Page 51 of 4th Degree

Where is her dad? Is she really the only other adult here?

Skylar’s focus travels back to the boy, who looks on the verge of tears now that the shock has worn off.

“Can you get my brother some water, please?” Skylar says, then releases a heavy breath as her eyes meet mine briefly. “I need to stay with my mom while the ambulance gets here.”

I nod immediately. Stepping forward, I gently take the phone from her brother’s hand and place it beside Skylar. Then I’m guiding him to his feet and pulling him toward the kitchen that I can see behind the living room on this floor.

He moves as if he’s in a trance, although walking even a short distance seems to help. I quickly fill a cup of water in the sink and hand it to him.

“Drink. And then take a deep breath.”

He does as I say. When he downs the water, I fill it again and hand it back to him.

“She’s going to be okay, kid,” I tell him in what I hope is a soothing voice. “Skylar wouldn’t be that calm if there was something really wrong.”

When he looks at me, and it’s like he’s finally noticing that a stranger is in his house.

“Skylar always sounds like that,” he says. “Even when things are at their worst, she sounds that calm.” He pulls in a stuttering breath, then drinks half of his water. “It shouldn’t work—her using her parent voice on me. I should see through it by now. But somehow…” His gaze travels back to his sister, who we can still see from where we’re standing. “I still believe her when she says everything is okay. How is that possible?”

Now I’m the one frozen in place. I have no response to that. I’m so far out of my element here.

Jesus, is this the life Skylar’s had to live? For how long? Was she ever able to be a kid?

We both jolt when we hear sirens in the distance. Before I can even say a word or take a step, Joey’s leaving his cup on the counter and rushing back to his sister.

It’s a whirlwind of activity after that. Three EMS workers push through the still-open door, immediately doing their standard checks on Skylar’s mom. I hear Skylar quietly speaking to them, and see one of the workers nod at whatever she’s saying. It seems the fall didn’t affect the spine, because after a moment, they place her on a gurney and roll her out the door.

Skylar’s mom gains consciousness as she’s being lifted into the ambulance, zeroing in on her children.

“Skylar? Joey? What happened?”

“You fell, Mom,” comes Skylar’s voice. She’s holding her hand, Joey right beside her. “They’re going to take you to the hospital.”

The woman looks at her son. “Oh, honey. I’m so sorry I scared you.”

That’s when I notice Joey is crying silent tears, the fear and the pain evident on his face and in the way he grips his sister’s hand with white knuckles.

Skylar sees it, too. Lifting her brother’s hand to their mother’s, she moves aside so he can stand beside the gurney.

“Do you want to go with them in the ambulance?” she asks him softly.

He’s nodding before she’s even finished the question.

“Okay. You go with them, I’ll be right behind you.” She wraps an arm around his shoulders. “Joey, I promise she’s okay. This is just a safety precaution.” But she must know her brother doesn’t fully believe her, because she looks at one of the paramedics. “Right? You don’t see any serious injuries.”

The woman nods, sending him a smile. “She’s okay, I promise. We just want to get her fully checked out.”

Hearing it from a third party seems to finally convince him. Enough that he dries his tears with his sleeve.

Once they’ve lifted their mom into the ambulance, Joey and the paramedics climb in after her. Skylar gives him one last reassuring nod as they close the doors.

“I’ll be right behind you. I’ll meet you at the hospital.”

In a matter of minutes, we’re all alone. It almost feels like a fever dream, it happened so fast.

I follow Skylar back into the house. It looks like she’s on autopilot as she starts cleaning up and collecting her things. She’s reaching for a sweatshirt when I realize she’s talking out loud to herself.

“…last time the ambulance cost $2,400. If I open a new credit card, I can use it for groceries and pay off the hospital bill with cash. I’ll need to pick up more shifts at the restaurant, and probably get a third job, but if I can pay it off this month, then the interest shouldn’t be too bad?—”

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