Page 27 of Some Kind of Forever
“Hey, just lie still,” I say. Before I can stop her, she reaches upto the gash above her eye and looks at the fresh blood on her fingers. Her eyes widen before rolling into the back of her head.
“Chase, inside! Now!” Claire booms.
I lift Kayla in my arms, and her head falls limply on my chest as I heft her to the infirmary. After laying her down on the closest bed, I grab gloves and more gauze to swap out the crimson-soaked cloth on her head. The bleeding has slowed some, but it’s a deep cut, one that needs proper medical attention.
With shaky hands, I rip open the fresh pad and promptly drop it on the floor. “Damn it…” I mutter and reach for another pad. Taking a deep breath, I try again, still trembling as I drop another one. “Shit!”
“Chase,” Claire steadies my hand. “Let me do that. Sit.”
“I can do it!” I snap, shaking my head as I grab the side of the bed for support.
Claire puts both hands on my arms and walks me over to a chair against the wall before plopping me down in it. My vision blurs at the edges, and I link my gloved fingers on top of my head, my chest heaving as I try to slow my frantic breathing. When that doesn’t work, I lean forward with my elbows on my knees and close my eyes. Images roll into each other in my mind of Kayla falling, her helpless yelp as she went down, my inability to reach her fast enough.
After several minutes, my breathing steadies, and I’ve calmed enough to notice I’m still wearing the blue gloves on my hands. A lamp in the corner dimly lights up the space. The soft whir of the refrigerator as it kicks on in the corner helps bring my focus back to the room. Claire is standing next to Kayla’s bed, dressing her wound. I’m almost scared to see how bad her injury is. Watching her fall like that, seeing her crumpled on the ground, I can’t get the image out of my mind.
“Where’s Sarah and Harper?” I ask.
“You passed them in the hallway. Samson thought it would be better to keep them out of the room in case Kayla’s injuries were dire.”
“I guess I was a little preoccupied…”
“It happens,” Claire says softly. “I need to call the parents of your four campers to see if they want to pick up their kids, since they saw everything. Are you okay to sit with her until the paramedics get here?”
I nod. “No problem…and I’m sorry for snapping at you earlier.”
She waves her hand, dismissing the thought. “If any time were a time to snap, this is it.” With a reassuring smile, she heads out the door.
I move my chair next to the bed and wait. Even with the bandage taped to her face, Kayla looks as beautiful as ever. Her long eyelashes curl up at the crest of her cheeks, full lips parted slightly. Not able to resist, I put my hand on hers and stroke the smooth skin with my thumb. Her head moves side to side, her eyes slowly fluttering open. “Where…what happened? Where are the kids?” She attempts to sit up on her elbows, and I gently guide her shoulder back down.
“Hey, it’s okay. The kids are alright. I can explain it all later, just rest.”
She shakes her head, then grabs it in agony before lying back down. “Ah, my head hurts.”
“Yeah, you hit your head out on the trail. Just…lay…down,” I say as she struggles against my hand.
“I’m fine, Chase. If you would stop moving around, my head wouldn’t be pounding like this.”
Despite the somber circumstances, I can’t help but smile. “I’m not moving. That’s the concussion talking.”
She lays back down in defeat, closing her eyes and wincing at the pain in her head. For the next thirty minutes, she dozes in and out of sleep, and it takes everything in me not to reach for her hand again.
With a tap on the door, a slender bald man flips on the overhead light as a younger red-haired woman walks to thebed with a flashlight in hand. Kayla groans at the sudden brightness, shielding her eyes. I take a step back and let them work.
The young paramedic clicks off her light and peels back the sopping gauze, tsking as soon as she sees the wound. “Looks pretty deep, Todd.”
Todd takes a quick look and hands his partner a small bottle of saline, some cotton swabs, and a sterile bandage from his pack. “Eh, I’ve seen worse.” He turns a friendly smile to Kayla while his partner gets to work on the cut. Todd wraps the blood pressure cuff around her arm, saying, “Kayla Harris, I haven’t seen you in ages. Tessa here’s gonna clean you up.” Air hisses as he squeezes the pump in his hand. “Now what’s this I hear about you slapping logs with your head?”
“Hey, Todd.” Kayla grimaces a grin, flinching with each dab Tessa presses on her wound. “Any chance you could patch me up right here?”
Tessa shakes her head as she secures a new bandage over Kayla’s eye before glaring over at Todd. “She really needs to go in for stitches and observation, ASAP.” Todd chuckles like it’s an overreactive assessment, but after seeing how Kayla hit her head, I’m siding with Tessa. The sooner she can get to the hospital, the better.
He puts a hand on Kayla’s knee, smiling while he fishes his penlight out of his shirt pocket with the other. “Afraid not, doll. Falls like this need a proper workup. Follow my finger.” Shining the light in her eyes, he slides his pointer finger from left to right in front of her. “Tessa’s right. You gotta go in. But I’ll save you the ambulance ride if your friend here can drive you. Sound good?”
“Ugh, fine,” Kayla mumbles.
“Sure, no problem,” I say quickly, feeling a little relieved at Todd’s recommendation after his nonchalant bedside manner. Helping Kayla right now is my top priority.
Kayla groans and draws her knees up. “I don’t have time to sit at the hospital.”
