Chapter 20

Gabriele

The scenes unfolded almost like in slow-motion, the car began rolling and stopped against something which was most likely a tree. I saw pieces of windshield flying everywhere and Heather being tossed around in the seat with pieces of glass hitting her. She didn't move, her body went limp and she slumped over. I screamed at her.

"Heather! No!" I couldn't get near her since my seatbelt was stuck. I instinctively glanced back into the seat behind me to check on Luca. He was okay, he was also stuck in his seatbelt but he had a cut on his face. He was crying softly.

"Luca, are you hurt?!" He looked at me wide-eyed and at Heather's limp body where the other car hit her side.

"Luca, no, look at me. Are you hurting somewhere?" He nodded his head.

"My arm hurts ..." He must've broken his arm, from what I saw his arm was askew other than that he looked unscathed. Thank goodness nothing else happened to him, he was alert and awake. Dread started filling in my veins. The limp body of Heather beside me. She absorbed most of the impact.

I violently tugged at my seatbelt but it wouldn't budge,I slammed my fists on the door and window. With that, it cracked and I could break it open.

The best sound filled the empty space, the sound of a siren. I heard footsteps and men talking.

"We're here, get us out!"I yelled at the top of my lungs, a man in a paramedics uniform crawled onto the side of the car and leaned into the window, breaking off pieces.

He looked at me and yelled at the other men.

"We've got 3 passengers stuck." He turned back to me.

"Sir we're going to try and get you out, please stay calm and keep talking."

"Get her out first!" He looked at her and shook his head.

"We're going to get you and the boy out first, we can't move her until you're out." I heard the cutting of the jaws of life and saw a man lift Luca out.

"It's going to be okay son, everything will be okay." I tried to soothe Luca as the man carried him in his arms to an ambulance, next they got me out, I had a few cuts and bruises but nothing was seriously hurting so I ignored it. I ran to Luca where he was sitting in an ambulance. The man that helped me out glared at me because he didn't check my injuries before I bolted away. I kissed Luca on the cheek as the paramedic checked his vitals.

I looked back at the wreck of the car, the side where Heather was sitting was completely smashed in. The car was basically on its side folding into the trunk of the tree, a miracle kept us alive.

They said they should take him to the hospital for the arm and make sure there is no other bleeding, he was still crying and that broke my heart. I tried to block his view so that he couldn't see how Heather's limp body was placed on a gurney and they were trying to keep her heart beating. I heard something along the lines of a perforated lung that collapsed and that her heart was beating too slow. The continued to do chest compression but it looked like it was a vain attempt.

Luca looked at me,I closed my eyes for a second feeling a tear slide down my face.

"Is she going to die daddy?" I looked at him, I had no answer to that. His face filled with fear.

"They are going to do what they can." The paramedic closed the door, the sirens were deafening as I heard police cars and other ambulances. I think there were firemen too, the men that cut open the car. I felt so numb, it felt as if I was stuck in some sick nightmare.

I had to stay strong for Luca. I continued to tell him that everything was going to be perfectly fine and Heather was going to be fine. I knew that it's not going to be but I need to protect him. As we stopped at the hospital, the door opened, they wheeled Luca in. They took him to an examination room, I was told by a nurse I had to get cleaned up and a deep cut on my arm had to be stitched up. I promised Luca I'd be right back.

It's strange that in a matter of minutes things changed for the worst. I didn't know how Heather was doing. My heart tugged at the thought that she could've been gone already, what would I do if she died? I wouldn't ever be the same, I think I love her.

My arm was stitched up by a resident, she took out a few pieces of glass and it hurt like hell but I didn't have the time to feel it since I was too occupied worrying about Luca and Heather. When she finished up I went back to Luca, they were busy setting his arm in plaster. They stitched up the cuts on his face and removed the glass from his face and arms. My baby boy looked so shook up, I kissed him on the forehead and ruffled his hair.

I tried to comfort him for a while, I went to the front desk after Luca fell asleep.

"In what room is Heather Jackson?"The lady typed on the computer and ignored me.

"Uh hello?!" I said a little more urgent.

"She's still in surgery, haven't the doctor updated you?" I shook my head, she was infuriating me right now, what exactly was going on in surgery?

"I'm not exactly family, but she was in the car with me."I gritted my teeth hard, I needed to know if she was still alive.

"I'll tell him to come to you."

"Is she even fucking alive?" I was fed up with being nice. I needed to know right now.

"Calm down sir, we'll let you know if anything happened," She said all too calmly, I balled my hands into a fist. I need to walk away before I lose it.

With that, I walked back to Luca's room. I heard footsteps get closer, I thought it was the doctor but to my surprise it was Tristen.

"Tristen?"

He looked like shit, he had bags under his eyes and they were puffy. Heather's whole family would most likely also be here, I couldn't leave Luca to go check but I knew Tristen would find out since he always calls her.

"They said you'd be in here" Tristen looked over at Luca and gave me a small sympathetic smile.

"How are you guys doing?" He asked softly.

"I'm trying to stay strong here for both of us, are your parents here yet?" He shook his head.

"No, I just landed when they called me. I haven't called my parents but the nurse did let them know. I talked to the doctor just now."

"What did he say?"I sat upright in a panic.

"He was vague but he said that her chances were slim to survive." I stared at him blankly, the numbness was still very evident on my face. It felt like my heart exploded inside me and just stopped working. I took in a shaky breath. He sat on the side of the bed studying me as the emotions playing on my face were evident. The sadness, the anger, and the pain now set in motion.

"You love her, don't you?"

I didn't fight it I just nodded, because even if I love her it doesn't matter now, she's dying.

"Did you tell her that?" he wrung his hands together.

"No, I just realized it a while ago. I can't imagine life without her now, why did I have to realize it now? It's true what they say, you don't know what you got till it's gone."

"She's not gone yet, she can still make it."I shrugged, I haven't talked to the doctor yet but I had a bad gut feeling. I knew it was the best thing to be positive and keep on hoping. I just couldn't do it. He gave me a reassuring pat on the back before walking away, a few moments later a man in scrubs came to me, I walked alongside him outside the room.

"Hi, I'm doctor Michelson."

"Heather's heart stopped a few times while she was in surgery, so many times that we thought we wouldn't be able to bring her back. She survived the operation barely. We repaired the hole in her lungs from her broken rib, she had internal bleeding and lost more than half her blood volume." I thought he was going to tell me she's dead. This is one of the reasons why I don't like talking to doctors, they don't cut to the chase.

"She's in recovery, but it's not looking good, we'll have to wait and see. She's in a medically induced coma until things look better, she might need a few surgeries later but I managed to stabilize her." He walked away, leaving me in the emptiness of the hospital hall.

She's alive.

I fell down on my knees cupping my face with my hands. At that point, tears were streaming down my face. I hated the fact that I couldn't be in control of what was happening, the overwhelming emotion of what was happening was sinking in, fast.

I silently prayed that she was going to be okay, that she'd wake up. For a few minutes, I just cried, cried like I never did before.

I went back to Luca's room after my meltdown, laying behind him, holding him. I kissed his forehead. I wanted to see how she's doing but I couldn't go to her room, Tristen was there and his parents, I was too afraid to see her mangled body and most likely the machines connected to her.

"Everything is going to be okay."