Match Made in Valley View (Valley View Book #2)

Chapter 19

My eyes open to the sound of the car horn blaring. It takes a moment for me to realize what happened. My mind flashes back to my last memory before passing out. A huge truck was swerving into our lane, almost ready to hit us head-on. I screamed at Tiff and she tried to get out of the way, but the truck was barreling at us and we couldn’t get out of the way completely.

The impact was mostly on the front driver’s side, but it was enough to run us off the road and go rolling down into the ditch. I don’t remember how many times we flipped, I hit my head hard and blacked out before we stopped at the bottom of the ditch.

My eyesight is blurry, but I can see that we’re at least not upside down, just tilted to the side a little bit. As the blaring at the horn and the ringing in my ears dies down I can hear the screeching cry of Annabelle in the backseat. My first thought was thank god she’s crying, it means she isn’t dead. Morbid, perhaps, but it was one fear crossed off my list.

I look over at Tiff and she’s hunched over the steering wheel with blood dripping from her head. I can hear her moans, so once again thank god she’s not dead. I unbuckle myself and lean over to her. “Tiff, Tiff can you open your eyes for me?”

Tiff’s eyes shoot open and she tries to sit up abruptly, but I hold her down for safety. “Don’t do too quickly, you don’t know what might be broken or injured.”

“Annabelle...oh god Annabelle!” Tiff begins to shout and tries to move again, but I continue to hold her down.

“Hey, I need you to look at me. Are you okay, Tiff?”

Tiff reaches up and touches her forehead, “Fuck my head and rubs hurt.” She tries to unbuckle her seatbelt, only to find out that it is jammed. She keeps yanking at it, but it isn’t giving at all. “Fuck, I’m stuck. Oh god. Annabelle, it’s going to be okay baby. Auntie Tiff is here!”

“Auntieeeee!!!” Her painful cries from the back seat break my heart.

“I got her.” I start to move into the backseat when Tiff’s hand grabs my wrist.

“Oh, Holly! Press the emergency button!” Tiff points to the dash where one of those assist buttons are. I press it before grabbing my purse and crawling into the back seat.

Annabelle is still strapped into her car seat, facing backward still, but she’s in a lot of pain. She’s strapped in tightly and I don’t see any scratches on her head or face, but I can tell that her leg is bent the wrong way and that is probably the source of her pain.

“Hey sweetie, I know it hurts and it is scary, but I’m here, okay?” 

“Holly, I’m cold” She says to me through her sobs.

“I know sweetie, me too.” I grab my scarf and use it to wrap around her leg. I’m not sure I’m doing much good, but I’m hoping it’ll secure her leg in place and not move as much. I go back and forth between getting her out of her seat or not, but she’s so scared and I just need to wrap her in my arms.

“Hello, Roadside Assistance,” a voice comes through the car speakers.

“Hello! Can you hear us?” Tiff yells back at the operator.

“Yes ma’am. What can we help you with?”

“We were in an accident on the 46, about, oh god where do you think we were, Holly?” She glances into the rearview mirror at me. I try to think of the last signs that I saw, but nothing is coming to mind.

“Ma’am, I can see your coordinates on my screen. You said you were in an accident? Are there any injuries?”

“Yes, lots. We also have a three-year-old in the car.”