Isla raced down the slide before popping straight off the bottom onto her hands and knees. I went to race over and check on her but then I remembered myself. I was there if she needed me, but I couldn’t wrap her in cotton wool.
Watching, she stood up, dusted off her hands and went again. And again. And again.
The breeze had kicked in and the temperature was plummeting. It was time to go home. Luke wouldn’t be far away and I wanted to beat him there. I’d been scrolling on my phone for the last ten minutes trying to decide what I could make for dinner. I wasn’t a gourmet chef by any means, but I could try something basic.
“Okay, Isla, time to go,” I called out as I headed across to where she was still climbing.
“Do we have to?” she complained.
“Yep. Your dad will be home soon, and you need to have a bath before he gets there.”
“Can I have a shower instead?”
Not wanting to pick a fight in the middle of a public playground, I agreed. “Fine. One more slide,” she negotiated. Damn kid was a shark.
“Okay. One more. Then we’re out of here.”
“All right,” she mumbled as she climbed slowly to the top, dragging it out. I knew exactly what the little terror was up to but a couple more minutes wouldn’t kill anyone.
At the top, she looked down at me. “You ready, Charlotte? I’m going to go super-fast this time,” she told me excitedly.
“Yep. Ready. Set. Go!” I called as she set herself down the slippery dip only to tumble off the end and land on her knees. “You okay?” I asked as she pushed herself up and wiped her hands on her butt.
“Yep.”
“Great. Let’s go.” I stuck out my hand for her to take.
When Isla’s tiny fingers tangled with mine, I was shocked by how cold they were. They were like little icicles on the end of her hand.
“Wow! Your hands are freezing,” I told her as I rubbed her hand between mine, trying to warm her up.
“Charlotte?”
“Yes, sweetie?” I replied, looking down into her pale face.
“I don't feel good,” she murmured before her eyes rolled back in her head and she passed out, my iron-like grip on her hand the only thing keeping her from hitting the ground.
“Shit!” I swore as I turned and kneeled, cradling Charlotte in my arms. Rubbing her arms and patting her face gently, I tried to rouse her, but she wasn’t having it.
This wasn’t good. It wasn’t good at all.
Forcing myself to my feet, I scooped her into my arms and ran as quickly as I could toward my car. I needed to get her help and I wasn’t about to wait for an ambulance. We were only a couple of minutes from the hospital. I wasn’t waiting.
As quickly as I could manage, I buckled her in and slid behind the wheel before racing toward the hospital. The whole trip I had one eye on the rearview mirror watching her.
“Come on, Isla. Come on. Wake up, sweetie,” I begged.
Hitting a few buttons on the steering wheel, I tried to call Luke.
“Hey there, pretty girl,” he greeted but I didn’t have time.
“Luke! It’s Isla. She’s collapsed. I’m taking her to the hospital now. Meet me there.”
“Fuck!” Luke swore. “I’m on my way,” he confirmed, and I had no doubt he’d jump out of a moving ambulance if he needed to. “Charlotte?”
“Yeah?”
“Take care of my girl,” he told me and my heart sank. What if I couldn’t? What if I wasn’t enough?
