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I yank it back on instinct, and the car starts to swerve. “Mom!” I scream, but it’s too late. We’re rolling down an embankment.
We’re both screaming.
The car continues to flip over and over down the hill.
When we finally stop, and thankfully, we’re upright after all that turning, I look at my mother, and she’s sloped against the wheel. She’s covered in blood.
“Mom.” There’s nothing but silence. As I reach over to check for a pulse, the sudden movement makes the car rock, and I realize we’re not stable. Sudden movements could have us dropping further.
“Mom!” I yell—still nothing. My heart hammers in my chest. The frantic rhythm reminds me I’m still alive.
“Mother! Wake up.” Silence greets me, and my fear multiplies. Fear grips me. Why won’t she wake up?
“Margaret!” I shout as loud as I can, but my throat is raw from the screams that left me as we rolled down the hill. I move my arm to shake her awake, and the car rocks. I immediately pull back, holding still as the rocking motion settles. I expel a heavy breath as my hands start to tremble.
Shit. This is bad. I don’t know how far down we dropped, and I was so distracted I don’t know if there were any other cars around us at the time. It could be hours before someone finds us down here. We rolled several times, and if no one was on the road, around us, we might be too far down for anyone to see us here.
All I see is vast trees and a valley down below. I try not to think about what that means. One simple move could send us further down this damn hill.
I take a minute to survey the situation. My mother is unconscious. At least I hope that’s the case. I can’t let myself think about the alternative. The car isn’t stable. In my hands, I’m gripping my purse. The purse I ripped from my mother’s grasp and caused this accident.
Tears prick my eyes as panic wells in my chest.
My legs are trapped beneath the dash. I don’t dare try to move for fear of what that could do. I know enough that I could injure myself further, or even worse than that, send the car further down the hill.
I finally take stock of my injuries. There are scrapes and cuts on my arms. My head is killing me. I touch my forehead lightly, and when I pull my hand away, it’s covered in blood. Hence, the cracked side windshield. If I thought my hands were trembling before, it’s nothing compared to the sight of fresh blood on the tips of my fingers. Closing my eyes, I try to take a calming breath, but it doesn’t work. My heart feels as though it could bounce right out of my chest.
Stay calm, Jordyn.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
Slowly, I pull in a breath, count to ten, and exhale before repeating the process a second, third, and fourth time. I’m finally calm enough to think about what I need to do.
Carefully, I place my hand in my purse.
“Please,” my voice cracks. “Please let it be in there.” I dig around, careful not to jolt, so the car doesn’t go for another roll down the embankment. When my fingers clutch my Ryder phone, I sob. I can’t stop the tears, and I keep glancing at my mother, waiting for her to tell me to shut the hell up and make the call.
She doesn’t.
I repeat my breathing exercise until my tears calm. My hands shake as I swipe at the screen and see replies from Ryder. I don’t bother to read them; instead, I hit his name to call him. It rings four, five, six times before going to voicemail.
“Shit.” Panic starts to surface again, but I push it back. “You have to stay calm,” I mutter to myself. My throat is raw, and my voice doesn’t sound like my own.
Thankfully, Gianna’s number is also programmed. I hit her name, and she picks up on the second ring. “Jordyn? Why are you calling me on this phone?” she answers.
“G.” I can’t say her name. I barely got out what I did before my tears took over yet again.
“Jordyn. Where are you? Are you safe?”
“W-We had an accident.”
“Breathe for me, Jordyn. In and out. In and out.” I can hear the fear in her voice, but she’s calm as hell, and I need that right now. “Good. Now, there was an accident. You and your mother? Is anyone there yet?”
“We rolled. Down the hill,” I add. I’m not explaining well enough that I know she can understand what the hell happened. I need to so she can send help. Swallowing back my tears, I try again. “We rolled. We were on our way to the country club, and we wrecked. I don’t know if there was anyone else around us. As far as I know, it was just us.”
