Have you ever heard the sound rubber makes when it fights for traction on asphalt? How about when it’s paired with the roar of an engine as a car is pushed to its limit? Both of those noises are like a symphony for disaster and they are the very last things I hear before I’m struck.
My body is slammed into the road and I’m catapulted into darkness.
How the fuck did that get so out of hand? I was professing my fucking love for the girl and it somehow got fucked up. Where did I go wrong?
I storm out of my room and stomp all the way to the basement, we have a small workout area, and I need to fucking punch into the bag. I need my body to hurt and for my sleep to be deep and dreamless. I grab up my gloves and get to work, pumping my fists against the unforgiving bag, and feeling the sweat coat my skin.
I don’t know how long I’m pummeling the bag for when Shay screams down the stairs.
“Neil!”
I rush to the stairs and look up at her, the panic evident in her features.
“It’s Ivy.” Her chest is heaving like she ran a marathon.
“What happened?” I ask as my feet work to get me up the stairs. I can feel myself slipping into fear for what I’m about to hear.
“Vin just called here and said Ivy was struck down up the street.” She’s grabbing her jacket. “They have her on the way to the hospital.”
I’m locked into place and the only thing I hear is the pounding of my heart in my ears. The room begins to spin and I try to absorb what’s real and what’s not.
“Where is Amelia?”
“Neil,” Shay grabs my face, “Amelia is with Cam, it’s Ivy who’s in trouble, do you hear me?”
I hear her, but not clearly because the pounding sound in my ears hasn’t let up. She hands me my boots and then my jacket, helping me into them like I’m a fucking child. I can’t fucking function properly right now.
Shay leads me out to the car and even puts the seat belt around me. The only thing I can focus on right now is the fact that Ivy is hurt and I just fought with her over nothing. Fucking nothing, our last interaction was about something so fucking stupid, and I can never take that back.
Shay drives like she’s a race car driver through the streets of Whitsborough, taking us to the hospital, and swinging into the emergency entrance.
“I’ll go park, you go find your girl.” Her words snap me out of my fucking stunned state and I fly out of the car. My fucking girl.
I rush through the door and nearly bowl down an elderly couple, then slide to a stop in front of the desk.
“Ivy Greene,” I pant, “I need to see Ivy Greene.”
“Hold on, Sir.” One of the nurses looks at me, “take a breath.”
“Please,” I feel liquid on my cheeks, “she’s my girlfriend and she’s been hurt.”
“Okay, Hun.” The other says as she taps on her keyboard. “Ivy Greene? She’s been rushed into surgery.” She looks up at me with pity in her green eyes, “hook a left around that corner,” she points to her right, “and her family is waiting in the room there.”
When I plow into the room, I see everyone sitting quietly, all except Ember who’s pacing and mumbling under her breath.
“Neil!” She exclaims when she sees me, “what happened?”
“I was stupid,” I’m fumbling over my words, “she got mad at me and stormed out of the house, I didn’t chase after her.”
I fall to my knees and clutch my head in my hands, my world crumbling right before my eyes.
It’s Travis that comes to his knees beside me, his hand landing on my shoulder, “this isn’t your fault, don’t let guilt eat away at you, stay strong for her. Us Greenes are pretty fucking resilient.”
“He’s right,” Vin is standing to my left, his hand landing on my other shoulder, “let’s talk out everything that happened and then we can piece together the facts.”
“Facts?” I look at them both, “she was hit, right? Where’s the driver?”
“Hit and run.” Ember growls and punches a hole straight through the wall.
“I’m going to call Adri and see how the kids are doing.” Vin steps out into the hall.
“And I’ll call Emmett and see what he's found out.” Travis stands and follows Vin out.
A fucking hit and run?
Shay rushes into the room and heads straight for Ember, grabbing her in an embrace. Shay’s the only one crying though and it’s in this very moment that I see Ivy in Ember, regardless of what Travis said.
Greenes may be resilient, but Ember is a fucking fighter, and I’m hoping that’s the stuff my girl is made of.
Three hours.
Three hours of fucking torture waiting for something. The twisting pain in my stomach and chest just continued to worsen, until the man in the white coat interrupted our hushed silence.
“Mr. and Mrs. Greene?”
Both Ember and Vin stand up, rushing to the doctor.
“She’s out of surgery but there’s a few things we need to discuss. We can do it in her room, she’s resting there now.”
What things? I stand to ask those questions but Shay grabs my arm, pulling me back, and shaking her head.
“Let her parents go first.”
I turn back and see their retreating backs, heads bowed together. I want to know what needs to be discussed and I want to see Ivy. I need to see Ivy. When Vin told me the intersection where she was hit, I nearly screamed with frustration because that’s a problem area, and people are running the stop signs there all the time. Amelia was almost hit the year before.
“This isn’t Charlotte, Neil.” Shay says quietly as she tries once again to tug me back into my seat, “Ivy will be okay.”
Charlotte.
It’s like God is
