Page 22 of Crash
“Courtney’s going with you, right?”
“Duh. Do you have to ask?”
“True.”
“You know what, I can’t wait till this weekend to see you. Are you working a double today? I want to celebrate my news.”
I look over at Caleb to see if he can swing the shift by himself, so I can knock off a few hours early. He gives me the thumbs-up, and I blow him a kiss, making him laugh in hysterics.
“I’ll leave around nine. Is that okay?”
“Perfect. I have another class that lets out around eight. I’m on my way back to the studio now to tell Courtney. If she calls you, don’t say anything.”
“Okay, bae. Hey, congrats again. I’ll see you later.”
She squeals then hangs up. Caleb looks at me and the smile that is permanently plastered on my face.
“Oh, wow. You two have it bad. How didn’t y’all see this sooner?”
“Don’t know. Maybe it wasn’t the right time.”
“Could be. Nothing better than knowing the person already before you date. It’s not common, but it does happen.”
“Dispatch to the medic unit five-four-five-four,” the two-way screeches.
“Lancaster here, go ahead.”
“We have a twenty-nine major incident at the northeast corner of Pike and Pierson intersection. MVA, two cars, two single drivers. Fire is requesting assistance with transport.”
“Copy that. We are en route. ETA five minutes.”
“Ten-four.”
“I guess we better get to work,” Caleb says.
I fill out the report with as much information as I have, leaving space to fill in the other data as soon as it becomes available. Keeping my eye on the growing afternoon traffic makes it easy to assist with maneuvering through in case someone forgets their safety manners.
“Approaching the scene,” Caleb says.
Two fire engines and three police cars, along with our EMT buddies Eric and Manuela, come into view. We park and jump out, running to assist. My legs wobble, forcing me to steady myself from falling, and my breath catches in my throat when I see the wreckage before me. My vision goes blurry, and the world seemingly moves in slow motion. The enhanced thumping of my heart is the only sound audible, while the lights from the emergency vehicles enhance my view. The vibration from my phone alerts me to an incoming call, forcing me back to reality.
“Hey, Austin? You all right, man?” Caleb asks, his voice drowned by the screaming sirens.
All my training becomes insignificant to me at this moment, seeing her blood-soaked head from the broken shards of glass that no doubt came from the car. She’s motionless, yet I can tell she still has breath. Quickly pushing everyone to the side, I reach the door to the car and try to yank it open.
“You must be new, young man,” the fireman says. “We have to use the cutters to get her out.” He turns and walks back to his truck to assist the others with setting up the hydraulic machinery to get the door off.
“Tessa,” I utter, with a sob lodged in my throat. “Baby, can you hear me?”
Tugging at the seat belt to try to remove her from its hold proves to be a moot motion, seeing how it’s jammed no matter how hard I tug. I grab my scissors to cut through the material, giving more room to pull her out once the door is removed.
“Okay, we’re ready, Captain,” one of the firemen states.
Caleb moves me out the way, and the sound of metal against metal and breaking glass frustrates me further.
“Come on, man, get it together. We will take Tessa to the hospital and let them take the other driver.”
My phone rings again, and in my agitated state, I answer.
