Watch Your Temper

Chapter Sixteen: Hospital Headaches

GEORGE'S POV

        I squeezed her hand.

Her soft chocolate curls framed her pale face, but I could still see the scarlet streaks that poked through. Her normally ocean blue eyes were snapped shut, and her usually abundant freckles were painted over with the ghastly hue of her skin. Her frail pink lips were pursed into a pout, hiding the slight gap in her front teeth. Her shoulders were tense, and her breathing seemed constricted.

It was all so eerie-- she looked perfect. That was what surprised me most. Even in the most horrible of situations, she always appeared so beautiful, like a sort of fallen angel.

I reached out to caress her face, but immediately recoiled when I felt how stone-cold her skin felt.

"She lost quite a bit of blood, and we're trying to stop the flow now. They'll be able to fix her up at the hospital," the paramedic told me, glancing at her in pity.

"Will she be okay?" Alec asked from my side. We were in the ambulance, rushing to the nearest hospital.

Once the paramedics had arrived at the skate park and examined Temper, they loaded her into the vehicle and allowed three of her closest friends to hop in as well. Me, being her boyfriend, was the first one welcomed into the exclusive part of the ambulance.

I chose Alec to come with me, because I knew he would calm me down if I had a panic attack. Next, I chose Cleo, Temper's best friend, to be there for her in case she woke up. The rest of our friends informed us they meet us at the hospital as soon as possible. The paramedics jumped into the vehicle and locked the doors securely shut behind themselves.

"I'm not sure yet. The doctor will be able to better decide her condition. Right now, I'd say she's at least stable," the EMT answered. Alec nodded and tried to start a conversation with me about football or some rock band, but I zoned him out.

I stared at the monitor the paramedic had hooked her up to. It beeped and moved steadily every second or so, carefully analyzing her rapid heartbeat. I leaned in and gently kissed her blood-stained forehead, and was shocked when I heard the monitor beep and buzz like crazy. I bent backward and the medic reached in, strapping a breathing mask to her mouth. Her heartbeat returned to normal, and I couldn't help but wonder: had I caused that?

I leaned against the inside wall of the ambulance, feeling a little sick. I glanced at an IV bag hanging on a pole, funneling the liquid contents into Temper. I noticed the blood on her scalp, and I gagged. Quickly, the paramedic handed me a bucket. Cleo patted my back soothingly as I heaved a small portion of my stomach into the plastic container.

"Are you alright?" the medic asked me, handing me a wet cloth. I nodded as I wiped my clammy forehead, still feeling a little dizzy.

"Well, we're arriving at the hospital now. You need to go wait near the triage nurses's office, while the doctor stabilizes her. You might have to wait five minutes, or five hours. It all depends on how serious her injury is," he told us, just as the vehicle came to a slow halt.

He hopped out, and the other medic emerged, lifting her stretcher onto the ground.

"Is she conscious? I want to say...goodbye to her, for now," I said to them.

"I'm afraid not. She has to be rushed in now, you can see her later," he replied. Jeez. So much for sensitivity or sympathy.

Regardless, I stepped forward to pat Temper's sleeping form. Alec patted her hand and Cleo patted her shoulder. Then she was wheeled away, out of our sight.

"You know, today sucks," I declared dully.

"I'll say," Alec mumbled.

"I knew I should have stayed home today and read my Harper Lee!" I moaned.