Love is a Tricky Word~ The Courtney Smith Series ~ Book One

Broken

 Courtney never fell back to sleep. What would she do? What if Ryan found out she was doubting her love for him? He wouldn't like that much. His heart would be broken, but it was better for her to tell him before someone else did. She decided she would tell him before school.

   Courtney showered, got dressed, ate breakfast, and gathered up all her homework in a hurry. Emily had actually left on time, unlike Courtney, who had left ten minutes late. There was no way she had time to tell Ryan in person. So she called him on the way to school.

"Hello Darlin'. " Ryan said as he answered the phone.

"Hey, um I need to tell you something." Courtney confessed.

"Okay, what is it."

"Scott called me this morning, really early. He said that he loved me."

"Well, You don't love him."

"That's just it. I don't know. When he hung up, I started having flash backs."

"You don't love me?" Ryan asked.

"That's just it. I do love you... I just think I love Scott too. Please don't be mad." Courtney explained.

"I can't be mad at you. I love you..." Ryan said.

   Just the Courtney accidentally ran a red light as a truck was going through. The truck hit the side of the car that she was sitting on, and she rolled down the hill, the car flipping four times. Courtney screamed as she hit her head on the window. The car's alarms went off. Ryan heard the whole thing over the phone. He knew something was wrong.

    The driver of the truck ran down to Courtney's wrecked vehicle. She was out cold. He had already called the police and an ambulance, He felt for a pulse, there wasn't one. As the ambulance arrived, they put Courtney on the ambulance and raced to the hospital. She was 'dead' without a pulse. They had to shock her back to life...twice.

    Once they made it to they emergency room, Courtney was wheeled into emergency surgery. She had cracked her skull when her head hit the window. She had broken her neck and right leg. Her shoulder had been knocked out of place and there was bleeding in her brain.

   Two hours later, they rolled Courtney out of surgery and in to an ICU room. She had made it through and they stopped the bleeding in her brain. Her neck had a brace on it, and her leg had a full cast. She was in a coma. So far, no one had come to visit her. No one knew. They could not contact her mother, and her father...he died when she was two.

   A few hours later, Ryan ran into the emergency room, straight to the information desk.

"Is there a Courtney Smith here?" He asked frantically.

"Yes sir, are you her brother?" Asked the woman at the desk.

"No, I'm her boy.. I'm her friend. I was on the phone with her when I heard her scream and then the car's alarms began to go off. I need to see her." He explained.

"Right this way, sir." The woman said as she led him to the room where Courtney was staying.

"She had cracked her skull, she had bleeding on her brain. They performed surgery on her and she should be fine. She died twice in the ambulance. She has a broken leg, as you can see. She also broke her neck. When she wakes up, she may not remember who you are for a while, but it will come to her." The Doctor explained.

   There laid Courtney. She was cut and bruised all over. She had a tube going down her throat and an bandana tied around her head to cover the bandages. Ryan called everyone, even Scott. He broke down in tears beside her bed, He blamed himself for talking to her on the phone when he knew she was driving. He was broken.