Caught in the Moonlight

Chapter Seventeen

  "Beth! Allen!"

  "Ronnie-Ann!"

  "What happened!?"

  Shouts flew from every direction as I sprinted toward the truck. I heard Alex calling my name and Lily and Andy's shouted questions, but it all sounded distant and surreal. I reached the passenger side window to see Beth, fully conscious, clutching her arm in pain. Allen, on the other side, was frozen with his fingers still wrapped around the steering wheel. I yanked the door open and simply asked, "Are you two okay?" I spotted a gash in Allen's temple, but he didn't even seem to notice it. Beth moved her hand for a moment, turning slowly to give me a deer-in-headlights look as she revealed a large shard of glass stuck in her arm. 

  "Good thing he's got insurance," I heard Andy call from where and Lily and Alex stood a good ten yards away. I held back the rude remark that lit onto my tongue and simply shouted, "Call an ambulance!" 

  As he whipped out his phone, Andy almost dropped it, scrambling to dial the number. The next twenty minutes until the ambulance got there passed by in a daze. I checked to make sure Allen and Beth were okay- they were both in pain but stable. They reassured me they'd be alright and we called the cops about the drunk driver. Once the ambulance got to us, they climbed out of the car, unsteady on their feet. Allen helped support Beth, holding her up around her waist and walking her to the paramedics. A wave of exhaustion washed over me. I hadn't had a good night's sleep, in an actual bed, in a long time, and between all the drama that had been happening lately it was coming back on me. I leaned against a tree, my eyelids drooping. I shook myself, muttering angrily in an attempt to wake myself up. Alex glanced at me warily as I stumbled forward, seeming almost relieved when I stopped beside him and grabbed his hand. After a few moments, Allen and Beth walked over to us, gripping each other's hands for moral support with a distressed look on their faces.

 "Well, Ronnie, you just got out of the hospital this morning and we're going back. The cops are after the drunk driver and they're going to make him buy me a new truck- they don't think the damage is fixable. The only main issue now is that they're afraid Beth's arm injury could be serious," Allen informed us. Beth was still looking down, her eyes lit with the same fixed, shocked look as when she'd looked up at me before she got out of the truck. She seemed frozen, her eyes wide and her moves unnaturally still and robotic. I moved over to her, placing my hand under her chin and lifting her face to look at me.

 "Beth, can you hear me?" I asked, speaking slowly and clearly and looking her directly in the eyes. She nodded slowly, a weary appearance beneath the shock. I sighed and pulled her into a careful hug, avoiding her bleeding arm cautiously. Beth accepted the hug, reaching up her uninjured arm tentatively and grasping my back. The paramedics came back after a moment and requested that Beth came with them. Allen pleaded with them until they let him ride in the ambulance with her. The same gripping shock and fear filled Lily and Andy as I'd seen in Allen's eyes. Alex wrapped his arms around me as we watched the ambulance pulling away, holding me against him and crossing his arms across my abdomen. I reached up, gripping his hands for moral support and staring at the empty road as the sound of sirens faded into the distance. I sighed and turned around, pressing my lips to his for a few moments for the sole purpose of regaining the sense of security it gave me. Holding his hand, I guided him to the car and noticed Andy and Lily were gone. Guessing they were probably already on their way, I decided it was time to shake off the weariness dragging me down and get a move on.

 "So, this is what intuition does to you?" Alex asked as I climbed in the car. I gave him a questioning look, buckling my seatbelt and slamming the door. He revved the engine and, as he cruised onto the road, continued, "You had the shaky, panicy feeling just before it happened. I guess it could be called women's intuition, but I really don't know much about that so I can't say anything."