Page 126 of When We Were Reckless
“I’m so sorry.” There was so much pain in his voice when he said that. “I’m so sorry, Quinn.”
“It wasn’t your fault. I let go. You told me to hold on tight, but I let go. It wasn’t your fault.” I studied his face and tried to focus on it even though I couldn’t see it clearly through the blur of my tears. My body trembled in his arms, and I felt so shaky, I wasn’t in control of my own limbs.
“It’s the shock,” he said, answering a question I hadn’t asked. “The adrenaline is making you shake like that.”
I could feel the adrenaline shooting through my veins, and for a little while, it dulled the pain.
“Are you hurt?” I finally thought to ask.
“No. But I wish it had been me instead of you.” He took a ragged breath. “Does your leg hurt?”
“Kind of.” That was a big fat yes. My leg felt like it was on fire.
“That’s from the road burn. It’s pretty scraped up.”
The jacket had protected my arms, but stupid me had worn a short white dress.
“I’m so fucking sorry, Quinn.”
I wish he would stop apologizing. It wasn’t his fault. I don’t know how it had happened, but I knew that Jesse would have done everything in his power to protect me.
Lights flashed across his face, and I looked over at the ambulance as two paramedics hopped out.
Still holding me, Jesse got to his feet. I had no idea how he was strong enough to do that. Core strength, I guess. I saw how strong he was in our yoga sessions.
My brain was fuzzy, and I felt broken as he carried me over to the paramedics. I probably could have walked on my own, but I didn’t have the strength to protest.
It reminded me of all the times Jesse carried me up to bed when I was a kid and pretended to be asleep.
Jesse had always taken care of me.
“She’s had two kidney transplants,” he told the paramedics as he lowered me onto the stretcher. “She’s on immunosuppressants.”
Why did they need to know that? My arm hurt, not my kidneys.
“Is that your motorcycle?” someone asked.
Jesse nodded.
A sudden panic gripped me. He would leave me to ride in the ambulance alone, and I’d never see him again. It was irrational, but I couldn’t help it. Mainly because I saw the guilt on his face when he looked down at me.
“Don’t leave me,” I pleaded, grabbing his hand with my good one. “Jesse. Promise you won’t leave me.” My voice had risen a few octaves higher and didn’t even sound like my own.
“I’m not going anywhere. I just have to move my motorcycle, and then I’ll ride with you in the ambulance.” He dropped a soft kiss on my forehead and gave my hand a squeeze before he released it. “I’ll be right back, and I’ll stay by your side. Promise.”
Chapter Forty-Three
Jesse
I couldn’t staywith Quinn. As soon as the ambulance stopped outside the ER, they took her away to run tests and sent me to the desk to fill out the paperwork. I filled it out to the best of my knowledge, but there were some questions I couldn’t answer.
I had Quinn’s phone. It was in the pocket of her jacket, which they’d removed in the ambulance. I didn’t know her password, and I didn’t try to guess. It wasn’t necessary anyway. I could access her emergency contact details without getting into her phone.
Getting a call like this was a mother’s worst nightmare. Or so my mom had always told us. Abby answered on the second ring.
“Quinn? Where are you?”
“Hi, Abby. It’s Jesse McCallister.”
