freefall |[ luke kuechly ]|

|[nightmare]|

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June 8th, 2013
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Luke checked his watch again. Ellen was late. Really late. She wasn't answering her phone. Luke assumed it was because she was packing and didn't want him to yell at her. But he kept calling. No answer. He left her 8 voicemails now. Luke tried calling again and got the same voicemail message he got the other 8 times.

"Hey Ellen. It's me. Luke. Your boyfriend. Yeah um I kind of thought we were going to the Bahamas today. I could be wrong though. Just call me when you finish packing so I know you are at least on your way, okay? I love you," Luke said into the phone before hanging up again. He stared at it with a confusion spread across his face. She never just ignored him like this unless they were fighting. They weren't fighting, were they? Luke couldn't think of a reason they could be fighting so he brushed it of. He began pacing the floor just waiting for her. She was never on time, but never was she this late. She was an hour late; they for sure would miss their flight now. Not the best first impression to make with his family. Not that it mattered, they would love her anyways.

Knock. Knock. Knock. There was a rapid knocking on the door. Almost impatient. She was an hour late but she was being impatient he thought. Luke  grabbed his suitcase and rolled it towards the door. "There you-" he started. It wasn't Ellen though. It was Nicole. Her face was covered in tears and running makeup. Her face was red and her eyes were irritated. Her hair was a mess. Luke's smile faded as soon as he saw her face. He knew something was wrong. He braced himself by grabbing a firm hold on to the door frame. "What is it?" He asked sternly.

"E-Ellen. She got in a b-bad accident. She's hurt really bad and they don't know if she going to m-make it," Nicole sobbed. Tears welled in Luke's eyes and spilled over instantly. He breathed in sharply. He didn't say anything he was stunned.

Luke's head began spinning. How could she have been in accident? He just talked to her. This wasn't happening. He was dreaming. Not dreaming, he was having a nightmare. He went numb and needed to feel something, to know this was real. But he couldn't move, it was as if he had been paralyzed the second the horrifying words came out of Nicole's mouth.

"Where is she?" He asked choked up. A lump was rising in his throat. He dropped his suitcase but held a strong grip on his keys. He sprinted to the car before getting his answer. Nicole quickly followed after him and got in the passenger side. She was clearly in no condition to be driving. But neither was Luke. His mood had never changed so quickly before.

"A helicopter took her to the hospital in Charlotte," Nicole mustered out, finally answering his question. Luke's jaw clenched. If she was taken by helicopter, he knew it was bad. Luke had only been to the hospital in Charlotte one other time, and that was for charity not an emergency like this. He knew where he was going but he felt lost. The fact that Ellen was in danger and he had been joking around on her voicemail hurt him. The ride was silent besides the sniffling of Luke and Nicole's noses. Luke cried the whole way there. Not bawling loudly. But tears stained his cheeks.  "Does your mom know?" Luke finally got out.

"She's with Ellen," Nicole mumbled. Luke nodded, biting his cheek. He was driving fast, maybe a little too fast but he needed to see Ellen. At this point he didn't care if he got pulled over, he just needed to get there. The guilt he was feeling was unbearable.

They finally got to the hospital and parked the truck in a parking stall as close to the door as they could get. Luke ran as fast he did on the football field towards the doors. He sprinted towards the receptionists desk. "Ellen Reilly. I need to see Ellen Reilly," he said urgently. The words coming out of his mouth tasted like pennies, he thought he was going to throw up. He couldn't believe the turn in events his day had taken.

"I'm sorry sir, we can only disclose what room she is in to family," the receptionist said calmly. She was used to dire situations like this and it probably didn't even phase her to see the large man begging for any information he could get.

"I'm her sister," Nicole said finally catching up to Luke. She ran as fast as she could, but couldn't keep up with the football player. She stood at likes side. Neither of them had made eye contact with each other the whole way there and still stared straight ahead.

"She's in room 371," the pudgy lady disclosed. She gave them a polite smile but neither of them saw it. They were long gone. They could have taken an elevator, but it would have made them feel helpless, with the way it slowly climbed the levels. Not moving at the pace they wanted to, they opted for the three flights of stairs. They finally reached the floor they were searching for and saw Karen Reilly pacing up and down the hallway nervously. Luke's heart was pounding out of his chest. He was a mess, but he couldn't imagine being in this situation as a parent. He rushed to her and enveloped her in a bear hug. He didn't say anything. They both felt equally hopeless and began sobbing into each other. Luke towered over her and her head was at his chest.

"She's in surgery. They are repairing her collapsed lung. She has bruised ribs and when she wakes up they will test for a concussion," Karen said into Luke's chest. She said it strongly, fighting back her already falling tears. Her words caused Luke to tear up again. It seemed he hadn't stopped crying since Nicole got to him.

"I can't lose her. She's all I have. I need her," Luke said. Karen began shaking in his arms, making it clear that she was crying again.

"She is going to get through this Luke. She just needs you to be here," Karen said removing herself from Luke's arms to look into his glassy eyes. She used her thumbs to wipe the droplets from his face.

"I should have been there. I should have picked her up. What kind of jackass makes his girlfriend come to his house just to leave again? I should have been there. This is all my fault," Luke said completely losing it. He smashed his fist into the hospital wall.  Nurses looked his way, but none of them said anything. He couldn't handle this. He blamed himself. 

He didn't face the two women that accompanied him. He faced the wall and ran his hands through his long hair trying to calm himself, taking sharp breaths. The women didn't say anything. They were sobbing into each other's arms. They wanted to tell Luke it wasn't his fault, they wanted to tell him everything was going to be okay, they wanted to tell him that it could've happened regardless. They couldn't though. The words just sat at the tip of their tongues, not able to make their way out. He leaned his back against the wall then and sank to the floor. He sat with his knees bent and his hands holding his head. And that's where he stayed, just waiting to hear the status of his beloved Ellen.

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😭 I teared up writing this guys. I usually don't update two days in a row but I didn't want to leave you hanging. Since you all are so great at interacting lately, I'm going to raise my goal to 25 votes and 6 comments!