Cursing under my breath, I unbuckle my seat belt with shaky hands before stumbling out.
A dark-blue pickup truck is turned upside down in the ditch by the side of the road.
The bile rises in my throat, my palms turning sweaty.
Too close.
Too similar.
Too much.
It’s all just too much.
The wail of the sirens echoes in the distance, piercing through the stillness in the air.
Nico crouches down next to the driver’s side door, frantically trying to get to the driver through the smashed window.
He glances over his shoulder. “Williams, get your ass over here.”
My throat burns, my legs feeling like they’re made of stone.
Completely useless.
Just like I wasthatnight.
Useless to do anything to save him.
I blink, fighting through the blurriness of my gaze.
A motion catches my eye.
I squint, looking more closely.
That’s when I see it.
The little hand reaching through the back window.
A kid.
There’s a kid in the back seat.
He’s crying, utterly terrified.
Just like I was that night.
The sound has me lurching into motion.
But instead of running away, like every bone in my body demands, I run toward the crash.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
JESSICA
The faint morning light is peeking through the curtains when I exit the bathroom. Night shifts are usually long and hard, and by the time I get home, I just want to crash into bed and sleep, but first I need to wash off the scent of the hospital and sickness off of me. Especially after tonight. There was a kid with the stomach flu who came in, and to say there was puke everywhere by the time the family left would be an understatement. Including on me.
Reaching for the duvet, I’m pulling it down when I hear it. The soft rap against my door.
I look up and listen, wondering if I imagined it. Who would knock this early in the morning? Then I hear it again.
