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“Look out!” someone screamed. I looked up just in time to see the broken section of the beam sliding out of the ropes that held it to the sail. Without the support from the main frame, it didn’t have anything to hold it in place, and it came crashing down.
There was more shouting, and Libby screamed as everything started happening at once. She didn’t have the time to react, almost frozen in place with fear. I shouted at her to get out of the way, but with her PTSD taking over, there wasn’t time for her to move. Someone had to do something, or she wouldn’t get out of the way in time.
Instinct took over once more, and I didn’t hesitate. The little girl I had come to love as my own was about to be crushed by a heavy beam, and the only one who could keep it from happening was me.
The only way to get her to safety on time meant I was going to have to come from behind and shove her – and hope to God that I could make it out of the way in time.
I did just that, lunging forward and shoving Libby out of the way, causing her to fall from the railing onto the deck only a second before the beam smashed down right where she had been standing. It all happened so fast, I couldn’t tell who was shouting and who was screaming, nor did I know for sure whether I myself was screaming as I made the jump.
I felt the shove on her back, but I wasn’t even able to focus fully on where she landed before everything went black.
Silence ensued.
Chapter Thirty-One
Neils
Myphonerang,andI was relieved to see it was Erin.
After the way the conversation had gone with her dad about our relationship, I’d been dying to hear her voice. It wasn’t that I doubted being with her, but I wanted to hear the reason why I was with her just through hearing her soft, sweet tone.
“Hey Babe,” I said as I answered the phone. “Where are you guys?”
“It’s not Erin, it’s me, Krissy,” came Erin’s best friend’s voice through the phone. It was evident how frantic she was, and my heart dropped into my stomach. There clearly was something very wrong for her to be calling me in this state, and I couldn’t even fathom what it could be.
“Krissy? What’s going on?” I demanded. “Where’s Libby? Where’s Erin?”
I could hear the mayhem in the background, and it sounded to me like there were emergency vehicles present. I was sure I could hear sirens, and anxiety filled my chest. Once again, my brain wanted to freeze in denial, refusing to even consider the possibilities.
“There was an accident on the ferry coming back to Key West,” she said, or rather, stuttered. She had to fight to get the words out and tell me what was going on through cries and gasps, which I attributed to shock.
“Slow down, Krissy,” I said. “Tell me what’s going on. Is Libby okay? Is Erin okay? What are those noises I hear in the background?”
“There was an accident with one of the beams on the sails,” she said. “I-I’m not sure what happened, b-b-but the bottom of a sail split and came crashing down. It almost landed on Libby, but Erin pushed her out of the way at the last second so Libby’s safe.”
A sob choked out the next sentence she told me, so I had her back up and slow down so I could understand once more.
“What about Erin?” I asked her. “Libby is okay, but what about Erin? Where’s Erin?”
I phrased it a few different ways to hopefully get to the bottom of where Erin had gone, hoping that something I said would snap her out of the shock enough to relay to me more information.
“She’s being airlifted to the hospital right now,” Krissy said. “They’re not letting me or Libby on the helicopter, saying both of us would be too many, but I’m going to the car now, and we’re following them straight to the hospital. There’s no way I’m going to let them fly off with my best friend and leave her stepdaughter and me behind!”
So, clearly, Erin had gotten around to telling Krissy about the two of us, and even though I didn’t know her myself, I trusted the kind of person Erin would choose for a best friend. If Erin considered Krissy her best friend, then I would consider her family myself.
“Drive safely in the traffic,” I told her. “Tell Libby I’m going to meet you guys at the hospital.”
“Done,” Krissy told me before hanging up the phone. I had mixed feelings about letting her go, knowing that she was going to be driving with my daughter in a vehicle, and Libby was already afraid of traveling when it came to cars. But I also didn’t see how I had much choice in the matter. I had to get to Erin as fast as possible, but I also didn’t want to put Libby through anything more than she already had been.
Still, Libby had come a long way working on her feelings with Erin, and I hoped that she had it in her to make it to the hospital without having any panic attacks. I only paused briefly to decide what the best thing to do would be, and I chose going to Erin’s side. Libby had to learn how to take care of these things herself, and I felt practice made perfect.
And I knew she would want me to be with Erin, too.
As soon as I hung up with Krissy, I leapt from my chair and pulled some real clothes on. I was glad now that I hadn’t even drunk the full beer, and I slipped on my shoes and headed out the door after Rob. I knew he was pissed, but this was bigger than anything he was angry at me for, and I wasn’t going to go to the hospital without making sure he knew what was going on with his daughter.
I saw him standing out near the cove, and I ran in that direction. I couldn’t tell if his back was toward me or not, but it didn’t stop me from shouting at him anyway.
“Rob! Rob! Get your ass back here, I need to talk to you! Rob!” I called to him as I all but dashed in his direction. He mut have had his back to me, as I noticed the shape of the figure change for a moment before stopping and staring at me.
