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The adrenaline is pumping through my veins as the cries for help draw nearer.
I run so fast my chest is burning while I’m out of breath. With time not on my side, I quickly examine the car and see the door is wedged in. There’s no chance I can pull it open, the magnitude of this accident crippling me with fear.
The window is slightly ajar, and I see her head resting against the shattered glass.
“Help me… help me, please.” Her voice is weak, barely recognizable.
“Charlie? Charlie? It’s me, Julian!” I crouch down to her level, close enough to see the blood trickling down her forehead. I try my hardest to disguise the look of terror on my face, not wanting to frighten her
“Julian?” she whimpers.
I scramble to the back of the SUV and climb in until I’m sitting beside her in the passenger seat. Without even thinking, I grab her hand to feel her pulse, trying to remember my first-aid training. Placing the pad of my two fingers on her wrist, I press lightly and begin counting the beats per minute. Doing my mental calculations, I try to determine the strength in her heartbeat.
Her pulse is faint.
First rule—remain calm.
How?
How can I remain fucking calm when the woman I love, the woman who’s supposed to be my future is lying in this wreckage, her pulse barely detectable, on the brink of possibly dying in my arms? Not to mention, she’s heavily pregnant with a child.
Fuck! The baby.
I pull out my cell. It has one bar of reception. With shaky hands, I dial 9-1-1.
“9-1-1, what’s your emergency?”
“I need an ambulance. I found a woman crashed into a tree.” The panic is evident in my voice. I reach out to hold Charlie’s hand. Her eyes are wide, and they look back at me in horror. She squeezes her eyes tight, letting out a startling scream. Her lips are quivering, and she mentions the word ‘baby.’ Immediately, I look to her legs and see blood stains along her thighs. Adrenaline floods my system, pumping on full throttle desperately trying to escape my body.
The phone starts to crackle. “Sir? Sir? Can you hear me?” The cell beeps, ending the call.
“Shit! Charlie, where’s your cell?”
“The battery died… Julian. My baby… it’s coming now.”
Charlie can’t lose this baby. She doesn’t deserve this.
Remain calm, keep her talking. Anything until help arrives, but get her the fuck out of this car, or we’re both dead.
“Okay, just breathe. Charlie, I need to move you out of the car, okay? Can you move all your body parts?”
She winces, and after a few moments, she nods.
I explain to her what I’m about to do. I have to move her delicately as I’m not sure if anything is broken. God, what if it is? Don’t. Just don’t right now.
It’s difficult to maneuver her body, but somehow, I manage to scoop her in my arms enough to move her out of the wreckage. I can feel the muscles in my back strain as I carry her out and walk as far away from the car as possible. The smell of gas saunters in the air. It’s a ticking time bomb ready to go off.
Just like Chelsea.
Only this time, Charlie is out.
Half the battle is won.
Farther up the hill, I place her down beside the tree on a small clearing. She takes deep breaths, visibly in pain. I reach for my cell again, but as I attempt to dial 9-1-1 for the second time, the screen goes blank. The enormity and realization of this situation paralyze me for a moment. Who’s going to save us now? I look back at Charlie. There’s no question, pray to the Lord she’ll be saved. Do what you can do to keep her alive. I have no medical training, but I have to keep her conscious. It’s a waiting game for someone to rescue us knowing I won’t be able to carry her up the steep hill in the dark without assistance.
“Charlie, slow breaths. Can you tell me what happened?”
She nods again as she tries to control her breathing. “I just dropped Amelia off at Lex’s parents’ house, and as I was driving, I felt a sharp pain in my stomach and I lost control. The baby is coming… help me, please… I don’t want my baby to die.” Tears cover her face. She gulps for air as the panic sets in again.
