Page 15 of Trusting Trey
“It’s okay, sweetheart I’m here, you’re not alone. Can you turn your head to the left at all?” he asked.
I stuttered with cold. “All I see is grass. I want to go home.”
“I know you do, honey. As soon as I find you we’ll make sure to get you home.”
I lay staring up at the sky, watching as a plane flew overhead. I wondered as I watched the blinking light if they sensed I was down here dying. Did they know as they went about their lives, drinking soda and eating peanuts that another human being below them was fading away into the stars?
“Allie? Are you still there?” Trey asked, and his voice sounded frantic.
I tried to swallow, but coughed instead, fire burning up my spine. I screamed in pain, tears running from my eyes.
“Allie!” he called, his voice trying to break through my pain. “Allie, honey, take some shallow breaths slowly. Don’t take deep breaths, it might make your pain worse,” he explained.
I whimpered as I did what he said, trying not to breathe deep and make it hurt worse. “I…need…help,” I panted. “I…think…I’m…dying.”
“You’re not dying, Allie. You can’t give up, sweetheart. I’m almost there. Do you remember what happened that hurt you?”
I closed my eyes and tried to force the pain away so I could think straight. It was nearly impossible though, and all I could do was breathe through it while I tried to remember.
“I remember dinner with you and you dropped me off at my house,” I said, trying not to freak out. I kept thinking, forcing myself to remember what I did after that, but it was just a big black void. I saw two bright lights come through the darkness and then nothing. “Oh, God,” I moaned into the phone, and it nearly slipped from my hand. “I think I was hit by a car. I must be close to my house.”
“Okay, stay still and don’t move any more than you have to. Does your arm hurt holding the phone?” he asked.
“No, it’s the only thing that doesn’t hurt. Help me, Trey, please,” I begged, unsure why I put all my trust in someone I had just met.
“I’m here for you, honey. I’m in front of your house. I want you to keep the phone open, but start yelling my name. I’ll see if I can hear you and follow your voice.”
I mustered as much strength as I could and called out to him. “Trey! Help me!” My voice was weak and desperate, but I tried not to use too much of my diaphragm to form the words.
“I hear you, Allie,” I heard him say and I looked at the phone.
“I have to hang up so you can hear me calling,” I said into the black plastic.
“Hang up and let the phone ring when I call you back. I’ll follow the ringing so you don’t have to yell. I’m almost there,” he said, and I dropped the phone to my side.
“Trey, help me,” I called weakly, much weaker than the last time.
My phone started to ring at the same time I saw a light and heard him calling to me. “I hear the ringing sweetheart, I’m almost there. Can you see my light?”
“I can see it,” I croaked.
“I’m being careful because I don’t want to step on you. How close is my light now?” he asked.
“I’m to the right of your beam,” I called, and saw the flashlight beam move directly onto my raincoat. “There, it’s on me now,” I said as excited as I could without taking a deep breath.
In a matter of seconds, I saw his face as he knelt next to me. He shone the flashlight up and down my body, looking at my legs and arms. “Hello, beautiful,” he whispered as he put his phone under his shoulder. “I’m going to call for help and we’ll get you out of here and home, okay?”
“How did you get here so fast?” I asked, trying to stay awake, but my eyes were tired and kept going closed.
He was rubbing my cheek and when my eyes went closed, he rubbed harder until they opened again. “I don’t live far from you, just up and over a block. We’re practically neighbors.” He kept a reassuring hand on me as he spoke to the 911 operator and gave them directions to where I was. He hung up and put the phone back in his pocket, picking up mine. “I’m going to call your parents, okay?”
“No,” I moaned. “You’re going to take me home, right?”
He pushed the hair back off my forehead and the look he wore was more concern than comfort. “Not right away, honey. You’ll need to go to St. Mary’s and have your back checked out. You sound like you’re in a lot of pain.”
“I am,” I said, my voice cracking. “My back hurts so badly and I can’t feel my legs; are they broken?” I asked.
He kept a reassuring hand on my belly and moved down by my feet. When he looked back to me, his face was even more pinched than it had been before. “They aren’t broken, but if you can’t feel them, then we better go to the ER and get them checked, don’t you think?”
