Page 115 of The Life Daisy Devlin Designed
“Yeah.” Kayley sounded exhausted. “I don’t want to keep it quiet this time. I don’t care what Matty says. Things are different now – I’m in a good space. Rehab was the best thing I ever did. For me and Matty.”
Daisy wondered why Matt would have wanted to keep his relationship with Kayley a secret. Maybe for the sake of her career? Fans preferred their idols to be single and notionally “available”.
Kayley moaned again, and Daisy silently willed the emergency services to arrive. They’d probably have a boat, although she’d no idea how they were going to get Kayley out of the car.Shit, the tree! How would they lift her over the tree into a boat? Maybe she should phone them back – although they were probably already on their way!
Kayley’s face spasmed in pain. “Where are they?”
“They’ll be here soon.” Glancing down, Daisy could see the top of Matt’s head. At least he was still upright, she thought grimly.
She froze, as what sounded like thunder threatened to deafen her. As the noise grew louder, she strained her head back to look up. To her relief, she saw it was a rescue helicopter.
CHAPTER 52
As the blades spun overhead, Daisy slid back down off the car and crouched beside Matt. His eyes were open but glazed, and she wondered if he remembered what had happened.
“Kayley?” he mouthed.
“She’s fine.”
The helicopter hatch opened and two of the first responders lowered slowly to the ground. Daisy’s body was flooded with relief as she relinquished the responsibility to them.
After Matt was winched up to the helicopter in a simple harness, Kayley was airlifted in a stretcher. Finally, Drew was pulled out and after a quick assessment, airlifted in another stretcher.
One of the first responders, who introduced himself as Conn, insisted Daisy come with them.
“I don’t want to leave you. It’s a short flight, and we have to get the other three to hospital while it’s still safe to fly.”
She sat opposite Matt in the back of the helicopter, as Kayley lay on the ground between them, her stretcher locked securely in. Conn had wrapped thermal blankets around her and Matt,and secured Kayley’s upper arm to minimise movement, before giving her an injection for the pain. He’d also cleaned Matt’s head, and covered it with a temporary bandage.
Meanwhile, the other medic attended to Drew, checking for breathing and elevating his legs. Daisy released a small sigh of relief as Drew opened his eyes.
“Kayley?” he said.
“She’s here, she’s fine!” the medic said, slipping some earbuds into Drew’s ears so he could talk to him as he continued to run checks.
Daisy put her hands over her own ears in an attempt to block out the noise of the blades, as the chopper turned and headed back towards Dublin.
Conn slipped on a headset, then produced three packs of earbuds, handing a pack each to Daisy and Matt.
“Can she use them?” Matt gestured to Kayley as he put in his own buds.
“Sure.” Conn leaned down and carefully popped them in Kayley’s ears.
As he tuned them all into the same channel, the background noise faded, and Daisy became aware of how loud her heartbeat sounded in her ears, how cold and numb every inch of her body was.
She took a deep breath, holding it as long as possible, before slowly releasing it.
“Do you remember what happened?” Conn asked Matt.
“I remember leaving the house.” Matt shook his head. “Kayley was … I remember the car.”
Conn nodded. “You probably have a concussion. We’ve an ambulance waiting for us at the heli-pad on a GAA pitch near Sandymount in Dublin. It’s the safest place to land.” He looked at Daisy. “You should consider going with them to get checked out.”
Daisy clutched the blanket tighter around her. “I wasn’t hurt, I just want to get home.” As she met Matt’s eyes, he glanced away. She realised she didn’t care what he thought anymore.
While Matt and Kayley were being airlifted, she’d sent a quick message to Fionn, updating him on what had happened, and he’d messaged back to say that he, Niamh, and the band were staying overnight and, judging by the smell, some of the drains around the house seemed to be overflowing. Daisy decided not to tell Matt. He’d find out soon enough.
“Jeez, those painkillers are strong! I can’t feel anything anymore,” Kayley said. “Can I sit up?”
