Settling Ashes: A New Adult/College Romance (The Ashes Series Book 2) by Diana Gardin Page B
Authors: Diana Gardin
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soon the seatbelt was sliced in two pieces. I untangled her from the strap and pulled her into my arms before she could drop. Cradling her to my chest, I began kicking at the passenger side window, which already had a web of cracks running over it from the crash.
Then I was breathing cold night air and crawling out through the window into tall, frozen grass. I reached back in and pulled Paige out with me, careful to avoid scraping her with the jagged shards of window glass.
Mere moments had passed since all the fragile pieces of our world came crashing down around us.
I cradled her to my chest once again, and carried her up a slight embankment. My SUV had hit the side of it and rolled down into the shallow ravine beyond when we crashed. I climbed up until my feet met gravel, and laid Paige down gently.
The sirens that had been crying in the distance now wailed right next to my ear, and an ambulance skidded to a stop a few yards ahead of where I knelt next to my unconscious girlfriend.
It was too dark for me to assess her. I couldn’t tell where else she was hurt, but the fact that she couldn’t talk to me finally caused the crazy I’d been pushing down to take over. I screamed toward the paramedics now rushing in my direction; again, life was set to slow motion.
“Help her! Help my girlfriend! She’s not talking to me!” I put both hands to my head, pushing my hair back and letting the breakdown I’d prevented in the car to finally break free.
The first one reached us, shoving me out of the way as he knelt next to Paige, checking her vital signs.
“What happened?” the second man said, jerking me out of my transfixed stare.
“We…we were hit by someone who ran the light,” I explained, my voice raspy with terror. “She’s…she’s not…is she going to be okay?”
I tired to move back to Paige’s side but the paramedic trying to obtain information stopped me.
“What’s her name?” the paramedic working on Paige asked urgently.
“Paige. Her name is Paige Hill. She’s twenty, and she’s my girlfriend. Help her, please.”
They worked together to load her onto a stretcher.
“Is she breathing?” I asked frantically.
“We have a weak pulse and very shallow breathing. We want to get her into the ambulance now so we can assess her situation on the way to the hospital.”
“I’m going with her,” I stated, daring them with a glare to argue with me.
“Let’s go then, sir.” The paramedics hauled Paige onto the ambulance and held the doors open so I could climb in after them. I did, and the most terrifying hour of my life began.
~**~
I stared into the tiny window of the hospital room where doctors and nurses stood all around Paige. Some were checking vitals on a computer; some were working furiously over her still-unconscious form to coax life back into her.
An unresponsive Paige almost broke me back at the accident scene, but seeing her now, like this, almost pulled the strength from my legs and caused me to melt to the floor in unbridled panic. The only thing stopping that from happening was the fact that I refused to break visual contact with her. I needed to see her, because I couldn’t feel her right now.
I wasn’t even sure if my Paige was inside that still form anymore.
The elevator doors down the hallway opened and my parents stepped out.
“Clay?” my dad called, and he began striding down the hallway toward me.
“Dad,” I muttered numbly, never allowing my eyes to leave Paige. “Dad. I can’t help her, Dad. She’s….she’s…” my voice choked off as he grabbed me and pulled me into a bear hug.
“I’m so sorry, son,” he said in a disbelieving voice. “We got the call about you from the hospital, and I had no idea whether you were…and I didn’t know Paige was…” he choked off just as I had, pulling back from me and staring into the room where Paige lay so still.
“She’s going to be okay, right, Dad?” I asked him, my voice reverting back to the
Then I was breathing cold night air and crawling out through the window into tall, frozen grass. I reached back in and pulled Paige out with me, careful to avoid scraping her with the jagged shards of window glass.
Mere moments had passed since all the fragile pieces of our world came crashing down around us.
I cradled her to my chest once again, and carried her up a slight embankment. My SUV had hit the side of it and rolled down into the shallow ravine beyond when we crashed. I climbed up until my feet met gravel, and laid Paige down gently.
The sirens that had been crying in the distance now wailed right next to my ear, and an ambulance skidded to a stop a few yards ahead of where I knelt next to my unconscious girlfriend.
It was too dark for me to assess her. I couldn’t tell where else she was hurt, but the fact that she couldn’t talk to me finally caused the crazy I’d been pushing down to take over. I screamed toward the paramedics now rushing in my direction; again, life was set to slow motion.
“Help her! Help my girlfriend! She’s not talking to me!” I put both hands to my head, pushing my hair back and letting the breakdown I’d prevented in the car to finally break free.
The first one reached us, shoving me out of the way as he knelt next to Paige, checking her vital signs.
“What happened?” the second man said, jerking me out of my transfixed stare.
“We…we were hit by someone who ran the light,” I explained, my voice raspy with terror. “She’s…she’s not…is she going to be okay?”
I tired to move back to Paige’s side but the paramedic trying to obtain information stopped me.
“What’s her name?” the paramedic working on Paige asked urgently.
“Paige. Her name is Paige Hill. She’s twenty, and she’s my girlfriend. Help her, please.”
They worked together to load her onto a stretcher.
“Is she breathing?” I asked frantically.
“We have a weak pulse and very shallow breathing. We want to get her into the ambulance now so we can assess her situation on the way to the hospital.”
“I’m going with her,” I stated, daring them with a glare to argue with me.
“Let’s go then, sir.” The paramedics hauled Paige onto the ambulance and held the doors open so I could climb in after them. I did, and the most terrifying hour of my life began.
~**~
I stared into the tiny window of the hospital room where doctors and nurses stood all around Paige. Some were checking vitals on a computer; some were working furiously over her still-unconscious form to coax life back into her.
An unresponsive Paige almost broke me back at the accident scene, but seeing her now, like this, almost pulled the strength from my legs and caused me to melt to the floor in unbridled panic. The only thing stopping that from happening was the fact that I refused to break visual contact with her. I needed to see her, because I couldn’t feel her right now.
I wasn’t even sure if my Paige was inside that still form anymore.
The elevator doors down the hallway opened and my parents stepped out.
“Clay?” my dad called, and he began striding down the hallway toward me.
“Dad,” I muttered numbly, never allowing my eyes to leave Paige. “Dad. I can’t help her, Dad. She’s….she’s…” my voice choked off as he grabbed me and pulled me into a bear hug.
“I’m so sorry, son,” he said in a disbelieving voice. “We got the call about you from the hospital, and I had no idea whether you were…and I didn’t know Paige was…” he choked off just as I had, pulling back from me and staring into the room where Paige lay so still.
“She’s going to be okay, right, Dad?” I asked him, my voice reverting back to the
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