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DALE
“Jaime it’s time,” I mumble, bracing my hand on my back as I navigate the stairs.
“It’s about five-thirty babe, why what’s up?” Jaime asks as he mutes the video game. His thumbs don’t stop as he questions his partners move on the screen. “Come on dude, I am getting hit. Protect my six,” he mutters, as a slew of curse words leave his lips.
“Jaime!The baby is coming!” I scream, as another contraction rips through my body. Bracing myself against the back of the couch, I groan through the pain, and try to remember the breathing I was taught during our prenatal class.
“Shit, ya give me five,” he utters lightly, his thumbs still flying over the remote in his hand.
Shaking my head, I slowly make my way to the door, grab my purse, the bag I had placed by the door, and the keys off the hook. I rip open the door and slowly make my way to the car. If Jaime isn’t worried about this baby, then I’m not going to even bother with him. I will drive myself. Fuck him and fuck the piece of shit game he’s playing.
As I slide into the driver’s seat and place my bag on the seat, the words Jaime spoke to me echo through my mind. It has taken me ten minutes to walk from the house to the car, and Jaime hasn’t come out or asked what I was doing. Another contraction rips through my body as I lean forward against the steering wheel and practice my breathing. I sound like I am in distress. I am, but it’s not because there is something wrong with the baby. It’s because the asshole I had sex with and got pregnant by doesn’t give a shit if I arrive at the hospital safely.
If I was worried about our relationship before, this right her solidifies where I stand in his life and makes up my mind. After this baby is born, I’m gone. I will move back to Coree Harbor, North Carolina, and in with my parents. Then I will begin looking for a place for my child and me. No more men, no more relationships, just me and my baby taking on the world.
I take a deep breath, making sure that the pain has subsided for now and start the car. I need to start driving to the hospital before it’s too late.
About half way to the emergency room I need to pull over because the contraction hitting me makes me grip the wheel and scream through my pain. Driving myself was never on the lists of things I wanted to experience while I was having a baby. I shouldn’t be doing this alone. Jaime should be the one driving; he should be holding the wheel while I struggle through the pain.
I close my eyes and focus on the breath that I am taking in and pushing out. The intensity of the pain is causing tears to fall from my eyes.
“One… Two… Three… Jaime I am going to kick you in the balls when I see you,” I screech as horns start blaring., I realize I am not full of to the side of the road “Fuck off, assholes. You try pushing out a pumpkin from your apple orchard and then tell me to get moving.” I shout into the car as the contraction begins to subside. Taking a deep breath, I open my eyes, turn on my signal, and see headlights coming toward in the rear view at a speed definitely too fast for the shoulder.
“No, no, no, please stop,” I beg as the car hits my back end, jerking me forward into oncoming traffic. A Cube van that was too close to stop hit causing my car to spin. The loud horn of a truck is the last thing I hear as I am my car is sent flipping through the air, rolling over, and landing on the roof. My vision is blurred as what tastes like blood fills my mouth.
“Please, not me, not my baby,” I beg, as the black cloud of death creeps into my vision and the world around me shutters to a halt.
My life was supposed to be filled with happiness and success. It wasn’t supposed to end like this. .
* * *
XAVIER
“Fuck me, what the fuck is the holdup,” I bark to Jackson, my Capo, best friend, and the only man in the world who knows my every thought.
“Xavier, there is a bad accident up ahead. I am not one hundred percent sure how long we are going to be sitting in traffic,” Jackson states, his eyes scanning the road, watching for potential exits if an enemy decides I’m vulnerable.
“Jack, I’m going to place some calls. I’ll make sure everything is set for tonight. Are we still tag-teaming?” I ask, and watch as he nods his head and licks his lips. Jackson and I usually pick one lucky female. I don’t like having to maintain a relationship with someone I know I will grow bored of. This way I can get in, get off, and leave Jackson to make sure the woman finds pleasure in her experience.
After he is done with her, she will be driven to a designer clothing store and bought a piece of hush clothing. One item that will buy their silence; they all have a price. Silence is golden, especially when I am who I am.
“Boss, I just heard we are looking at an hour wait. Whatever happened up ahead was pretty bad. They need to bring in the helicopter to safely fly the victim to the hospital, and they are about two hours away at another call, and the ambulances are having trouble making it through the traffic. Right now it seems to be a race to see who gets here first.” Jackson says, as he connects with my eyes in the rearview mirror.
“I hope there were no casualties, but as soon as you can, get us out of here. You know I hate waiting. Especially in traffic,” I state, looking down at my phone as a message comes in confirming that our company is available and ready for tonight.
Leaning my head back against the seat, I close my eyes and start to recite the prayer my mother used to say all the time whenever we came across an accident. One where you hope the people involved are safe and can overcome the heartache of what is to come.
The car jerks as Jackson moves into the one slow moving lane. Opening my eyes, I watch as the scene gets closer to us. The small car is twisted into a mangled mess. If anyone has survived, I don’t know how. As we slowly make our way past the scene, I notice a stretcher with a woman strapped to it. Her head falls to the side and our eyes connect.
Sitting up straighter and focusing all my thoughts on this woman, I pray she heals. That her body bounces back. Then slowly, her eyes slide closed as the paramedics begin to do CPR.
“Please, let her be okay,” I whisper as Jackson begins to pick up speed and moves me away from the accident and the woman with the haunting eyes.
DALE
“Miss. Arsenault, can you hear me?” a male voice asks. His words make my head feel like someone has taken sharp glass and pushed it into my brain. I moan, trying to indicate that the doctor, or whomever this is, is being way too loud.
“Sorry, Miss. Arsenault. My name is Dr. Ahmed Hassan. I am the emergency room doctor. You were brought in after a car accident. Do you understand?” Dr. Hassan asks, his hand reaching for mine. “squeeze my hand if you understand.”
