The Aftermath

                                                              The Aftermath

                                                            By Lara Lenhoff

            I can’t see very well, and the rain isn’t helping. I know I’m upside down and I smell gas.

 Greg, where is Greg?

            I look over to the driver side of the Mustang he bought only three weeks ago and he isn’t there, at least from what I can tell, his door is open. I close my eyes and breathe in deeply.

One, two, three…

One, two, three…

           As my eyes are closed, I remember our fight. I was adamant that he was sleeping with my friend Chelsea, and my bringing it up infuriated him. I couldn’t tell if he was upset because I was accusing him of lying, or because he truly didn’t sleep with her, but he raised his voice nonetheless and looked at me, and the next thing that happened, well, I just remember feeling a huge whoosh on my right and then, the sound of glass shattering and the hollow echo of my screams. The rain is heavier now. I can feel that my hair is taped to my forehead and my face is getting wet. I try to move but my neck won’t move.

No…

My legs won’t move. I start to cry, and then naturally, I panic.

Did Greg just leave me here? Did that son of a bitch just leave me here to die? I close my eyes again and practice my deep breathing that my therapist encouraged I do whenever I feel stressed.

One, two, three…

One, two, three…

And then I hear the faint crunching of glass, a siren in the distance, and someone calling out.

“Ma’am? Ma’am! Can you hear me? Ma’am!” It’s a young voice, a female, and then an older man speaks.

“Miss! Miss? Are you okay?” I hear them exchange words but it starts to sound like they are miles away all of a sudden. My head is pounding. I can taste the metallic tang of blood, my blood, and I just want to get out of this car.

“Greg…” I manage to say quietly.

“Miss, there’s an ambulance right up the road. They’ll be here any minute. Oh my Lord, I am so sorry! We were coming off the exit and the rain was coming down and we didn’t see you.”

“Greg!” I am shouting now, and the pain in my body has multiplied, and panic in me even more so. 

           More crunching of glass, and the siren is louder. It’s so close I can feel it in my bones.

“Help me!”

“Ma’am! I’m Officer Torres. The ambulance is here. Can you move? Can you move ma’am?”

I am parched. I am scared.

“No…”

“Neck brace! Bring a neck brace!” he calls out. I hear another conversation, a faint one. Is it the man and the young woman?

Who is that? Where is Greg?

“Hi there Miss! We’re going to get you out of this car. I am going to reach in and put this around your neck and then I am going to cut the seatbelt and we’re going to pull you out gently but quickly. Can you work with me here? It’s going to be ok. Don’t move.”

“I can’t…” I say, trying to see the face who is trying to save my life. I feel a cool plastic go around my neck, and it’s sturdy and steady. It brings relief. I am crying more now, and the blood is the only thing I can taste. I see out of the corner of my eye a sharp object and then the seatbelt is cut. I feel arms around me.

“Okay Torres, you ready? One, two, three!” It’s another voice, a female.

       I am out of the car and being held by my waist and being kept propped up on the officer’s shoulder. She is speaking to me but I can’t hear her, and she is guiding me towards something flat. The rain continues to fall, washing the blood from my head down the rest of my face, and the crunching of the glass sounds like dry cereal under my sneakers.

“What’s your name honey?” she asks me. She sounds like an angel, hovering over me.

“Greg…”

“Your name is Greg?” she asks me, amused.

“No…No…Allison…Where is Greg?”

“Allison I’m Susie and I’m a paramedic. We’re going to get you to the hospital now. Is Greg the person who was driving?”

“Yes…Where is Greg?”

“He’s okay and talking to the gentleman and his daughter who hit you with their minivan. Okay, he sees you and is coming towards us now.”

“Ally! Oh my god, Ally, baby are you okay? I’m so sorry! I’m such a dick!” He hovers over me and I can make out the lines of his handsome square jaw, and hear the sincerity of his voice.

He loves me. He almost killed me, but he loves me.

“Ok, Greg? You can get in the ambulance with us. Fire will move the car to the side of the road. Let’s go!” I’m being lifted into the ambulance. The light is strong and blinding me. I feel something go into my arm and then something is put over my face.

Oxygen…I can breathe… One…Two…Three…

I hear Susie talking to Greg but it’s very faint. I hear the concern in Greg’s voice. The light is coming and going from inside.

“Allison are you good? Just keep breathing honey, we’ll be there in five minutes. Can you squeeze my hand?” Susie is talking to me. Greg is asking her what’s wrong because there’s a sound coming from a machine. I hear it and it’s loud.

And then there is nothing.

               I feel cold and I feel hands touching me. I am moving fast. I hear my name countless times. There is light above me as I am moving, like I’m on a big skateboard.

“Trauma one is open!” I hear a rough voice scream out.

“Allison!” It’s Greg, and he sounds scared. I hear beeps and then more beeps and then something is put inside my arm. I can still breathe. And then it all goes quiet.

I am awake. I don’t know how long I’ve been out and it is dark. It’s so dark. I try to make out what’s around me, squinting hurts. My body doesn’t feel like my own and my throat is dry. The cool plastic that was around my neck earlier has become like a furnace around me, but I invite the warmth. I try to open my eyes again.

One…Two…Three…

More beeping. More beeping… I can make out an outline that seems miles away. There is a dim light to my right. There is still something in my arm, and for the first time in what seems like a decade, I feel calm. I feel totally and completely calm, loose even.

They gave me something. Mmm…I like this. I could get used to this…

“Allison? Can you hear me? Blink twice if you hear me okay?” It’s a calm voice, a beautiful tone. I can sense the age and wisdom in this voice. She holds my hand and looks over me, and I do as she asks as best as I can.

“That’s good Allison! That’s really, really good!” She touches my arm and then there is light in my eyes that is blinding, but reassuring. “I’m Marsha and I’m the nurse assigned to your care. You were very lucky, Allison. You have a break in your femur, and your scapula is torn. You’ll need to wear couple of casts for a while, and just to be safe we’re going to keep your neck brace on and re-evaluate that tomorrow, ok? You also lost some blood, but because of your blood type we were able to give you a transfusion. Blink twice if you understand.” She says sweetly, like a melody of a songbird. I blink twice.

“Water…”

“Here! Of course. Sip.” She puts a cup with a straw before me, bringing it to my lips. The taste of my blood is still there, but I invite the cold liquid as if it’s the most amazing invention that I have the fortune of experiencing. I sip and sip until the cup is empty.

“I’ll bring you more water in just a moment. You have a few lacerations on your face from the glass so you’re bandaged up quite a bit, and we have you on a morphine drip. It’s a pretty high dose so don’t press the button for more unless you absolutely need to.” She puts the cup down and I can feel her hands on my face again. I can’t make out the color of her eyes just yet, but other things are coming into focus.

“Greg?”

“He is outside talking with your doctor. You’ll be needing physical therapy honey. Is there anything else you need from me right now? I’ll be back with more water and if you need to use the bathroom, just buzz the remote that’s in your left hand and I’ll be right in.”

“Thank you…Greg…”

“I’ll go get him for you. You’re lucky you don’t have a concussion. I don’t know how you avoided that.” She says and I can hear her walking away and then the door opens and closes. I hear a murmur of voices and then the door opens slowly and shuts quietly.

“Ally.” It’s Greg. “Ally, I’m so glad you’re okay. I’m so sorry Allison.” I hear him getting choked up, and inside I hope he feels bad. I hope he feels really, really, bad. I’ll forgive him for the accident, but I know he slept with Chelsea. He wouldn’t have reacted that way if he hadn’t- he would have just laughed it off and called me crazy like he usually does when I bring up something he thinks is ridiculous.

But I am not being ridiculous, because I know what I saw a month ago. The two of them, sitting too close to each other at the coffee shop that she and I usually go to on Saturday mornings after yoga. I saw him brush her cheek with his hand and lovingly look into her eyes, and how she returned his gaze. He doesn’t know I know, but he will.

Soon enough, he’ll know that I know every single thing that he’s lied to me about where Chelsea is concerned. He’s lucky I didn’t die in this accident, and for the first time in my life, I have lost trust in someone that I loved, who I thought would do anything for me. I’ve been lied to and betrayed by the two people in my life that I trust the most. It’s not a good feeling. But I know that once I can walk again, I’ll let them both in on my little secret- that I know theirs.

One….Two…Three…

One…Two…Three…