01. Chasing Nikki (21 page)

“Is that
okay?” she asked.

“It’ll be
perfect.” I kissed her again, before I pulled away.  “Come on.  Help me get
this stuff off my truck so we can get cleaned up.  I think there’s a lot more
kissing on the menu for tonight.”

Chapter
Nineteen

I paced the
porch restlessly, my truck hidden in the dark recesses behind the house. 

Where was
she? 

I looked at
my watch for the billionth time, only to discover a minute had passed since the
last time I’d checked.

“Walker, get
some control,” I mumbled to myself as I sank into the swing with a chuckle. 

Yes, it was
obvious—I was very excited for tonight.  Today had been perfect—winning the
homecoming game with credit for three touchdowns, plus two assists.  Afterward,
I went to the dance and had a fabulous, albeit distracting, time with Nikki,
holding her body close to my own as we swayed to the music.  It only served to
ignite the fire for what was coming later—now.

I glanced at
my watch again, wondering where she was.  She was fifteen minutes late, but
Tana lived clear out past the edge of town, so it would take her a little
longer to drive here.  I hoped she hadn’t been caught sneaking away.

What if
she changed her mind?
I suddenly thought, feeling anxious over the idea. 

No way. 
She’d been all over me tonight with her flirtatious touches, smiles and winks. 
We were both anticipating this evening together—I was sure of it.

I pulled my
cell phone out of my pocket again, to see if she’d messaged, but there was
nothing.  I hesitated to text her, nervous that it might alert someone else to
what she was doing, so I just held it in my hand instead, willing it to ring.

The sound of
a car coming down the road caused me to let out a sigh of relief, and I hadn’t
realized how worried I’d been.  I stood and moved around the corner of the
house to wait for her, pausing in disbelief as the vehicle drove on by.

It wasn’t
her.

“Where are
you?” I finally messaged her.  “Are you okay?”

I waited
five more minutes before I went and jumped into my truck, pulling quietly out
of the driveway.  When I reached the highway, I turned in the direction of
Tana’s house, unable to help myself.

If Nikki had
changed her mind, that was fine with me, but I didn’t think she would leave me
hanging without telling me.  That wasn’t like her.  She knew I would listen to
whatever her concerns were.

I had no
idea what I was going to do when I got to Tana’s house.  I was fairly certain
she’d probably fallen asleep while waiting to make her escape, but I had to
make sure.  I told myself if her car was parked safely in her driveway, then I
would go back to Brett’s, and we could discuss things in the morning.

Panic seized
me when I saw the flashing emergency lights in my rear view mirror.  I pulled
over, but the cop whizzed on past me at a high rate of speed.  I moved back
onto the road and followed after him, not caring I was speeding too.

The
ambulance and fire truck were already there with their floodlights on, along
with another officer who was parked next to the mangled mess of what used to be
a red Volkswagen bug.  I halted, frozen for a moment as my worst fears were
realized, hoping I was the one who had fallen asleep and was having a terrible
nightmare.

I leaped out
and ran toward the accident.

“Hold it
there, kid!” An officer stepped out to stop me.

“That’s my
girlfriend’s car!” I shouted, pushing away from him before he caught me by the
arm again.

“Hey. 
Listen to me,” he said as he tried to detain me while I continued to struggle.

“Let go!” I
yanked away from him.

He grabbed
me again.  “Listen.  I’ll let you go over there, but I need you to remain
calm.  The crews are working to try to extricate her.  She hit an elk and it
went through the windshield.  The car has rolled several times.  You need to
prepare yourself.”

“How is
she?” a heavy tremor shaking my voice.

“She conscious—calling
for someone named Chase.  Is that you?”

I nodded my
head, unable to speak.

“It’ll be
hard for you to look at her.  She’s been cut up quite a bit from all the broken
glass.  Scalp lacerations bleed quite heavily so things may look worse than
they really are.  Do you have problems with seeing blood?”

“No.” I
tried to steel myself for whatever was coming, guilt and concern eating away at
me.  This was my fault.  If she hadn’t been coming to meet me, she’d never be
here right now.

“Okay.  Try
to stay out of the way of the rescue crews and move wherever they tell you.  Do
you know how to reach her parents?”

“Her
father’s dead.  Her mom is out of town,” I replied numbly as he guided me
closer.  I could see remnants of the elk in pieces lying on the road.

I swallowed
hard.  There was a tarp over her body, and fire fighters were using a loud
piece of equipment to cut through some of the metal.

“Why do they
have her covered up like that?” I asked, hearing the fear laced through my own
voice.

“It’s to
help protect her from any debris from the extrication.”

There was a
popping sound as the door was breached and removed from the rest of the car.

The officer
pulled me a little nearer as the plastic was moved away from her, revealing a
person I couldn’t even recognize.  Blood was matted thickly through her
beautiful hair, and there were several places of open flesh down the side of
her face.

I choked and
staggered backward.  “It’s bad,” I whispered, hearing the horror in my own
voice.

“It is.  But
she needs you right now.  Are you up for this?”

I could only
nod, and he guided me closer.

“Nikki,
don’t move.  I wanted to let you to know Chase is here now, honey.  He’s going
to sit right by you while the crews work on getting you stabilized and out of
there, okay?”

“Chase?” she
spoke, her voice gravelly with emotion.  “I’m so sorry.”

I felt
myself wanting to crumble into a weeping mess. 

Suck it
up tough guy.  She needs you,
I mentally berated myself.

“Don’t you
worry about that right now, Nikki.  Let’s just get you out of there so we can
get you taken care of.” I couldn’t believe how brave I sounded.

She wiggled
her bloodied hand.  “Come closer.”

I shifted
toward the front of the vehicle where I would be the most out of the way.  I
knelt down, as close as I could get and slipped my hand into hers.  I couldn’t
help the trembling as she stared at me.  Even her eyelashes were matted
together with blood, but her eyes were clear, and they were scared.

“Hang in
there, baby.  These good people are doing all they can to help you.”

She squeezed
my hand like I was her lifeline, and I was happy to feel the strength there.

“I didn’t
see the elk until it jumped in front of me.  I couldn’t stop.”

“Shhh.  It’s
okay.  No one thinks it was your fault.”

No, it was
all mine.  I was the reason for all of this.

Tears leaked
over the rims of her eyes.  “I’m so sorry I missed our date.”

“Don’t be. 
There’ll be other dates.  Let’s just worry about getting you better.”

I watched as
the ambulance crew set up two I.V.’s, and slipped a collar around her neck to
stabilize it.

“Sir?” a
woman spoke from behind me, and I turned.  “We need you to come away from the
vehicle while we pull her out.  This officer over here would like to ask you
some questions too, please.”

I turned
back to Nikki.  “I’ll be right over there, okay, baby?  I won’t leave you. 
Just do everything they say.”  I gripped her hand one more time before
releasing her, moving to speak with the officer.

“I was
wondering if you could help me with some of her pertinent information?” he asked,
and I nodded, my eyes never leaving Nikki.

“What’s your
name?”

“Chase
Walker.”

“How old are
you, Chase?”

“I just
turned eighteen.”

“What’s
Nikki’s last name?”

“Wagner.”

“And her
age?”

“Seventeen.”

“Do you know
her birthdate?”

“March
thirtieth.”

“Her parents’
names?”

“Her father
passed away several years ago.  Her mom is Justine Wagner.  She’s out of town
though, visiting her sister.”

“Do you have
her number?”

“Yes.” I
took out my cell phone to scroll through it for her contact.  I was distracted
when Nikki cried out loudly in pain, and it was all I could do to not rush to
her side.

“The
number?” the officer prodded me again.

“They’re
hurting her,” I said, as she let out another sob.

“I can
assure you, they’re doing their best to not allow that to happen, sir.”

“Then tell
them to try harder,” I growled angrily.  “Give her something for the pain.”

“They
can’t.  She has a head injury, and they have to keep her alert.  It’s against
their protocols.”

I snarled as
I paced away from the vehicle, dragging a hand roughly through my hair.

“I know
you’re worried, but I really need that number, son.  We need to contact her
mom.”

“Let me do
it,” I said, turning around to face him.

He shook his
head.  “I’m in charge of getting the message to the family.”

“Then stand
here and watch me do it.  She deserves to hear it from someone she knows and is
familiar with, don’t you think?  You can talk to her when I’m finished.”

The officer
looked me over, before agreeing.  “Okay, but no freaking out on me.”

“I never
freak out,” I mumbled, suddenly wishing I had something I could smoke to help
me mellow out so I didn’t have to keep faking this calm exterior.  My whole
world was threatening to collapse in on itself.

I dialed the
number for Nikki’s mom, and let it ring.

“If you have
to leave a message, tell her that you need her to call you,” the officer
coached.  “Does she turn her phone off at night?”

“I don’t
know!” I snapped, unable to control it any longer.  “I’m not sleeping with the
lady.”

“Sorry.  It
was a dumb question.”

It went to
her voice mail.  I hung up.

“Why didn’t
you leave her a message?” the officer asked.

I leaned in
to look at his nametag.  “Look, Officer Barrett, what would you think if you
woke up to a message like that in the middle of the night?  Is that really what
you want to hear, so you can have the opportunity to sit there and panic over
the million reasons why your daughter’s boyfriend might be calling you at two
o’clock in the morning?”

My phone
started vibrating, and I looked down to see Justine’s number on the screen. 
“Hi Justine,” I answered.

“What’s
happened, Chase?” she spoke immediately.

“There’s
been a car accident,” I said, my voice suddenly shaking uncontrollably. 
“Nikki’s alive, but she’s hurt really bad.”

I heard her
gasp, and I could hardly speak.  “Here’s one of the police officers on the
scene.”  I handed the phone to him and turned to watch as Nikki, who was now on
a backboard, was lifted and strapped to a waiting gurney.

I walked
over to her, slipping my hand into hers again while they wheeled her toward the
waiting ambulance.

“Chase?” she
asked, and the paramedic stepped to the side, allowing me to move in closer.

“Nikki,
we’re sending you to the hospital in Cooley by helicopter.  The officers have
set up a landing zone just down the road.  We’ll drive you there as soon as it
lands.  Chase can meet you at the hospital.”

As if on
cue, I could hear the beating of the chopper’s blades as it approached.

“I’m scared,
Chase.  I hurt really bad.” Nikki’s eyes looked at me pleadingly, as if I could
stop her pain somehow, and I would’ve given anything to be able to take it from
her.

“You’re
tough, Nikki.  I know you can do this.”

“Can you fly
with me?” she asked.

I shook my
head.  “No, but I’ll get to Cooley as soon as I possibly can.  I’ll be right
behind you, okay?”  I bent and lightly kissed her blood-streaked lips.  It was
the only place that looked safe enough to touch.

“Time to
go,” the medic said, lifting the gurney into the waiting ambulance.  The action
caused my hand to be yanked free from hers.

“I love you,
Chase,” she called to me.

I mouthed
the words back to her, knowing she didn’t hear them because I was unable to get
the sound to move past the knot in my throat.

I stood
there, next to the mangled heap of metal in the middle of the road as I watched
them drive away with my girl.  I stayed there until the helicopter left the
ground again, with her safely on board.

After getting
my phone back, I hurried to my truck, turning around to make the trip to
Cooley.  I only made it a mile down the road before I had to pull over because
I couldn’t see through my tears.

Taking my
phone from my pocket, I dialed my mom.  “Chase?” she answered groggily after
several rings.

“Nikki’s
been in an accident, Mom.  I need you to drive me to the hospital.”

“Where are
you?” she asked, instantly sounding awake, and I gave her directions.  “Hang
on, sweetie.  I’ll be right there.”

I hung up
and leaned over the steering wheel, finally giving my inner terror a voice. 

“Please
don’t take her from me too,” I pleaded to whoever might be listening.  “I’ll do
whatever you want me to do, just don’t make me go through this again.”

Chapter Twenty

I paced in
the waiting room, hanging around for someone—anyone—to come tell me something. 
The lady sitting behind the glass at the desk eyed me again, as if she were
getting annoyed.  I was ready to punch my fist right through that glass if
people didn’t let me know what was going on soon.  I glanced at a fire
extinguisher hanging on the wall.  That would work too.