Page 7 of Control

I needed to get this situation under control. The woman was alive, but panicked. If she had suffered injuries worse than what I could see so far, I didn’t want her to do any additional damage.

She squeezed her eyes tight and clenched her jaw as though trying, with great difficulty, to recall the answer to the question I’d asked. When she opened her eyes again, she breathed, “Alana. Alana Wolf.”

“Okay, Alana. My name is Ty. Ty Weaver. Can you tell me if you were hurt?”

She lifted her hand to the side of her head and swiped at the blood. “My head. And my foot. Oh, God, my foot isn’t right. I didn’t feel it until just now.”

“Adrenaline, probably,” I explained. “Just relax and take some deep breaths.”

I stood up, glanced over the roof of the car toward the people I’d yelled at, and confirmed they were on the phone. That’s when I felt fingers curl around my wrist and crouched down again.

“Are you okay?”

Tears filled her eyes as she shook her head, her grip on my wrist growing tighter by the second. “No. Oh, God, I was so stupid.”

Alana’s breathing grew shallow, her leg beginning to bounce. “Just breathe. Nice and slow.”

“It hurts,” she rasped.

“I know.” My eyes drifted to her feet. They were completely covered by her shoes, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t damage beneath her shoes. Returning my focus to her face, I insisted, “The ambulance should be here any minute.”

“Please don’t go,” she begged, her fingers squeezing my hand tightly.

“I’m not going anywhere. You just keep breathing, okay?”

She nodded and attempted to slow her breaths. “Should I try to get out?”

“No. No, you stay right where you are. The car isn’t on fire, so we’re not going to move you without that threat.”

Alana offered a slight nod of understanding and went back to focusing on her breathing. It was still far too fast and shallow, and her leg was still bouncing, likely the result of a racing pulse. I would have preferred she continued to talk to me to distract herself, but I didn’t mind that she wasn’t saying anything as long as she remained awake. “Was anyone else hurt?” she eventually asked, her voice strained.

Shaking my head, I answered, “No, I don’t think so. Just some property damage.”

Alana swallowed hard, and a moment later, we heard the sirens.

“See? I told you they were on the way. You’re going to be okay. Do you want me to try to take a look at your foot?”

Her face twisted with the pain she felt. “I don’t know. The pain is the worst I’ve ever felt, but I don’t do well with the sight of my own blood.”

Gently, I placed my other hand on her bouncing leg. “Then we’ll avoid that for just a few more seconds while we wait for the medics.”

“Thank you for staying with me.”

I sent a sympathetic look her way, a small, reassuring smile tugging at the corners of my mouth. “Don’t mention it. I’m just glad you’re okay.”

Alana glanced down at her feet and groaned. “Ow, it hurts so bad. I don’t think I’m okay. There’s something very, very wrong.”

The ambulance pulled up directly behind Alana’s car as she returned her attention to my face. I didn’t look away from her, wanting to give her whatever reassurances she needed as her stare lingered on me. But the next thing I knew, I not only had to lose that connection to her gaze, but I also lost the hold she’d had on my wrist. From that point forward, everything seemed to move in slow motion.

I stayed nearby as the medics worked, assessing Alana while asking her questions. Though I wasn’t needed any longer, I felt compelled to remain as close as I could until they had her out of the car and loaded into the back of the ambulance.

My eyes connected with hers one last time before the doors to the ambulance were closed. And after it pulled away, taking her to the hospital, I moved from where I was, allowing the police and tow truck driver to do their job of cleaning up the damage.

I crossed the street, picked up the bag of food I’d dropped there, and made my way to the end of the block, where I dumped the food in the garbage.

A few minutes later, I was on my way back home. And with no distractions in sight, the weight of my new reality settled heavy on my shoulders.

THREE

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