No one could have guessed that such venomous thoughts lurked beneath Dianaâs silent demeanor, as quiet as a church mouse.
Her face betrayed nothing, not one slip. But if Ivy were suddenly out of the picture, would not that make her the showâs leading lady?
The thought tickled her with delightâ¦
âDonât give up; keep at it; the ambulance is coming!â
Two lifeguards took turns performing CPR, a truly exhausting task if done correctly.
Their arms numb, they continued the motions out of sheer inertia.
âAgain! One, twoâ¦â
They were racked with guilt. They had been so close. How could they have missed the signs?
To think that a life could slip away right before their eyes; this was unprecedented in their careers. The guilt weighed heavily on them, âSheâs breathing! Sheâs breathing!â
Just then, the young assistant heard Ivyâs faint breaths.
Barely there, but enough to reignite hope among everyone present.
âThank God! You scared the life out of me!â
Colton could not help but clench his fist in a victorious gesture as the ambulance arrived.
The paramedics lifted Ivy onto the stretcher, hooking her up to an oxygen tank, as the exhausted lifeguards collapsed, chests heaving.
âThank you, truly, youâve saved a life today.â
Moisture glistened in Coltonâs eyes as he thanked the lifeguards, the fragility of life hitting him after such a close call.
âEveryoneâs worked hard! We canât shoot the rest today. Please go home and rest up. Weâll pick up filming later. Iâll keep you posted.â
Many left the set like zombies, shaken by the recent series of accidents.
Thankfully, Ivy was safe. If not, they dreaded how they would face the public.
Alyssa had a bad feeling while preparing dinner at home.
âHoney, I canât shake the feeling that somethingâs about to happen. Iâm all jittery.â
Dean brought her a glass of honey lemon water.
âCalm down, youâre scaring yourself. The kids are alright. What could possibly happen?â
Frowning, she considered that perhaps it was just a lack of sleep causing her eyelid to twitch.
âIf thatâs the case, why donât you rest and let me handle dinner?â Dean suggested.
Nodding, she reminded him before heading upstairs to make an extra pot of soup. Ivy would need a good meal after a busy day.
But no one expected that two hours after dinner was ready, Ivy still had not returned from work.
âIs she shooting late tonight? It was odd. There was nothing on Ivyâs schedule after 6 p.m. Did she fake on something else?â
The couple was puzzled, wondering why Ivy had not come home.
As they were about to call Colton, his call came through.
He had an apology at the ready. Ivy was still in the hospital; they had to be informed.
âWhat did you say? Say it again?â