“That would be correct. That’s my baby sister, Shae Murphy.”
“Were you testing me?”
“That would also be correct.” He could barely contain his happiness at my complete meltdown at the thought of him with another woman.
“Why?”
“I had to see your reaction. Someone who doesn’t love someone doesn’t get that mad when that someone is with someone else.”
“Oh my God… I’m going to kill you. I feel so stupid, and your sister probably thinks I’m a total bitch.” I put my hands over my eyes, wanting to die of pure embarrassment.
He tilted his head back and forth and looked up at the ceiling, thinking about it. “Probably, but lucky for you, she grew up with me. She’s learned to forgive.”
He reached out and grabbed my hips, pulling them close to him. I didn’t fight. I missed him, everything about him. His smell, his smile, his expressive eyes, the way he made my problems melt away with one hug. I’d never missed a person the way I’d missed Brody the last few weeks.
“So, I’m gonna ask you again … do you love me?”
Before I could answer yes, the back door flew open and Shae stood in the doorway, trembling and white as a ghost.
“Call 911, a little girl in the lake just got hit by a guy on a WaveRunner!”
Everything around me went into hyper speed. As soon as Shae came to the back door and yelled that one of the girls had gotten hit, before I could even take my phone out of my pocket, Kacie was out of my arms and sprinting toward the lake as fast as she could. I dialed 911 and rushed out of the house past Shae, who stood frozen in the doorway.
“Was it one of Kacie’s daughters?” she called out in a panic.
“Think so!” I yelled as I gave the operator Kacie’s address.
When I got to the bottom of the hill, Piper’s little body was on the shore with a huge gash in her head. Just the sight of her lying there like that made me light-headed. Kacie was kneeling over her, trying to keep her awake. “Piper! Piper! Stay with me, baby. Talk to Mommy. Piper!” Her voice cracked as she slapped Piper’s face, trying to keep her awake.
There was nothing she could do. Piper’s eyes closed as Kacie kept hitting her little cheek, trying to wake her up.
“Does she have a pulse?” the operator asked me. I relayed the question to Kacie.
“Yes,” Kacie responded.
“Ok, keep her still, do not move her. The ambulance is on the way. I’ll stay on the phone with you until they get there,” the operator said.
I’d never shook that bad in my life; I could barely hold on to the phone. “Here, hold this, listen to whatever she says,” I said to Shae as I gave her my cell phone.
I went over and bent down next to Piper across from Kacie. I knew Kacie was almost finished with nursing school so the panic on her face was making me panic too.
She quickly looked around. “Can someone run and get a towel? Fast!”
The small crowd that had gathered looked from person to person while I reached back and pulled my t-shirt off. “Use this.”
She balled it up and put it on Piper’s head wound which looked really bad. My heart broke at the pool of blood under her little head.
“Hold that firm against her head,” she ordered me.
Once I put my hand on the shirt, she opened each of Piper’s eyes, one at a time and cringed.
“What?” I asked.
“Her pupils, they’re different sizes.”
I shook my head. “What does that mean?”
“It’s a sign of a brain injury.”
My mind raced in a thousand different directions at the sound of that. Brain injury, what did that mean? It sounded horrendous. Kacie’s face was contorted into such despair as she looked down at her daughter, constantly checking for a pulse. It nearly killed me.
The paramedics rushed around the side of the house and down to the lake with a stretcher. After examining Piper quickly, they rolled her off the ground just enough to slip the wooden backboard underneath. After they strapped her securely onto the stretcher, they whisked her and Kacie off.
“Wait!” Sophia called out in a panic.
“Here, I’ll take her. Go.” I reached out and took Lucy out of Sophia’s arms and she turned and sprinted up the hill.
One police officer was talking to Fred and other witnesses while another officer was putting handcuffs on the guy I assumed was driving the WaveRunner. I glared at him while I momentarily debated whether or not it would be worth the arrest to go over and rip his arms from his body. Just as I’d decided it would be worth any time I would get, Lucy laid her head on my shoulder and sniffled.
“Hey, you okay?” I asked, desperately trying to crane my neck so I could see her face.