Surviving Love

Disney Princess

"Suit up, car accident, 3 injured. That's all I know."

I scrubbed my hands, the water scalding. I could feel adrenaline leaking out into my veins. It had been a steady morning, nothing too crazy or exciting. 

"ETA?" I asked, heading to the ER doors.

"Now." Dr. Halinski said.

I glanced to where she was nodding. Sure enough through the glass sliding doors was the ambulance. The EMTs were already pulling out a patient.

"What do we know?" Anna asked, standing beside me.

"Nothing yet."

The EMTs pushed the gurney through the doors and chaos ensued.

"Driver of first car. Male, 50's, unconscious at scene. Had to tube him on the way." One of the EMTs said. "Two more right behind us."

"Jared, you and Deedee take the next, Will and Anna go with the third."

I nodded, my chest tight with anticipation and nerves. I took a deep breath. I hated car accidents. Which was ridiculous really, who likes car accidents? But I really hated them. Waiting for the patient to arrive always had me walking a line between being emotionally capable of doing my job and needing to go to the psych ward. I never told anyone, I'd probably lose my job if they knew I was actually crumbling like a building just lit up with dynamite every time I heard the words 'car accident'. Instead I just folded into myself as I waited, drowning in the guilt and the anger that I had grown so accustomed to shouldering.

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"Jared!" Will shouted from the doorway.

"Busy!" I yelled back, grabbing a tube off the tray beside me.

"They need you in room 6." He said.

"For what?" I asked. "Isn't that where you're supposed to be?"

"Just go, I'll take over." He pulled the tube from my hand, pushing me out of the way.

If my mind hadn't been trying to figure out why I was needed in another room when I was about to put a chests tube in a patient, I would have punched him right there. I shook my head, rushing through the doors. I shoved open the door to room six. The amount of noise giving me an instant headache. The nurses and doctors were shouting commands over top of the patient's sobbing.

"We can't calm her down." Anna yelled, her brown eyes panicked.

I glanced around the room, taking everything in as fast as I could. The patient was a young girl, maybe 5 or 6. I went straight to her head, the nurse watching her vitals sliding me her stool. I sat pushing myself closer to the little girl.

"Name?" I asked Anna.

"Don't know, you had her mom though." She said.

"What's wrong?" I took notice of a Disney shirt the little girl was wearing.

"We haven't figured out anything. She won't stop crying." She explained, checking over her arm and hand.

I nodded, rolling into the girls view.

"Hey." I said calmly despite the thundering of my heart. "My name is Jared. What's yours?"

The little girls blond hair was sprawled out across the pillow, her eyes were squeezed shut as she sobbed. When she didn't answer me I tried a different tactic.

"Is that a princess on your shirt?" I asked.

Green eyes met mine, swelled with tears. She hiccuped, her breathing ragged. She gave me the smallest of nods, still crying.