"Isn’t it too dark to assess her here?" I look at Jacob. "Maybe we can get a couple of the cars moved and turn on our headlights.”
"I’ll go and move mine," Quinn says.
Willow comes running out with a cold water bottle in her hand. "Here," she says, handing me the bottle.
"Can you move my truck to the side and aim the headlights this way?" I ask her, and she nods her head. Emily runs with her to move their car also. Chelsea gets up, making room for the medics coming with bags in their hands.
"Sorry," one of the medics says, and I get up, giving him room. I walk over to stand next to Jacob, the lights from the cars giving us some light.
"What do we have here?" the medic asks Amelia.
"I don’t know," Amelia answers honestly. Her voice is soft. "I was taking out the garbage, and the next thing you know, I’m waking up with everyone around me."
"Did you fall?" he asks, taking out gloves to put on.
"I don’t think so." She shakes her head. "I don’t …" She closes her eyes, and I rush to her as she almost falls back.
"I got you," I say softly to her.
"Maybe you lost your footing?" Kallie says, and I look to see that Jacob has her in his arms.
"I felt," she says, "something behind me." My blood runs cold as ice. "When I went to turn around, that is when I felt the burning, and everything went black."
Chapter 14
Amelia
I feel the heat from his chest on my back as he sits behind me and holds me up. My head’s still spinning, and when I close my eyes, my stomach lurches like a wave in the pool. "What do you mean you felt something? Was it something or someone?" Asher asks, and I can tell he's angry from his tone.
"I don’t know," I answer honestly. "I walked out, I was looking down, and then I felt as if I was being followed."
"Are the cameras up yet?" Asher asks, and I look over to see who he is asking.
"They are up," my father says and gets his phone out. "I’m going to call Casey."
"Wait a second." I hold up my hand. "Who put cameras up?"
"Your father," my mother says. "And I, for one, am not going to say I told you so." She looks over at him. "But I’m happy he did."
"We are going to have words," I tell my father but stop talking when the medic takes my blood pressure. "When my head isn’t spinning."
"I can’t wait," he says, and I close my eyes and lean back against Asher for a minute while I try to get my head to stop spinning.
"Her blood pressure is a little high," the medic says. "But that’s normal."
"Shouldn’t she be assessed by a doctor?" Asher asks from behind me.
"She’s going," my father says, "even if I have to carry her."
"We can get the stretcher," the medic says, "but with the rocks …"
"I’ll carry her," Asher says from behind me, and before I even know what’s going on, I’m in his arms. One arm under my knees and the other around my back. "I’ve got you," he says, and I look up at his chest as he carries me all the way to the waiting ambulance. He steps into the back without skipping a beat.
He places me in the middle of the stretcher. "I have to stay here and make sure we get everyone’s statement," he says, and all I can do is nod my head. I don’t trust myself not to ask him to come with me. I don’t trust myself around him. He makes me want things that I vowed never to yearn for.
"I’m going to go with her," my mother says from beside Asher. "I’ll keep you all informed."
"Thank you," Asher says, taking one last look at me and then getting out of the ambulance. One of the medics steps into the back and closes the door. I put my head back, and a tear escapes.
"It’s going to be okay, baby girl," my mother says, grabbing my hand in hers. "Before you know it, you’ll be home, and this will all be over."
"I’m fine, Mom," I say.
"Always so strong," she says, and I see her wipe her own eyes. "It’s okay to need help, Amelia." I don’t answer her. Instead, I close my eyes.
When we get to the hospital, they pull me out, and I don’t know why I’m shocked that Chelsea is waiting for us. "You don’t have to be here," I say, shaking my head. "I’m fine."
"Um …" She looks at me and then down. "I was given strict orders to come here and not leave your side."
"Can my father exaggerate any more?" I chuckle, and so does my mother.
"It wasn’t your father," she says. My head whips back to look at her, and it’s the wrong move to do because it makes my stomach rise, and I lean over the side and vomit.