I shook my head and desperately wished I could even say I was her boyfriend. “I’m a friend!” I shouted over the roar of the rotors.
“You’ll have to stay here then!” he shouted back as he reached for her.
Handing Jessie’s limp, pale body over to someone else to care for was the hardest thing I’d ever done. “Take care of her!” I called.
He gave me a terse nod and turned to tend to Jessie. A lump the size of a baseball sat in my throat as I stepped back to watch the helicopter lift into the air once more.
When they were gone, I felt someone take my hand. Looking down, I found Jade, who was watching the helicopter as well. For the first time, I really looked at her. I’d glanced, of course, as soon as I’d seen her, but her angry screams had been enough to convince me she was probably doing fine. But now, I could see that not only was she fine, there was barely a scratch on her, which was more than I could say for some of the other kids.
“She’s fine.”
I looked up to see Madison, who I now recalled was Jessie’s best friend.
“Jessie was on top of her the whole time.” Her voice caught. “Even when she had to hold her arm because it really started to bleed, Jessie held onto Jade for dear life.”
I knelt down to my little sister and took her face in my hands. She wore a solemn expression, her dark eyes looking back into mine. And all I could do was to clutch her to my chest and cry.
I’d worried once that Jessie might not take care of her the way she needed to be cared for. And now Jessie was in the fight of her life because she had. And I couldn’t be at her side because I’d been too pig-headed to wait.
45
Derrick, you pig-faced jerk…
Derrick
As soon as I’d gathered my senses and done my best to help with the other injuries, none of which were as bad as Jessie’s, I called Jessie’s mom to tell her what had happened. What might have been a decidedly awkward conversation, considering how Jessie and I had left off, was short and full of stress on both sides. That was the last I expected to hear from Mrs. Nickleby.
We were recalled soon after that, with Sergeant Barnes sending out the message that those who could come were needed to return to the base to help with cleanup and emergency services. But since I had my sister, he sent me home instead.
“You’re home!” my mother cried as soon as we opened the door. It was strange walking in the house. After seeing so much destruction, my parents’ neighborhood was untouched. But I couldn’t dwell on that very long. I was exhausted, despite sleeping most of the day yesterday between returning from deployment and going to the show, but there was one last stop I had to make. And it was out on the front porch.
“Your mom said you wanted to see me?” Amy pushed a strand of hair out of her face as she settled into one of the white porch chairs.
“Yeah.” I couldn’t bring myself to sit, so I settled for leaning against one of the porch posts. “Look, I appreciate you coming out here and trying to make things right.”
“Uh-oh.” She was smiling, but I could tell it wasn’t real. “This doesn’t sound like a let’s-give-this-another-try speech.”
I shook my head. “I need to be honest with you. And truth be told…”
“It’s her, isn’t it?” Amy’s voice was sharp and tight, and her smile disappeared. “The nanny.”
“Amy, you…” How did I say this without being cruel? And yet, what could I do to signal to this woman that we really were through? “You have different desires and needs than I can offer. And this summer showed me that I do, too.”
“You don’t know that,” she whimpered.
“I know that last night was torture for you and Jade. Do you really want to do that every single day?”
She’d opened her mouth as if to argue, but then she shut it again. Finally, her shoulders drooped. “I suppose not.” When she spoke again, her voice was soft. “You left because you wanted something I can’t give you. And from what I gather, now it seems she’s left you for the same reason. I saw the way you were looking at her last night, and it was clear that the ball was in her park.” She stood. “I hope you can do better than I did.” Then she turned and walked away.
* * *
Amy was right. Jessie had left me, in a way. But I couldn’t rid myself of the need to know how she was doing. Unfortunately, the base called me back that evening to help with rescue efforts, so I had to wait until I was done the next day before I could try again. So as soon as they let us go, I mustered my courage and texted Jessie’s mom again.
I know I’m probably the last person Jessie wants to hear from, but I just wanted to make sure she’s okay.
Honestly, I didn’t even think I’d hear back from her. And yet, not a minute later, my phone buzzed.
She’s had several transfusions, but the doctor says she should be fine. It’s going to take a while, though. They want to make sure she doesn’t develop an infection, and she lost a lot of blood.
