Smitten || DeAndre Jordan {Crush Sequel}

Chapter Seventeen

DeAndre

The bright white lights above me were racing past – or was I racing past them? They made my head pound furiously, and I felt extremely dizzy. I closed my eyes in an attempt to stop it. More urgent voices surrounded me, but I couldn't concentrate enough to decipher what they were saying. Finally, I realized someone was calling my name, but I was too tired to answer. I chose instead to drift off back to sleep.

Slowly, I became aware of a constant, soft beeping sound, but couldn't place where it was coming from. Forcing my heavy eyelids open, I found myself lying in a dimly lit place, which I recognized immediately as a hospital room. Cami was slumped in a chair pulled close to the bed, her hair spread out wildly. She breathing deeply as if she were asleep, but her hand was clutching mine. Chris was in a chair on the other side of the bed, asleep with his head resting on his head. They both looked worn out.

There was a throbbing pain on the top of my head, and I reached my free hand to feel it, finding bandages wrapped there. I shifted slightly, checking out the rest of my sore body, but everything else seemed to be okay.

Cami woke with a start and stared at me with concern. "Hyland? Can you hear me?"

Chris opened his eyes and leaned forward. "Of course I can hear you. I'm not deaf," I gave a sigh of exasperation. "What happened? How'd I get here?"

"You don't remember the accident?" Chris asked with a worried expression.

"Accident?" I tried recalling an accident, but there was nothing.

"What's the last thing you remember?" Cami questioned.

I paused for a moment, concentrating as I tried to sift through my mind. "There was a coyote... and I swerved," I replied, closing my eyes as memories of the race suddenly flooded back to me. "Did I win?"

Cami scoffed, a look of disbelief etched on her face. "Seriously? You almost died and all you want to know is if you won? If I weren't so happy to see you, I'd knock you out myself right now. We've been terrified!"

I couldn't help laughing at her, even though my muscles hurt with the movement. "Well, did I?"

"No, I'm afraid Jason spun right past you. You rolled off the runway. He skidded to the end. He only sustained some minor front end damage – nothing he won't be able to fix."

I grinned wider.

"What now?" Cami asked, not seeming very amused.

"We were racing for pinks. He won the Camaro. I hope he enjoys it!" I chuckled. "Fat lot of good it's gonna do him. I guess he can scrap it for parts."

Chris shook his head. "You're two for two now on assignments. You know that, right?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you got shot on your last undercover assignment, and now you've barely survived a car accident on this one. The department isn't going to be too happy about that. Not to mention you totaled the car they gave you."

"All the more reason for them to hear me out when I tell them I don't want to work undercover anymore."

He seemed surprised by my comment. "Really?"