My Country Love Story

62- As everything goes Dark

The gate to the starting shoot slammed shut behind Cosmo and I. His ears were flicking back and forth like crazy.

Blake: “LEAH! Here please wear your helmet.”

He jumped up onto the gate and handed it to me. I fastened the chin strap and grabbed a secure hold on the horn of my saddle.

I whispered to myself; “Heels down, legs tight, reins forward, Cosmo will do the rest.” I took one last deep breath to tell Cosmo that he didn’t have to run like a bat out of hell.

The next 15 seconds of my life went in slow motion:

A starting bell rang and the gate to the starting shoot shot open. Cosmo took off! We made it around the first barrel and go to cut across to round the second one. Cosmo takes the turn really sharp and I had to tuck my foot in so I didn’t knock it over. My spur hit his side and he sped up, just what I didn’t want him to do! His hooves started to move too fast and his body wasn’t catching up.

I heard the crowd go “OH!” all in unison just before everything went dark.

The last thing I remember is Cosmo tumbling I went forward and fell off between his ears. After that I don’t remember anything.

--

~Blake’s POV

I watched as a beautiful white smile spread across my girl’s face when I handed her her helmet. Helmets may not really be worn because they aren’t “fashionable” but safety is more important than looks.

When the bell rang I watched in awe as they worked perfectly as a team.

After the second barrel I could tell something was wrong. Some people in the grand stand stood up and covered their mouths. From what I could see Cosmo lost his pace and as he tried to get back on balance he slowed down really fast and threw Leah forward between his ears in the process. She dug into the ground, hard. Cosmo swerved so he didn’t step on her then slowly walked towards her with his nose almost on the ground. Before I knew what I was doing I fit myself between the metal bars of the fence and ran towards them. Cosmo was sniffing Leah’s face and she was out cold. Her face is all scraped up from sliding into the dirt. She has a bloody, probably broken nose, and her hands are just as torn up as her face.

More people came into the ring from the sidelines as someone yelled for an ambulance.

I told the ring manager that I am her boyfriend and her parents aren’t here since they live in Ohio. I grabbed Cosmo’s reins and brought him back to Leah’s trailer. I quickly untacked him and locked all of his tack back up in Leah’s trailer. I checked and made sure both of them had hay and water and then I ran back to the ring just as the ambulance was showing up.

Patty gently grabbed my arm before I climbed into the ambulance with Leah.

Patty: “I’ll watch her horses so you don’t have to worry about it.”

Me: “Thank you! It means a lot.”

Patty: “Go be with your girl she’s gunna need you the most.”

I nodded and rubbed a little water out of my eye.

She patted my knee before a medic closed the ambulance door.

--

On the ride to the emergency room the medics worked to secure her neck so her head wouldn’t move.

They told me that they were not going to remove her helmet because her skull has probably swelled and if they did remove it right away they could cause permanent damage.

I grabbed Leah’s hand and held it tight until we got to the emergency room.

--

About an hour later I was still sitting next to Leah’s bed holding her hand. A nurse came in and said it was time to take off her helmet.

Nurse: “Her heads swelling should be gone by now.”

Me: “What if it’s not?”

Nurse: “If it’s not then it has been long enough anyways. No further damage can be made.”

Me: “Sorry but what do you mean by further damage?”

Nurse: “Ms. Lively has a broken nose and a severe concussion. Both of her index fingers and thumbs are fractured from the impact she took.”

Me: “How long do think it’ll take until she can ride again?”

Nurse: “A break of the nose usually only takes two weeks to repair itself, as for the scars and bruising to her hands and face that will take a few months. But due to the concussion the doctor’s do not want her riding for a month, just to be safe.”

Me: “Oh.”

She nodded and changed the bandages on Leah’s nose and worked to clean up her hands and face.

Nurse: “It could have been a lot worse if she had not worn a helmet.”

I felt all of the temperature drop from my face and my breath caught in my throat.

Nurse: “Hey, are you okay.”

I coughed lightly.

Me: “Yeah, just before her run I handed her her helmet and made sure she wore it.”

Nurse: “Then, dear, you just saved your girlfriend’s life.”

I nodded and rubbed at my eyes.

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