A Leg for a Love

Chapter Two

Willis Cawford paced back and forth in the hospital waiting room, anxiously awaiting any news of the condition of Kodee Knox, who had just been hit by a car. He'd known her for a few minutes when it happened, but the accident traumatized him nonetheless and he thought he might break down if she didn't survive.

At the thought of the scene, Willis shuddered. He didn't want to imagine it. The road might be stained with Kodee's blood for a while.

"If you break a hole in the floor, you have to pay for it," said a voice behind him.

Willis turned around to see an old, tired-looking nurse smiling gently at him.

"I see a dozen people pace this floor every day. And none of them get anything from it but sore feet," she said. "You're the one who came in with the Knox girl, right?" and when Willis nodded, she said, "I was sent to tell you that Kodee Knox is going to survive. She's going to be here for quite a while recovering, but she'll live."

"What are her injuries?" Willis asked.

"I'm sorry, but since you're not family, I can't tell you that," the nurse said. "But we wanted to see if you could contact her family so that someone could come to see her?"

"No, I actually don't know her, I just walked her home because she didn't have an umbrella–"

The nurse shoved a beat-up phone in Willis' face. "You can try her phone. It would be of great help. We're all very busy." With that, the nurse pivoted and stalked out of the room.

Willis sank into one of the warn waiting room chairs and looked at the battered phone. He ran his fingers over the shattered screen, down the home button, and flipped it on. The screen flickered for a moment, then steadied and a picture of a little boy and a dog glowed up at him. The dog had only three legs and the boy's two front teeth were missing. Willis smiled softly.

This must be one of Kodee's siblings. Willis' smile faded at the thought of how sad the boy would be when he found out his sister was so badly injured. If only Willis had reacted a little more quickly, shouted a little louder... Kodee might have been able to get out of the car's way on time and that little boy wouldn't have to be sad about his sister.

Willis dropped his head for a moment, letting out a sound between a sign and a groan. He looked at the phone screen and pressed the home button to click it on. How come this phone could function well, with a bit of obstruction from the cracking, while its owner was injured critically?

With another sigh, Willis observed the lock screen carefully. The phone, to be opened, required a passcode, but there was a camera icon in one corner of the screen and a telephone icon in the other.

Willis pressed the telephone icon but nothing happened. He swiped up on it but the response was the popping up of the option to type in the password. Willis pressed the back button and tried a few more times but the same thing happened. Then, a bit distorted by dead pixels and a sharp crack, Willis spotted the emergency call button.

The button brought him to a variety of different numbers to call, labeled with names and emojis. Willis scrolled through them, finding many names matched with pictures. One, however, didn't have a picture, but instead, a "D" where the picture should be. This one was titled "Dakoda," wrapped with a heart emoji on either side.

For some reason, Willis' stomach gave an unpleasant twist. This Dakoda must be Kodee's boyfriend. Dakoda wouldn't be too pleased to find his girl injured, either, and Willis supposed the twist of his gut was another guilty claw at his mind.

Well, he'd better call someone, Willis supposed. He chose the one titled "Mom" and listened to it ring for what felt like an eternity before directing him to the voicemail. Willis didn't let the recorded message finish playing, instead hanging up and trying to call the number titled "Dad."

Again, Willis was redirected to the voice mailbox.

Willis tried to call the next number on the list, "Remi," but before he could, the phone started buzzing and making a distorted sound, a caller ID popping up titled "Mom." Willis swiped up on the answer button and held it up to his ear.

"Hello?" said a woman's voice, crackling and a bit distorted. "Kodee, you called both your dad and me. Are you okay, honey?"

"Hi, uh," Willis started, his hands shaking and his mouth dry.

"This doesn't sound like Kodee..."

"No, ma'am," Willis said. "My name is Willis Cawford and Kodee got in... an accident."

The woman on the other end gasped. "Is Kodee okay?"

"I... I don't know. They won't tell me," Willis said, swallowing hard for how much his voice shook. "I'm at a hospital, and they said that only direct family will get to see her and know her condition."

The other line crackled, but Willis couldn't tell if it was the broken speaker or Kodee's mother making noise.

"But," Willis said quickly, deciding it would be best to tell her everything he could, "they did say that Kodee was going to survive. So don't worry."

"What–" a choking sound, "What happened to her?"

"She was crossing the street, and a car came around the corner. The driver lost control and... well, he hit Kodee. I was there, I saw it," Willis said, trying desperately to swallow the lump in his throat. "I–I called an ambulance, and they loaded her up and took her here. I haven't seen her since."

Now the woman was certainly crying. "Remington, Remington, come here," she said distantly as if she'd taken the phone away from her face. The next sentences were even more gargled and further away, and Willis could make out only a few words: Something about booking tickets.

"Thank you for letting us know. We're coming to see her as soon as we can get on a plane. Uh, what did you say your name was?"

"Willis."

"Thank you, Willis. Goodbye."

"Bye."

The phone emitted a beep and Willis brought it away from his face to find that Mrs. Knox had wasted no time in hanging up.

Willis sank further into the seat, suddenly exhausted. He needed sleep but he felt as though he owed something to Kodee and needed to stay until someone else came for her. Though he couldn't see her, he needed to be there for her.

She needed him, he was sure of it.