she’d meet us there, and I asked her to call Charlie.
“I’m so sorry,” I whispered to Harper as we made our way to the hospital.
“It’s okay, Vi. We did it. We did the demon.” She winced, and it was clear that she was in pain.
“Is she going to be okay?” I asked, and the paramedic’s gaze softened.
“Yes, she’ll be okay. I think she probably broke her arm and maybe her wrist, but they’ll get her all fixed up at the hospital,” he assured me. “They’ll just want to check her neck and make sure it’s all okay. I’ve got her stabilized for now.”
I nodded, the panic coursing through my veins. Her arm was probably broken. Maybe in two places.
And what if her neck was broken?
I tried hard to keep it together as we hurried inside.
The nurse suggested I wait out in the lobby, but I was hysterical, and Harper got upset, so they allowed me to stay with her.
She whimpered as she lay in the hospital bed, my hand in hers.
“I’m right here, Harps. Daddy’s on his way, okay?” I said, my voice shaking.
I knew that Jeanne had called Charlie, and she was probably out in the waiting room now with Lily as well.
“You’ll stay with me?” she croaked.
