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He wasn’t discouraged. “I don’t know if you have any children, but I’m sure you want them to be safe at home. Since we’re already working in the neighborhood, we can offer you a discounted package if you sign with us tonight.”
Nope, I was done. I couldn’t stand the high-pressure sales pitch, but it was probably a good idea to think about a security system since Bash had Kody to worry about. “Which family did you say you’re installing a system for right now?”
He shifted. “I don’t want to give out their personal information, but I’m sure if you look in the local police blotter, you’ll find the information about where the burglary took place.”
He couldn’t tell me? What if I wanted to use them as a reference? It wasn’t my business, anyway. I’d relay the information to Bash and he could decide if it was worth pursuing.
“No, I’m sorry, but I’m not interested at the moment. Do you have a business card you can leave for me?”
The man pulled a card out of his pocket and handed it to me just when the most heart-stopping and utterly horrifying shriek pierced the air and terrified me to my core.
Kody!
I fought against the rising tide of blind panic as I raced toward the sound. I’d never been so scared in my life. His cry was primal. Something was horribly, horribly wrong.
My heart was pounding so fast I thought it might burst inside my chest. I tried to force a breath past the fear that had crawled up my throat and made it too tight to breathe.
Dread engulfed me when I saw Kody lying on the ground beside the kitchen table, writhing in pain. His skin was deathly pale and his eyes were wide and unfocused with fear and pain. The wrenching sobs mixed with shrieks of distress that were coming from his mouth sounded animalistic in his agony.
My own fear had rendered my brain nearly incapacitated. I had to mentally jump-start it. Kody needed me; I would not let him down.
I dropped to my knees beside him, my mind frantically racing. Did he fall off the table? Did he bang his head? Concussion? Spine injury? Brain hemorrhage? Ruptured spleen? My brain scrambled in all directions at once, none of them good. I was scared to move him — scared to even touch him. What if I made it worse?
My hands were trembling and my voice wobbled unnaturally. “Kody, I’m here. It’s going to be okay. Where are you hurt?”
I couldn’t even tell if my words got through to him. As my stomach churned with nausea, I desperately tried to recall any first aid knowledge that I had. I didn’t have any formal training; I only knew the basics. As a teen I never babysat, so I’d never taken any courses.
My whole body shook with panic. I never should have taken responsibility for Kody without knowing basic first aid that even most teenagers knew. I shut down the panic that seized me in a vice-like grip.
Assess the situation.
I didn’t see any blood. Should I turn his head and check for blood or a bump? Wasn’t it important not to move someone if there was a possible spinal injury? The uncertainty of what to do paralyzed me. What if his brain was bleeding right now, and I was wasting time that he didn’t have?
I pulled out my phone and dialed 911.
Waiting for the ambulance to arrive while I answered questions from the 911 operator was the longest wait of my life. I tried to hide my fear from Kody and speak to him soothingly, but he ignored everything outside of his pain and that had me dizzy with worry. I must have sweated while I waited, but now that sweat had turned cold, and I was shivering with full body shakes.
When I heard them arrive, I scrambled to the door. Raw panic laced my voice as I answered it. “Hurry! He’s in here.” I didn’t want to leave him alone, even for a second.
The emergency responders quickly and efficiently took over, leaving me hovering in the periphery after answering only a few questions, trying to interpret their jumble of words to piece together an understanding of Kody’s injuries.
With shaky hands, I pulled out my phone to call Bash. I wiped the tears from my eyes and swallowed while I waited for the call to connect.
It went straight to voicemail. One of the ambulance crew approached and was talking to me. I shook my head to clear it, but I couldn’t clear it of the sight in front of me: Kody in a cervical collar and strapped to a backboard.
“Will you be riding in the ambulance, miss? We’re ready to head out now.”
I turned to him. “Yes. Is he going to be okay?”
“We immobilized him to be on the safe side. His right arm is broken, so we splinted it. They’ll run tests at the hospital to make sure there isn’t a concussion and check for further injuries.” His voice seemed like it was coming from far away.
The man rested his giant palm on my shoulder. “Does he have a favorite stuffed animal or a blanket that you can bring? That might help comfort him.”
The other men began lifting Kody onto a stretcher.
“Yes, I’ll go get it.”
My body felt almost numb, but my heart was still racing. I willed my feet to hurry as I went into Kody’s room, searching for the stuffed dog I’d seen several times early in the morning when I was here. I found the fluffy dog with the floppy ears resting on his bed.
