“I don’t know. He was wearing a hood.”
“Well, go faster!”
I press the pedal even closer to the floor. The engine revs and we speed up, going nearly seventy in a forty-five on a dark narrow road.
“He’s insane,” she grits, and his bumper taps ours again.
“He’s trying to run us off the road.” I look for anywhere I can possibly pull over. But there’s nothing.
“Amara,” she calls, fear brimming her voice.
“I know!”
Suddenly, he hits us again, this time hard enough to knock us to the side. We hit the curb, flying up over the top of it.
Then, with little to no traction, we both scream as the car sails straight towards a post.
After that, it’s as if the world has gone from ninety miles per hour to slow motion.
Lights blurring to lines.
Sound turning to white noise.
My heart stopping in my chest.
My stomach bottoming out.
The impact, jarring and blinding.
Pain.
And then, everything goes black.
50
AMARA
I wake up to the smell of alcohol and bright lights.
“Am I at the hospital?” I moan. I’m trying to open my eyes, but it’s like they’re stuck together. My head is throbbing. Actually, every muscle in my body hurts.
“It’s okay.” I recognize Electra’s voice. “You’re okay.”
I’m able to peel my eyelids open. With some struggle, her face materializes in front of me. But despite her words, she doesn’t look like everything is okay.
And that’s when I realize the lights aren’t fluorescent, they’re dim. And the alcohol isn’t sanitary, it’s vodka.
“Where are we?” I ask, attempting to look around. But even the small act of moving my head hurts. “And why does it smell like a bar?”
Electra swallows hard, shifting in her seat. The bed I’m lying on is nice. Comfortable. If there’s anything I have learned about staying at hospitals, it’s that the beds are anything but nice and comfortable.
“We’re not at a hospital,” Electra says softly. She smiles down at me, but something about her expression is off. Something about all of it is off. She’s wringing her hands and shaking. She’s also bleeding from a cut on her forehead. A new cut.
That’s when it all comes back to me.
We were getting Thai food. I ran into a man in a black hood. As we were driving back home, we were chased by that man in a blacked out car. He ran us off the road. I hit a tree… or a pole… or something.
“Why are we not at a hospital?” I ask. “My baby. What if my baby is not okay? You’re hurt, El. We need to go to a hospital.”
