Chapter 26

Chapter Twenty-Six

ELIJAH

The world revolves violently in a blur of shattered glass and screams as we careen out of control. Caught in a spinning pinwheel of madness, I shout Julien's name, but my voice is drowned out by the mayhem of airbags exploding around us.

Struggling against the suffocating grip of the seat belt digging into my chest, unconsciousness begins to creep in at the edges of my vision. As if viewing the world through a camera's aperture, everything goes fuzzy then snaps into sharp focus when the car collides with the lake's surface. The impact is bone-jarring and punches the air from my lungs like bellows.

"Julien?" My voice sounds like I just ate glass.

When he doesn't respond, I carefully turn my head, and fear chokes the life out of me when I see him. Caught by his seat belt, his body and head droop like a broken marionette on lax strings. Panic surges through me when I see the blood gushing from a deep wound on his forehead.

"Julien!"

No response. No movement.

Please god, no.

Fear wraps its icy tendrils around my heart, squeezing until I can barely breathe. With numb fingers that refuse to cooperate, I frantically work the seat belt release. Water fills my shoes. Water?

I watch in horror as the car begins to tilt nose-first, the water surging in through the shattered window and rapidly flooding the interior.

Oh, my God! Oh, God! The car is filling up with water.

No. No. No.

I twist in my seat, the restraint holding me tight as I fight to free myself.

"Julien, wake up!"

His eyes remain closed, his body frighteningly still.

I have to get him out. The water is almost at our waist.

Not like this. I can't lose him like this.

Think, goddammit. Think.

Going for the glove compartment box, I frantically dig through the contents and want to shout in victory when my hand closes around the multitool. I fucking love my dad.

Sawing at the belt, my shaking fingers make the simple task feel impossible, and a sob tears free when it finally gives way. I grab Julien's shoulder strap and cut through it. The car horn blares when he slumps forward onto the steering wheel.

"I've got you," I repeat over and over again, praying that he can hear me.

When I tug on my door handle, it won't open, the pressure from the water outside too strong.

Fuckfuckfuck.

Break the window. Break the fucking window.

I take a deep breath, pushing down the fear that has clawed free. Summoning every ounce of strength I can muster, I strike the tempered window glass with the pointed tip of the multitool… and gasp from the sudden shock of water that rushes in like a dam breaking.

Out. Out. Get Julien out.

We don't have much time. The car is sinking faster, the waterline creeping higher, turning the interior into a watery tomb.

My muscles strain when I hoist Julien's limp, heavy body out of his seat. Fighting against the relentless push of water, my breaths come in short, ragged bursts as I push myself through the window gap, pulling him with me.

Once we're out, instinct takes over, years of swimming and lifeguard drills kicking in. I band my left arm under his armpits, and I prop his head against my shoulder in a supine position to keep it out of the water. As I scan around searching for the shoreline, every direction looks like an endless expanse of black. Something catches my eye in the distance, a flickering orange light at the top of the hill. I use it like a beacon and swim toward it.

Julien's head lolls against my shoulder. "Elijah."

The sound of my name from his lips is the most beautiful thing I've ever heard. Joyous relief blasts through me like a shot of adrenaline injected straight into the heart. I hold on to that sound like a lifeline as I swim us toward the shore.

"I'm here. Just hold on. Don't move. I've got you."

Fighting against the weight of Julien's body dragging me down, I propel us forward with sheer determination. Each inch of distance I manage to swim feels like a hard-won battle.

Finally, my feet find solid ground on the squishy, muddy bottom of the lake. Almost there.

As carefully as I can, since I don't know the extent of his injuries, I wrap both arms around his chest and pull him the rest of the way out. The night is warm, but the air feels frigid on my soaked clothes and skin. Lying him gently on the muddy grass, I collapse beside him and caress his face.

His eyes flutter open, dazed and unfocused, but they find mine, and in that moment, everything else fades away until all I see is him.

"Hey." I kiss his forehead.

A weak smile plays across his lips as his eyes drift closed again. Salty tears track down my cheeks as my heart fractures into a million pieces.

"Honey, I need you to stay with me. Open those beautiful grays," I whisper, my vocal cords cracking with emotion.

"My head hurts."

"You have a nasty cut on your forehead. Probably a concussion, too. I don't want to touch it and get it infected."

"What happened?"

Something must have hit us, or we hit something. I didn't notice another car or a deer on the road.

"I don't know. I need to call for help."

He mumbles something about fucking hospitals. I couldn't agree more, but he needs to be checked out. He could have something internal, or a spinal injury, or something else that I can't see. Just thinking about it makes me nauseous. The love of my life was almost taken from me tonight, that grim possibility overwhelmingly painful to fathom.

Reaching into my pocket, I grab my phone. My waterproof phone. I've never been so grateful for wasting the extra money it cost to buy one. Dad insisted after the third one I destroyed at the pool. The myth about drying out a phone by placing it in a plastic bag full of rice is complete bullshit.

My hands are shaking so badly, it takes four attempts before I'm able to unlock the screen and press the emergency call button.

"Nine-one-one, what's your emergency?"

I put it on speaker.

"We've been in an accident. Our car went into the lake. My boyfriend is hurt. We need an ambulance. Please hurry."

The operator's voice remains calm. "Can you tell me your location?"

"I…" Shit. I wasn't paying attention. "I'm not sure where we are. Can you track my phone's location?"

"We were on Colby Road," Julien mumbles.

"Colby Road. There's a lake. Our car is submerged, but we got out," I relay to the woman.

"An ambulance is on its way," she assures me. "I'll stay on the line until they get there."

I glance up the bank at the flickering light. "How long?"

"Ten minutes."

She asks me a bunch of questions. If I'm hurt. What Julien's vitals are. His breathing, his pulse, if I know CPR.

I don't want to think about that. I can't. Julien is going to be okay. I won't accept any other outcome.

Ten minutes feel like a fucking eternity until I hear the faint wail of sirens.

"I hear them," I tell the woman.

The first responders arrive in a blur of flashing lights and hurried movement.

"Over here!" I shout, waving an arm to get their attention.

EMTs, police officers, and firefighters rush down the embankment carrying equipment, voices raised in a mix of urgency and professionalism.

A paramedic kneels beside us, quickly assessing Julien's condition while another one asks me more questions.

I'm moved aside to give them room to work, but I stay close, refusing to let Julien out of my sight. I fear if I blink, he'll vanish.

Another paramedic wraps a blanket around me, tends to my cuts, and barrages me with even more fucking questions that I reply to automatically, not fully cognizant of what I'm saying.

After securing an oxygen mask and a neck brace to stabilize his head, they lift Julien onto the stretcher and secure him with straps and blankets.

"I'm coming with him."

They don't argue. It wouldn't matter if they tried. They would have to knock my ass out to keep me from him.

With help from a paramedic, I clamber up the slippery incline of the embankment to the awaiting ambulance. Once inside, I hold Julien's hand, my thumb tracing soothing circles over his knuckles. I can barely breathe, every intake of air feeling like it might shatter me from the inside out.

Time loses all meaning as we bump over every rock, pothole, and divot in the road. When we finally reach the hospital, the ambulance doors burst open, and a team of nurses and doctors take over.

Julien's stretcher gets transferred to a gurney.

"Call Jay," Julien says as they wheel him inside.

I try to follow, but a nurse gently holds me back.

"We need to check you out," she says kindly.

Fuck that.

"I'm fine."

She stops me when I try to go around her. "That's for a doctor to determine."

I'm not ashamed of the tears or the fact that I start crying like a bitch baby.

"That's my boyfriend."

Her face softens with understanding. "What's his name?"

"Julien."

She gently guides me inside, past triage and through automatic double doors into the ER corridor.

"Julien is in great hands. We'll take care of him, just like I'm going to take great care of you. Let's get you set up in here, and then I'll get you some dry scrubs to change into. You'll love them. Pea soup green."

I sit on the small, uncomfortable hospital bed, my muddy clothes clinging to my skin, but I barely notice past the numbness that has taken up residence inside me. I can't stop shaking.

All I can think about is Julien. His smile, his laugh, the way his eyes light up when he's happy. I cling to those images, praying with every fiber of my being that he'll be okay.

The nurse lays the scrubs next to me. "Please turn the ringer to vibrate. Hospital policy."

She points to the phone in my hand that I didn't realize I was clutching.

Doing as she asked, I turn my ringer off.

"Do you need help changing?"

"No."

"I'll close the privacy curtain, but I'll be right on the other side."

"Okay."

After she pulls the long, white curtain, I call Jayson.

"How fast can you get to Carolina General?"