But I didn’t listen. I couldn’t. I had to see her.
The paramedics quickly pushed her down the hallway and into the trauma room, where a team of nurses followed. I stood in the doorway and looked at her through all the chaos. Blood poured from her head. Her face was swollen and bruised as if she had been beaten, and a neck brace was secured around her neck. A sick feeling rose in the pit of my stomach, and I began to shake.
“She’s pregnant,” I heard Jules say to the team of doctors and nurses that were by her side.
I nearly lost my breath when I heard her say that.
“What?” I gasped.
She looked at me and told me to leave the room. But I was frozen, and it felt like my legs were paralyzed.
“We’re losing her!” Carter yelled. “Get the crash cart!”
“Jackson, you can’t be in here.” Jules ran over to me and grabbed hold of my arm.
Tears filled my eyes as I placed my hands firmly on my sister’s shoulders and stared at her.
“You have to save her, Jules. Don’t let her die! You have to save her.”
“We’re doing everything we can. Lisa, get my brother out of here!” she yelled as she returned to attend to Emily.
I stood outside the room and watched through the window as they took the paddles and placed them on her chest. A tear ran down my cheek as I watched the monitor and held my breath,waiting for some sign that she’d come back to me. After two shocks, the flat lines began to move up and down, and my sister let out a sigh of relief as she placed her forehead on Emily’s and then walked out of the room and over to me.
“We have her stabilized, but she has internal bleeding, and her arm is broken. Carter is taking her up to surgery in a few moments.”
“And the baby?” I looked at her.
“I’m sorry, Jackson, but we couldn’t find a heartbeat.”
I swallowed hard as my eyes wouldn’t stop filling with tears.
“How did you know she was pregnant?”
“She came to me because she was sick. She was going to tell you when she got back from Montauk.”
“Is that where she was going?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you tell me about the baby?”
“Doctor-patient confidentiality. I couldn’t, and you know that.”
Carter pushed Emily out of the room, stopped, and looked at me.
“Hang tight, Jackson. She’s in good hands,” he spoke.
“Take care of her, Carter.”
“I will.”
I went up to the surgical waiting room, put some money into the coffee machine, and leaned my forehead against it while the coffee poured into the cup. I couldn’t believe this had happened to her. I had planned on going to see her tomorrow to talk things out. I could no longer take her being out of my life, and now, she almost was forever. The thought sickened me to the point where I wanted to vomit.
“Hey, man.”
Lifting my head and looking over my shoulder, I saw Samuel standing there with his hands in his pockets.
“How is she?”