Page 61 of Meet Me in the Penalty Box

“Harper,” I said her name as I reached over for her. My seat belt tightened around my body, constricting me momentarily before I could get to her. I slowly lifted her head. There was a bright red abrasion on the top right side of her forehead, probably from hitting the window or something. “Harper, wake up.”

I slid my finger under her nose and could feel her soft breaths. Relief rushed through my body as I realized she was at least alive. But she was still unconscious and I needed to get help. Suddenly the door behind me groaned loudly as it was pulled open. I didn’t bother to look over my shoulder as I was trying to get mine and Harper’s seat belts unbuckled.

“Are you okay?” a rough voice said from behind me. “I already called 911 and they should be here any minute.”

The seat belt finally clicked and I ripped it away from Harper’s body. I finally looked over my shoulder at the older man and cut my eyes at him. “Why the fuck would you pull out in front of someone like that? That could have killed her.”

He shook his head and his eyes were filled with regret. I instantly felt guilty. The wrinkles were visible on his face and they cut deep as his gray eyebrows pulled together. “I’m so sorry. My eyes aren’t what they once were and I didn’t see your car. Please let me help you.”

“Maybe that’s a sign that you shouldn’t be fucking driving then.”

He winced at my harsh words but I wasn’t about to take them back. Not now, not when Harper was unconscious because of him pulling out in front of us. It was a mistake he never should have made.

“Please let me help you out of the car,” he insisted. “We shouldn’t move her, just in case she injured her neck or something.”

My eyes were wild as I stared at him. “I’m not leaving her in the car.”

“Nico?” Her voice was so quiet and if my senses weren’t heightened in this moment, I would have missed it completely.

I whipped my head back around to her. “Oh, love,” I breathed as a smile pulled on my lips and relief flooded me. “Are you okay? Does anything hurt?”

Her eyes were glazed over as she opened them to look at me. I watched her try to nod and she winced as she lifted her hand up to her head. “My head. I think I hit it on something.”

“Shh,” I murmured as I moved her hand away from the bleeding cut on her forehead. Sirens sounded in the distance and the sound grew louder as they moved closer to us. “It will all be okay, love.”

Her lips parted like she was going to say something but she quickly closed them and closed her eyes. It was like the time that was suspended was suddenly catapulted into fast forward. We were surrounded by two fire trucks, an ambulance, and a few police cars. Everyone was moving quickly and it was a bustle of commotion.

I was able to get myself out of the car as I felt stiffness in my legs. I watched as the paramedics assessed Harper and helped her out. She was a little unsteady on her feet but her eyes were a little clearer than they were when she first opened them. They helped her walk over to the ambulance and I had to answer questions from the police officer while the older man spoke to one of the other officers.

After we finished up and the tow truck pulled up to take away my totaled car, I rushed over to the ambulance where they had Harper sitting on the stretcher inside. Her gaze lifted to mine as I stepped up inside.

“Is everything okay?”

Harper nodded slowly and closed her eyes as she winced from the pain. “They want me to go to the hospital just to be sure.”

One of the paramedics stepped beside Harper and urged her to lay down. “You need to rest right now.” The woman turned around to face me and motioned for me to step outside of the ambulance. “We suspect she has a concussion. We’re going to take her to the hospital so they can check and make sure that is all it is.”

I swallowed roughly over the lump lodged in my throat. “I need to go with her.”

The woman nodded in understanding. “We will let you ride along with us to take her in and we also need you to get checked out too.”

“I’m fine,” I assured her as I felt the twinge of pain running down my leg. “I don’t need anyone to worry about me. I just want to make sure she’s okay.”

She shook her head at me. “The choice is ultimately yours, but they’re going to insist you get checked. Also, considering the fact that you’re not putting weight on your right leg is a sign that something is wrong. We’re leaving in two minutes, so please be ready to go.”

She moved back to the ambulance without giving me a chance to say anything else to her. There was nothing I really needed to say. She was right—I needed to get my leg looked at. There was no way I could safely skate with the pain I was feeling. As I turned around I found the old man lingering. I sucked in a deep breath and shoved my hands in my front pockets as I approached him.

“Is she okay?” he asked as I stepped up to him. There was a hint of worry in his tired features and his voice was strained. The guilt was evident, yet I knew we were both at fault.

“They’re going to take her in to make sure there’s nothing wrong, but she’ll be okay.” I paused for a moment as I let out the breath I didn’t realize I was holding. “I apologize for what I said earlier. I shouldn’t have been so crass and rude to you. You were only trying to help and you didn’t intentionally pull out in front of us for this to happen.”

His chin wobbled a bit and his eyes grew damp as he sucked his lips in between his teeth. I watched his throat bob as he swallowed and nodded. “You don’t have to apologize to me, son. There was no harm done on your end and I would have reacted the same way if something like that would have happened to my Eleanor.”

My eyes dropped down to his hands and I watched as he toyed with the wedding band on his thick finger. My gaze met his and I gave him a small smile. No other words needed to be spoken between us because he knew. A complete stranger knew the exact feelings that were racing through my body at the moment of the accident.

I looked back to the ambulance as the man hobbled away. They had the engine running and they were getting ready to take her to the hospital. My footsteps were quick as I rushed across the road to her and I hopped on just before the woman pulled the doors shut.

I moved to Harper’s side and sat down on the bench as I slid both of my hands around hers. Harper turned her head to look at me, her bright blue eyes colliding with mine.

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