The impact of the truck hitting her car caused it to spin around into another lane of oncoming traffic just to get hit again by another car…BANG…BANG…BOOM!
Her head jerked hard one way and then another. First, from the impact of the second collision and then from the airbag exploding open. She felt the hot sting of something hitting her head. Tasha reached up to touch it only to feel wetness on her fingertips. It was hard to move with the seat belt digging into her skin. What was that smell? Something was burning…what was burning? Everything was starting to get blurry. It was hard to keep her eyes open. Tasha blinked a few times trying to stay awake.
The last thing she remembered was someone saying we’ve got to get her out of there…before darkness overtook her.
*****
Tasha woke up in the hospital. She felt like she’d been hit by a truck. Wait, she had been hit by a truck and she hurt all over.
A nurse walked into her room, “Oh good, you’re awake. You were in a nasty accident and you’ve got some scrapes, bumps, and bruises. The most serious of which is the concussion and a sprained ankle.”
She walked over to take Tasha’s temperature and blood pressure. “The doctor would like to keep you overnight because of that nasty bump on your head, just for observation.”
Tasha tried to move but winced from the pain. She wasn’t quite sure where it was coming from since everything seemed to hurt. She whispered, “I’m in a lot of pain. Can you give me anything?”
“Of course. When they brought you in they couldn’t really give you anything since you weren’t awake to answer any questions. We’ll go through that now just to make sure there aren’t any bad reactions to anything.”
Tasha answered all of the nurse’s questions before half-jokingly making a request. “Whatever pain meds you bring me please make sure it’s the good stuff.”
She smiled, “Your cell phone was smashed up in the accident. Do you need to call anyone?”
“Yes, my boyfriend Eric. He’s probably beside himself with worry.”
The nurse gave Tasha the receiver and dialed the number for her. The phone rang a few times before going to voice-mail. Tasha left him another message.
“Can I make another call?”
“Of course.”
Tasha gave her Sabrina’s phone number. She got her voice-mail too. “I’m sure one or both of them will call me back soon.”
The nurse hung up the phone. “I’ll be back with your pain meds.”
Shortly after Tasha had taken her medication her phone rang. It was difficult to answer but she managed.
“Hello.”
It was Eric. “Hey baby, what’s going on? Are you okay? I had a late meeting and I’m just now getting your messages.”
“I was in an accident. But, don’t worry I’m fine, just a few bumps and bruises. They’re keeping me overnight for observation. I’m at First General hospital.”
“Well, that’s good to hear. If it’s not too serious, I won’t come out tonight. I have a pretty full day tomorrow full of meetings; can Sabrina pick you up tomorrow?”
Tasha was disappointed that Eric wasn’t going to come and see about her but the weather was probably still bad and he’d been working really hard at work. She didn’t want to be the reason something didn’t work out.
“I just remembered Sabrina is out of town until Friday.”
“I mean, I can rearrange some things if I have to but like I said tomorrow is a pretty important day for me.”
“Right, I understand. I’ll figure something out. Don’t worry about it. I’ll call Sabrina’s dad, Mr. Links. Just focus on your meetings and wow them.”
“That’s my plan. I’ll call you in the morning before I head out to work. Get some rest.”
Tasha tried really hard to keep the hurt out of her voice that he wasn’t going to come to the hospital. She was being foolish. Eric had a really big day ahead of him and she wasn’t seriously injured.
“I will. Good luck tomorrow and I love you.”
Seemingly distracted Eric responded, “Oh…yeah, me too. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Tasha closed her eyes wondering if the pain meds would ease the hurt in her heart too.
Chapter 11
The next morning, Tasha woke up but didn’t actually open her eyes. She was in so much pain she was afraid to even breathe. She felt worse than she did the night before.
“Hey. Are you in pain?”
Tasha’s eyes fluttered open. “Tim?”
He was standing close by the head of her bed. “Yeah. Sabrina called me last night to tell me you’d been in an accident. By the time I got here, you were already asleep.”
She whispered, “You’ve been here since last night?”
“It was pretty late when I got here. I hadn’t planned on staying all night. I was waiting for Eric and then I was going to take off. You know Sabrina would kill me if I left before someone showed up.”
Tasha winced.
Concern was evident all over his face. “Let me call your nurse.”
Tim called the nurse. A few minutes later she walked in with the physician. He had her chart in hand.
After reviewing it, the physician took the bandages off of her forehead and gave it a thorough once over. “Well Ms. Stevens, you were pretty lucky. The most serious injury you sustained was a mild concussion and that was a nasty cut on your forehead. The stitches should come out in a week or so. And, you’ve got a nice sprain.
