Total pages in book: 157
Estimated words: 150968 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 755(@200wpm)___ 604(@250wpm)___ 503(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 150968 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 755(@200wpm)___ 604(@250wpm)___ 503(@300wpm)
“I’ve already done so,” I cut her off, my voice cracking. “I brought her to my place and I opened the windows.”
“Okay, I’m going to dispatch an ambulance to you. Tell me your address.”
I rattle off my address, while carefully brushing the messy strands of hair away from her pale face. She looks so calm, as if she’s peacefully asleep. Nausea builds in my throat, because I know that’s not the case.
“Do you perhaps know how long she’s been unconscious?”
“I don’t know.” I grasp her limp hand in mine, lacing our fingers together, needing to touch her, to hold her. Riley is still warm and I try to find comfort in that fact.
The lady asks me more questions…and I have answers to none of them.
“There’s a big pileup to the south of your apartment, blocking the freeway,” the lady continues, her tone becoming tense. “And the roads are under construction on the other side. The ambulance will have to take another route to you. It’s not the most favorable, but that’s the only accessible one for them to get to you right now.”
I squeeze Riley’s hand. “How long?”
“Approximately 13 minutes.”
13 minutes…
Riley doesn’t have 13 minutes. Her pulse is too faint and her breathing pattern has drastically slowed. She’s on my couch, looking like the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever laid eyes on…but she’s barely breathing, barely alive.
No, we don’t have 13 fucking minutes.
My brain starts thinking of another way to get Riley to the hospital. If I take my car and then leave it where the construction is happening…and run the rest of the way. I might just make it there faster than having to wait for help to get to us.
I quickly do the math in my head, calculating the distance, my speed and the time it would take me to reach the hospital. I can do it in 8 minutes.
I need to do it in 8 minutes…
Five minutes less than the time the ambulance will take.
I don’t waste another second thinking about it. Cutting the call, I pocket my phone and quickly grab my jacket off the hook. It’s cold outside, and I need to make sure Riley doesn’t freeze in my arms. After buttoning her up in my winter jacket, that’s way too big for her, I cradle my Little Wallflower in my arms.
And then I get the fuck out of here.
I don’t think, I just follow my protective instincts. It takes me a minute and thirty seconds to get to my car and buckle Riley up in the front seat. Her head falls limply against the door.
The drive is two minutes and eighteen seconds. I hold her hand, keeping our fingers intertwined. I don’t let go; I can’t let go. I need to feel her warm skin against mine. “It’s okay, you’re going to be alright. I got you,” I tell her, as if she can hear me. I hope she does hear me.
I can’t check her pulse while I’m driving. I don’t know if she is—
“Stay with me,” I beg, my voice thick with fear. “Don’t go, okay? Just…stay with me. I got you, Sunshine.”
Once I reach where the rest of the road is blocked for vehicles, I pull up against the curb. It takes me another thirty seconds to get Riley unbuckled and out of the car.
Cradling her tightly against my chest, I watch as Riley’s head lolls back, resting limply on my shoulder. I adjust her position, holding her securely in my arms, and then I take off.
I run as fast as I can, my feet propelling me forward.
I run and I don’t stop.
Sweat drips down my forehead. Twenty seconds.
Forty seconds. Thud.
A flash of pain slices through me, and it’s not physical. One minute.
One minute and ten seconds. Thud.
Adrenaline courses through my body. Two minutes and thirteen seconds.
Three minutes and five seconds. Thud.
Every particle of me shakes in utter desperation and blind panic. Three minutes and fifteen seconds. God, I’ve never been so terrified in my life.
I don’t stop running until I reach the hospital. It took me exactly seven minutes and fifty-five seconds to get Riley here.
Pushing through the doors of the ER, I call out frantically, “Help me! Please.”
Two nurses rush forward, bringing a gurney with them. I’m forced to release Riley into their care, watching helplessly as she’s taken away from me.
The moment she’s gone, my knees give out, and I sink to the ground in the middle of the crowded hospital.
Fuck, I’ve been deceiving myself all this time.
The tightness in my chest won’t ease, even when I know she’s safe. That she’s going to be okay now. Every breath I take is downright excruciating. I’m shaking on the inside, cold terror running through my veins.
I don’t know when it happened or how it happened.
Emotions clog my throat and I practically choke on them.