Gravity

Chapter 17

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Soundtrack

A Drop in the Ocean - Ron Pope
A drop in the ocean
A change in the weather
I was praying that you and me
Might end up together
It's like wishing for rain
As I stand in the desert
But I'm holding you closer than most
'Cause you are my heaven

***

"I promise I'm fine," I say stubbornly, straining my eyes in an attempt to see past the flashing blue and red lights. I pull the blanket that's now draped over my shoulders tightly around me, shivering despite the mild weather. "Please just let me go check on my boyfriend."

The crash itself remains vivid in my mind, with the impact itself being the loudest thing I think I've ever heard. But what followed was a frantic blur. I managed to hold tightly to my phone through the whole ordeal, and I vaguely remember that I was the one to call 911. My door had been completely crushed so I couldn't get out of the car and Tyler, who had hit his head, was in and out of consciousness.

I don't remember how, but Binx somehow ended up out of his carrier and wrapped tightly in my arms. Maybe I pulled him out, or maybe it had opened in the collision. Either way, I knew he was safe.

But the horses?

There was nothing I could do until help arrived but sit there and listen to them scream.

A strange word to use for an animal, but it's the only way I can describe the sounds they were making. Screaming, desperately begging to be freed from their confines, as they kicked the walls of the trailer so forcefully that I felt it reverberate through the vehicle.

Still, the sound wasn't even the worst part.

It was the smell.

The smell of blood that I couldn't find the source of at first, until I realized it was seeping out of a gash in Tyler's forearm.

And the smell of gas- a warning that the whole thing could be up in flames at any moment. A single spark, and my entire world would be gone. One second- that's all it would take.

And all I could do was sit and wait.

"I'm sorry Ms. Adams, but he's already on the way to the hospital with the other driver," the paramedic says. "Now please sit still for a minute so I can check your vitals."

The other driver.

I'm not going to pretend that I'm not partially responsible for this wreck- had I not checked my phone, maybe I would have been able to stop the car in time.

But I overheard a few of the cops say that the other driver had been drinking, which would explain why he swerved into opposing traffic and crashed into us head on.

"The hospital? Is he okay," I ask frantically, attempting to stand and wincing. My ankle. There's something wrong with it. "You need to take me there."

"I'm going to have to ask you to sit down," he responds, authoritative and firm this time, "so that I can make sure there's no imminent danger to your health."

I reluctantly oblige, partly because I know he's right and partly because I'm not sure I'd get very far with my ankle throbbing like this.

"The horses- are they still in the trailer?"

"No," he replies. "The fire department got them out. You don't need to worry about them- your boyfriend's dad is coming to pick them up."