S E A R C H I N G

16

I opened my eyes and I was nearly blinded by the bright lights in the ambulance. He laid me on the bed.
"No Eth. You were in for longer." I said, sitting up as my eyes adjusted to the light.
"Lay down Anna." He demanded as the lady wrapped a foil blanket around him as he sat in the chair and then around me as I laid on the trolley.

"We can go steve." She said as she closed the ambulance doors. "Your friends will meet you at the hospital." She smiled.
"Right can I take your name please, young lady."
"Anna. Lise. Simpson." Ethan reached over, holding my hand.
"Ok, and your birthday?"
"The 2nd of J-July 2000."

"And you, young man."
"Ethan Dolan. 16th December 1999."

"So you're both 17. Is that correct?" We both nodded.
"When we get to the hospital, they will inform your next of kin and we'll get you warmed up. And get some clothes for you. May I ask what you were doing at the beach so late?"
I looked at Ethan and he looked at me. He nodded at me, telling me to tell her.

"Ethan w-was in s-some trouble s-so I h-helped him. B-but I didn't want to g-get my dress w-wet."

"Ok. But the way you guys look suggests you were doing other things.... Just be prepared to explain to your parents what's happened." She smiled and sat down next to Ethan, filling out the forms.

"Are you guys a couple?" She asked out of nowhere.

I didn't know what to say so I looked at Ethan. "Yep. I love her with all my heart, I'm so grateful to God for giving her to me."

"Awww." She said, continuing to fill out the forms.

"You've got me crying over here." The driver said, making me giggle.

I looked at Ethan, squeezing his hand. 'I love you.' I mouthed. He mouthed it back.

"We're here." The driver announced. The lady shook her head.
"He loves to joke. Even though he has an extremely serious job."

"You guys are cute." I smiled to the lady paramedic.
"I hope so, we've been married for 7 years."
"Yep, 7 years ago I accidentally smashed a mirror." The guy shrugged. Me and Ethan started laughing.
The lady hit him. "Help me then." She said, shaking her head. They were exactly like Ethan and I.

As they opened the back door, Ethan let go of my hand. I turned over and Ethan was drooped forward, his head hanging awkwardly.
"Ethan?" I shouted.

The lady ran back in, assessing him. "Right Anna, you need to get up so we can help Ethan." I shot up, standing up and feeling dizzy. I leant against the wall of the ambulance as the two paramedics lifted Ethan up, laying him on the trolley. The lady plugged him up to a machine while the man started CPR.

That meant his heart stopped.

I stepped back, walking down the steps of the ambulance. I took my phone out of my bra, calling Grayson.
"Where are you. You need to get here now please." I ended the call. Not even giving him a chance to say anything. They were pushing him down the ramp, still doing CPR. I followed them, wrapped in the foil.

"Anna, I need you to think carefully and tell me how long Ethan was in the water. It's extremely important." She shouted to me as she pushed Eth through, everyone becoming silent as their eyes followed us. Doctors ran in front of me, looking at Ethan and poking and prodding him. I tried to think but I couldn't think straight, my hands shaking as I called Grayson.

"How long was Ethan in for. Approximately." My hands shook as I waited for the answer. I heard him talking.
"It was 12:15 when we first lost him and we got to the apartment at 12:35 so anywhere between 40 minutes and 90 minutes."
"Thank you. You need to hurry. His hearts stopped."
"We're pulling in now."