Possessive Neighbor

“The baby, Luca.” I whisper the words as my eyes grow heavy. A thick fog is taking over my brain as I hear voices asking if I’m alright and telling me not to move. “Luca…”

“I’m calling, Reed,” he says, and I can hear him speaking frantically, but nothing is registering except agony.

My head, my arm, hip.

The baby.

She’s all I can think about as I hear sirens growing closer.

“Reed’s on his way, kid. I’ll meet you at the hospital.” Luca sounds…scared? “Hope, you still with me?”

My eyelids lift enough for me to glimpse the carnage of my once new SUV and the grill of a car embedded in the passenger side.

“The baby,” I whisper again.

“She’ll be fine, kid. So will you.” He doesn’t sound very sure.

When I feel fingers probing at my head, I scream from the pain. “Whoa, ma’am, my name is Torque Decker, I’m a fireman. Just trying to assess you for when the paramedics arrive. Can you tell me your name?”

When I attempt to look at him, there are two heads. “Did you know you have two heads?” He chuckles, and his smile is cute.

“Your name, darlin’.”

“The baby,” I murmur. My fear ramps up as a crowd begins to form. “You have to save her.”

“Where is she?” He begins to look in the back seat when I shake my head, tryin

g to tell him.

“Luca?” I call my brother’s name.

“She’s pregnant,” Luca replies through the speaker.

“Gotcha. Let’s just put this on you.” Torque wraps a collar around my neck. “Gonna need your name.”

“Hope,” I sigh out as tears slide down my cheeks.

“Hope.” He grins again. “It suits you. Got anyone you need me to call, Hope?”

“Luca already did,” I mumble, my eyelids growing heavy again.

“Ah, ah, ah, no going to sleep on me now. We’re just getting acquainted.”

“Okay.”

“Who’s Luca, Hope?” Torque asks, and I hear my brother answer him, but he asks me again.

“My brother.” My words feel heavy.

“Paramedics are here now… Open your eyes.” I blink once, try for twice, but I just can’t make it happen.

I can hear the horrible screeching of my door being opened, and I feel myself getting moved, but I’m too tired to talk or open my eyes.

“Pretty girl.” Reed. He’s here. “Come on, Hope, open those beautiful eyes for me.” I try a little harder to do as he asks. I’d do almost anything for Reed.

“There’s my girl.” I feel him kiss my hand as he, Torque, and a paramedic gaze down at me from above. “We’re going to the hospital now, okay. They’re going to take good care of you.”

“Don’t leave me,” I mouth because my voice has disappeared for some reason, and Reed smiles at me.