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Mitch pulls back and looks at us both. My stomach drops. That look. Thatlook is bad. It’s bad.
“It’s Luca. He…he crashed, over on the other side of the track.” Mitch points in the direction of the flashlight lights, thick gray smoke billowing up into the air.
I don’t wait for an answer. Or respond to Mel whose grabbing my arm, telling me to wait. I can’t. Iwon’t.
But as soon as I make it to the edge of the track, I’m blocked, security not budging an itch.
I’m sick to my stomach, afraid of what I might find.
Please be okay. Please.
Tears stream down my face, and I pull on the arm of the guy in front of me not letting me onto the track. “Please! Please let me in! I need to see him!”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t let you through. Only emergency crews are allowed.”
“Please! I need to make sure he’s okay!”
“I can’t. It’s too dangerous.”
Someone grabs my arm, and I yank it away, not expecting to find AJ next to me with worry written all over his face. “Nev, are you okay?”
I ignore him and try to see around the guard. If I can just get a glimpse, see that he’s okay, that he’s out of the car unharmed…
“Neveah!” AJ calls again, but I still ignore him, not turning around, not taking my eyes off the track.
Finally there’s movement on the track, a tow truck pulling the now smashed race car. It’s still flipped onto his stomach and its demolished.
My eyes make out the number 77 on the side.
No! No!
“Where’s the driver? Where’s Luca?” I scream, walking backward away from the car. I can’t look at it anymore. I’m going to be sick.
“He’s being rushed to the hospital,” someone near me calls out, and that’s all I need to know. I spin on my heel and sprint for my car, not once looking back.
* * *
I speed to the hospital,ignoring every call and text blowing up my phone.
All I can see is the car. Smashed and on fire. And Luca—is he even alive? In surgery? My mind spins with possibilities, each one making me more anxious than the one before.
I find a parking spot and send a quick text to Mel. Without waiting for a response, I rush inside and find out he’s in surgery up on the fourth floor. There’s a waiting room and nurses’ station right there when you get off the elevator.
Letting them know who I’m here for, I collapse into one of the chairs and pray for the best. A few guys are already here, ones I recognize from the race track, and Jim Delaney, Luca’s crew chief.
Time ticks by slowly as we wait, each second more painful than the last. I feel like my head is going to explode.
A few of the guys give me weird looks. They obviously know who I am and are probably wondering why I am here. But at this point, I don’t care. I just want to make sure he’s okay.
Finally, an hour later, the doctor comes out and lets us know he’s out of surgery. “Right now, he’s resting, and we aren’t allowing visitors until tomorrow. His condition is critical. We’re keeping him in the ICU overnight to watch him since we’re not out of the woods yet. We’ll know more tomorrow.”
And that’s it. He turns and leaves, and we’re left with nothing else, keeping us in limbo until tomorrow.
The room slowly empties until no one is left except me. I can’t leave. I can’t go home to an empty apartment and sit there, dreading every possible outcome. I won’t be able to sleep, so I might as well just stay.
Maybe they’ll let me see him or give me some type of news before the morning. I curl my legs underneath me in an attempt to get somewhat comfortable, but it’s no use. The chair is as hard as a rock, the metal sides digging into me. I pull out my phone and text Mel, ignoring the rest and shutting it off.
I lean my head against the wall and sigh as I play the scene from earlier over and over in my mind.The car looked awful. I can’t imagine what injuries he has.
