Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 97275 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 486(@200wpm)___ 389(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97275 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 486(@200wpm)___ 389(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
I walked up just in time to hear Max telling the story about the roach I found in our bedroom the previous night.
“There she was, standing in her underwear on top of the dresser. She was screaming bloody murder. Then she went all Al Capone on me saying, ‘I want him dead. I want his family dead. I want his house burned to the ground.’ Except I had to explain to her, that if we burned his house to the ground that we’d be taking ours along with it. I swear to God, she slept practically on top of me that night.”
That big bastard! He’d promised me he wasn’t going to say anything. I mean, who wouldn’t have jumped out of bed the way I did and screamed? It crawled across my pillow! There was a motherfuckin’ roach in my motherfuckin’ bed!
Spotting a Nerf football on the ground next to my feet, I picked it up and let it fly. Then turned and ran. I looked over my shoulder just as it struck him in the middle of his back. He tensed, and then turned around, eyes fastening to my retreating body in an instant. I squeaked and brought my mind back to my task. I started huffing within the first twenty yards, but I sure didn’t stop. I probably looked like a freakin’ penguin.
I was running and laughing so hard that I dropped the tub of caramel popcorn, but I didn’t dare stop and get it. He’d catch me for sure. Dodging a toddling kid that I’d never seen before in my life, I chanced a look over my shoulder to see him bearing down on me fast. Max was big, but don’t let that fool you. He was quick as a cat, too. I had a cheering section coming from the opposite side of the swings, and I gave them a thumbs up as I passed.
Knowing I would keel over if I didn’t stop, I circled around the merry go round and stopped while putting it between us. “I didn’t mean to!”
“Spankings. Big fat spankings.” Max growled.
“Oh, don’t lie to yourself. You’d never touch a hair on my head.” I said.
Just as I said that, he vaulted the damn merry go round, and I screeched. He stopped in front of me, not touching and asked, “You going to run?”
Thinking it would be best to surrender, I opened my mouth to apologize when a dark sedan with tinted windows barreled down the street, blowing through the stop sign.
“Molly!” Joe called from the entrance to the hall.
Max and I turned, scanning the area. Steve was about forty yards away from us doing the same. My dad and Bennett had stopped what they were doing as well. Joe called for her daughter again when we all heard it.
“What mama?” Molly called.
I turned towards the sound of her voice and saw her near the parking lot with her ball. Then the little scenario played out in front of us in real time. The ball slipped from her grasp and bounced off her foot, slowly rolling into the street.
“Molly! No!” Steve bellowed.
“Oh, my God. Molly! Stop!” Joe screamed.
Steve and Max streaked across the open ground, both way too far away to stop what was about to happen. Others were running also, but it didn’t matter. No one was going to be able to get there in time. The only thing that was a surprise was the car didn’t break, swerve, or even slow down.
“Molly!” Steve begged.
It was the sound of his voice that finally had her turning, but it was too late. The car collided with her arm, spinning her little body around so hard and fast that she flipped two cartwheels until her limp body came to rest partially under a parked SUV. Steve and Max got there at the same time, both dropping to their knees beside her.
Steve reached down as if to touch her when I screamed at him. “Don’t touch her!”
I found myself pushing large bodies out of my way, taking little care in it as I dropped down to my knees beside her. I assessed the situation. I noted that her left arm was badly misshapen, and there were obvious scrapes and bruises covering a few patches of the exposed pieces of skin I could see, but luckily no blood. Her right side was underneath the SUV, head near the tire.
Joe made it up to us, and I gave Max a look that clearly stated to get her back, and not to let her see. “Daddy, there is a blue and yellow medical kit in Max’s blazer. Go get it. Steve, I want you to place both of your hands on either side of her head, and don’t move. Hold her perfectly still.”
My fingers found the way to the pulse in her neck, and I was relieved to find a steady throbbing rhythm. It was steady and strong, and I breathed a sigh of relief. Her breathing wasn’t labored, so I got back up to my knees and looked at Steve.
Just as my eyes locked with his, a wailing moan came from Molly. “Daddy!”
Steve’s eyes latched on to his daughter’s golden brown, and he smiled at her. “It’s okay, baby. Daddy needs you to stay still.”
Of course, being told to do something doesn’t work, and she started to squirm. “Don’t hold her head still if she wants to move. Just let her go, it might make it worse if you tried to keep her in place.” I explained.
“It hurts daddy. It hurts, hurts, hurts. Kiss it daddy, make it stop.” She cried. Tears were rolling down her cheeks and into her hair. She rolled too far to one side and jostled her arm, tearing another heartbreaking sob from her chest. “Mommy, peas. Hurts, hurts, hurts.”
Each and every whimper of pain tore something apart inside of me. This was my first child patient, and it was truly excruciating to listen hear, let alone witness. Her sweet little baby voice would haunt me for years to come. Ambulance sirens wailed eerily in the distance, and we all tried to calm Molly as we waited for the ambulance to get here.