The Last Summer (EDITING)

>Chapter Seventeen<

Chapter 17

••Arron's POV••

I got the call ten minutes after she left. Ten minutes after I let her leave. Ten minutes I could have been holding her. I curse myself over and over for letting her get as far as the end of the hallway.

They recovered her body five feet from her car. She was thrown from the front window. She was distracted at a red light...the light turned green and a semi came from behind and rammed into her. Didn't even see her little Camry.

At first I didn't believe the paramedics. They told me she is in grave condition. Not critical, not stable. Grave. With Kobe's accident it was a fifty fifty chance he would pull through. He had some trauma to his head but he had surgery to fix that and is slowly recovering from memory loss.

Paige...Paige on the other hand has about a thirty percent chance. She has broken ribs, a broken leg, concussion, and the tip of her spinal cord snapped. Well that's just enough for her to become paralysed. And even worse loose herself altogether.

Her concussion wasn't as bad as Kobe's so she doesn't have much head trauma, but that's the least of our worries. A broken spinal cord means risk of death. That's what the doctors stressed. Very heavily. Many times. I would try to drown them out. Think of anything but that unbearable five letter word. But they kept saying it. No matter how many times I yelled at them not to.

There are certain spinal breaks. Certain symptoms. Certain risks. You could injure it and just undergo therapy. You could fracture it and have them repair it. You could brake it in certain places. Near the bottom, you could become paralysed from the waist down. Paige's break is towards the top. The top of her chest to be exact. Too close to her neck and way to close to her brain.

Doctors want to operate on her, to try to combine the two pieces back together. But at her thirty percent chance It's not recommended. So until then she is certified paralysed from the chest down. She can't move her arms, her legs or her feet. And with all the slight bruising they won't even wake her up.

I wipe at a tear as it falls from my puffy eyes. I can't seem to stop crying. I've asked Ciera and Bryan to give me some space and look every once in a while to the back to Travis. He stands motionless, every once and a while clearing his throat. They called her aunt Laura. She's on her way from a conference or whatever.

Travis took the liberty to call Paige's family back in Chicago. Her mother was hysterical. She blubbered into the phone as Travis tried to calm her down. Unfortunately She's not able to get down here, but Travis assured her he'll keep her updated.

This is all my fault. Every part of it. Making her cry in the hallway earlier. Letting her go. Calling her while she was asking for space. I pound my fist onto her bed rail. It shakes her slightly and I grab her hand and silently apologise.

"I'm so sorry baby." I whisper, kissing her still hand.

"So," kiss,"So," kiss,"Sorry."

I look to her bruised face. Her lips are parted, a tube of oxygen between them breathing for her. I break into a crying fit, laying my head on her lap. "Don't go. I can't loose you too." I lift my head and wait so badly for her beautiful brown eyes to open. For her to smile, her cheeks flaming a light pink as I tell her how beautiful she is.

The next day her aunt shows up. She joins her on the other side of the bed and takes her hand. She talks to her about her week. What she did. Who she saw. She acted as though Paige was talking right back. It made me sick. After about ten minutes of it I decide to go out to get some air.

I'm surprised to see my mom leaning against the front desk of the waiting room. Fran points to me and she looks behind her shoulder. Her face falls and she brings me into her arms. "Oh darling I am so sorry."