I heard someone sniffling. “Charlie?” I tried to say, but it didn’t come out right.
“Sweetheart, open your eyes.” I felt a warm hand on my cheek, and I tried to turn my face into it. But it was hard to move my head.
“No, don’t move! Stay still!” Luke sounded frantic.
With every bit of determination I had, I forced my eyes open, and got so dizzy that I shut them. I attempted it again, and the dizziness lessened. “Charlie?” I repeated, and this time it came out more like his name. “Luke?”
I saw Charlie as he nuzzled into my left hand. His face was tearstained. And there was an IV in my arm. And what was around my neck? My hand flew from Luke’s to clutch the impediment around my neck, that wouldn’t let me breathe.
“No, no, Emmy. You have to leave that on,” Luke told me anxiously.
“Can’t breathe!” I wheezed. “Get it off!”
Tara elbowed Luke aside. “Nope, you can breathe. You’re panicking. Just slow down. Take a long breath in through your nose. Ok? Hold it while I count to three. Slow down.” She breathed with me until I was calmer. “It’s a C-collar, that’s all. You’re in the ER. All your scans are good, but you need to get checked before the collar comes off.” Tara leaned and kissed my cheek. “Ok, I’m going to call in the doctor and tell her you’re awake. Do not move. Understand? You’re ok.” She winked at me, but her face looked like she had been crying too. “I’ll be right back.”
My eyes flicked from Charlie to Luke, and back again. I cleared my throat. “Water?”
“We have to wait for the doctor to come in,” Luke said, cupping my cheek again, his other hand rubbing my leg. “Do youremember what happened?”
Oh, mother Mary, Macdara! “Mackie!” my hoarse voice grated.
“She’s just fine. You pushed her out of the way,” Luke said.
“You saved her, Mommy. I mean, Emmy.” I tried to raise my hand to pat his cheek, but ended up just drumming my fingers on his chin. I realized that everything was hurting, from my hair to my toes and every part of me in between.
“Charlie, now that you’ve seen that she’s ok, can you go outside with Diego? He’s right in the waiting room, remember?” Luke asked him.
Charlie bent and kissed my hand, then very reluctantly left.
“Luke?” He was wiping my cheeks. I was crying.
“I think it’s shock, sweetheart. Are you cold?” He covered me with another hospital blanket.
I cleared my throat again. “Can you lie tdown with me?”
His face scrunched in concern. “I will as soon as they say I can.” Carefully, he put his head next to mine on the pillow, and put his arm gently around me. “You saved Mackie. At her height she would have gone right under the car.”
“Your dad—” I stopped.
“He’s not supposed to drive. He could have killed you.” I couldn’t see his face, but Luke’s voice was hard and uncompromising. “Annie told me what he was doing with Coach Sean. I wish I could say I was surprised.” He raised his head and kissed my cheek. “It’s all right now. You’re awake, thank God.”
“I want to go home,” I said. “I don’t want to stay here.”
“Let’s see what the doctor says.” He kissed my forehead again. “I thought—” he broke off and swallowed a few times. “I’ve never felt more grateful in my life as when you opened your eyes.”
A slight knock sounded on the door and it swung open to admit Annie. She was crying so hard she could barely walk, and she definitely couldn’t speak. She came to the side of the bed and held my hand, holding her other palm over her mouth to stifle her sobs.
“I’m ok,” I told her raspingly. “Mackie’s ok too, right?”
Annie nodded, and squeezed my hand.
“We’re even,” I told her, and squeezed back. She had saved my family by paying my debts, and now I had returned the favor.
Tara let a woman in a white coat into the room. “Ok, everybody out!” she announced. “Want to get that C-collar off, Em?”
I squeezed Luke’s hand. “Don’t leave!”
“I’m not going anywhere.” He bent and kissed my lips. “I love you, and I’m not going anywhere."
