When she rounded a corner, her tires locked and her SUV slid. But she relaxed, stayed calm and kept control. She recovered and came to a stop at the red light. As she rested her head on her steering wheel, terrified of what could have happened, she heard the screeching of brakes and looked up.
A truck slid across the intersection and plowed into her passenger side.
She barely had time to register what was happening as her SUV was forced across the road and slammed into a lamppost. Her head smacked the driver side window, cracking the glass and making her see stars. A horn was honking, but she didn’t know if it was hers or the truck’s. All she knew was it wouldn’t stop.
She sat there, stunned, a warm stickiness running down the side of her face.
Her phone vibrated then, but she was too dazed to reach for it.
Someone knocked on the window. “You okay?”
“Yes,” she said. “Just...hit my head.”
“We called 9-1-1,” the person said, trying to open her door. “Door’s smashed in.”
“I’m okay,” she said again. She tried the door handle, but the door wouldn’t move. “I’ll climb over.” But then she realized her passenger side was crumpled in on itself, the hood of the truck firmly embedded.
A young man tried to open her door. “You might want to stay put. In case you hurt your neck.”
“I really think I’m okay,” she said, trying to unbuckle her seat belt. She pressed the button but nothing happened. “My belt’s stuck.”
“Must be connected to the car’s computer,” the man said.
There were sirens.
“Just sit tight.”
“I don’t think I have a choice,” she said, laughing softly. She reached up, feeling along her hairline. She winced, pulling back blood-covered fingers.
What an idiot. Spencer had told her not to come—probably for this very reason. Lucy had told her he was stable. But no, she just had to see for herself. And now this. She rested her head against the seat back.
Her phone vibrated again and this time she reached for it. Lucy.
Spencer’s fine. Stitched at the scene and back at work. See, no worries. Want to finish the movie?
She laughed then, which made her head hurt.
“You okay?” the man asked.
“I’m fine,” she assured him, though she doubted he could hear her over the blare of the sirens.
What was she doing? She’d dropped everything to get to Spencer—after he’d told her not to come. She was doing exactly what she didn’t want to do. Getting too involved, too attached. And now she was bleeding and trapped in a car because of it. I’m an idiot. An idiot whose head was throbbing.
The paramedics managed to pry open the back door to reach her. One assessed her injuries, strapping a large foam brace around her neck before they helped her out of the passenger side. The firefighters had to cut through her seat belt and force her seat back to get her out. By then, her head was definitely hurting.
“How do you feel?” the paramedic asked.
Embarrassed. I sort of hate myself right now. Pathetic. “My head hurts.”
He nodded. “You knocked your head pretty good,” he said. “Might need a few stitches.”
Stitches? She closed her eyes.
“I need you to stay awake for me,” he said. “Just in case you have a concussion.”
And a concussion? “Okay,” she said.
“Can we call anyone?” he asked. “Next of kin?”