I let go of the cord, flailed for one of the chairs, and managed to tip it over.The crash echoed through the house.
“Dash?”Keme’s voice was louder.He hammered on the door.“Hey!Open up!”
Darkness crowded me, thicker and thicker.Flecks of light sparked in the darkness, but fewer.And fewer.The pressure in my head was incredible, but then it didn’t hurt so bad—
I was drifting downstream.
Something thudded.The collision was nearby, close enough that it rippled through my body, but I was a long way downstream by then, and it was easier to keep drifting.
Shouting.
Crashes.
Air, and the fire of oxygen flooding starved cells.
I gasped, drawing in more, and the pain waseverywhere.
“It’s okay,” Keme said.He stared down at me, cradling my face in his hands.Blood ran down his face like a lightning bolt.“It’s okay.It’s okay.Keep breathing.Indira!”
Chapter 15
Ambulance.Deputies.Sheriff.
When Bobby got there, I was in the back of the ambulance, wearing a cannula and getting all the oxygen I wanted.
The expression on his face made me croak, “It’s not as bad as it looks.”
He hovered over me, hesitating, hands held out like he wasn’t sure if he could touch me.So, I took one of his hands in my own.His answer came in the form of a crushingly tight grip—I could feel the bones of my hand grinding against each other.His other hand touched my hair, my cheek, my chest.He started breathing faster and faster.
“It’s okay,” I said, struggling to sit up.Even though it hurt to talk, I said, “I’m okay.”
He shook his head, still taking those awful, shallow breaths.
I jiggled the cannula.“Do you want me to see if they have a couple’s package for these things?”
Bobby squeezed his eyes shut.But he gave a broken laugh and shook his head, and after that, things were better.
The paramedics were less optimistic.
“He should be in a hospital,” one of them said.She looked like she’d come from a metal concert, complete with purple hair, a black leather bracelet, and a pyramid stud belt.
“I’m fine,” I managed.“I can breathe.”
“What about damage to your larynx?Or the vocal cords?Or cerebral hypoxia?”
It took me a little longer this time to insist, “I feel fine.”
(By this point, that was a bald-faced lie—my throat was on fire, and every time I croaked a word, it was even worse.)
“We’re going to the hospital,” Bobby said.“I’ll ask Indira to grab you some clothes.”
I wanted to say something about having Indira close her eyes while she picked out my underwear, but my throat hurt too much, so I didn’t.And after a few minutes, exhaustion caught me and dragged me down.
The ambulance rocked slightly when Bobby came back.I was too tired to open my eyes, but I liked knowing he was there.A minute passed.And then another.And I realized I was smelling saltwater.
When I opened my eyes, Keme was looking down at me.He had a bandage on his forehead, and he’d been crying, but he wasn’t crying now.One minute trickled into another.
And then I said, “I’m sorry.”
