Page 10 of Unmasking You (Hidden Hearts #1)

Chapter 9

Jamie

My throat still hurts from screaming Shane’s name over and over, shouting at people to call an ambulance while I rushed to his side.

My mind was blank, my heart racing, and my body sweating. It was only the prayers I said while running to him, needing to check if he was okay, that kept me standing.

The face of my companion had sent chills down my spine. I glanced down to check on Queen, and not finding her next to me had petrified me to the bone. I turned around, just knowing she was in trouble. That’s when I saw Shane, there in the middle of the road with Queen in his arms.

My first stupid question was, “What is he doing here?” Then the danger they were in hit me like a slap to the face, and I recoiled so hard I nearly fell on my arse.

The first “Shane” was just a whisper, getting louder as my fear mounted. Then it left my mouth as an explosion of sound when the car barrelling down on them didn’t change its course.

The car was going way too fast because the driver was clearly distracted by something happening on the side of the road. There was swerving, then chaos. People were screaming, and the roaring sound of brakes came too late. The slide of the car on the slightly wet road was the last thing I heard before the ear-splitting sound of metal hitting flesh.

My voice screaming Shane’s name died at the impact.

His body was propelled upward, arms flailing like broken wings. He flew like a rag doll only to slam down onto the ground, first landing on the car with a sickening thud before coming to rest on the hard asphalt.

Then there was only the deafening sound of silence, like what happens after a storm.

I made my way to him, swatting away the hands that were trying to keep me from going to him. In that moment, nothing was more important than reaching Shane and being with him.

Then came the sirens and the loud voices, telling everyone to give them space to work. All the while, I crouched next to him and kept his hand in mine.

Even now, while I sit next to him in the ambulance, I can’t let go. Even with my eyes full of tears spilling over and running down my cheeks, I can’t let go. I glance at his face, and more tears spring to my eyes seeing the collar bracing his neck, how pale his complexion is, and his eyes stubbornly remaining closed even though I now want them to look straight at me. His body on the stretcher fills me with guilt, as does the blood covering his face and staining his white shirt.

If I’d only kept Queen by my side instead of chatting about nothing. I’d needed to stop thinking about last night, to stop remembering how calming his touch was.

How am I going to survive if he doesn’t make it? How am I going to endure the guilt?

“He’s going to be okay,” the paramedic says, as if reading the nefarious thoughts filling my head.

I could have laughed at Simon’s face when I asked… okay, when I shouted at him to take care of Queen, but I was too worried about the man lying on the hard ground, bloody and not regaining consciousness.

There has only been one other time I’ve prayed as much as I’m doing now, and whoever is up there wasn’t fully listening then. I don’t want to remember that time, but I want whoever is there to truly hear me this time and make sure Shane is okay.

The door of the ambulance opens, and it’s a rush from there. I’m forced to let go of Shane, and then I have to watch him being wheeled away, staring after the stretcher and medical personnel working on him until he disappears from view.

“Sir?”

I jump when a hand gently rests on my shoulder. I whip around, plastering myself against the doors that just took Shane away, until the scrubs she’s wearing kick-start my mind and I’m able to function and focus on her.

“Sir, are you okay?”

“Yeah.” Not really, though. I won’t be okay until they tell me Shane is stable and recovering.

“We need some information about the patient,” she says, pointing towards reception and walking over to it.

“Do you know the patient?”

“Yeah, I do.”

“What’s his name?”

“Shane Campbell.”

“Address?”

“I don’t know.”

“Does he have any allergies?”

“I don’t know.”

“What’s your name?”

“Jamie Wilson.”

“Jamie… Can I call you Jamie?” she asks, and I nod.

“Shane is in expert hands. They’ll assess his condition to determine the severity of his injuries. You can sit there, and we’ll let you know what’s happening.”

“Okay, thank you.”

“Who are—“

“There was a car accident, and someone was brought here.”

I turn around to check who’s talking because I’m sure they’re talking about Shane. It’s a tall man, and I recognise the uniform he’s wearing, and next to him there’s a petite woman wearing the same.

“Yes, he’s in triage now, but he’s not conscious yet. As you know, we can’t disclose any more information. This person was with the patient,” she says, pointing in my direction.

I fidget under the stare of three pairs of eyes, but I’m not surprised to see them here or that they’re asking about him.

“Can we ask you a couple of questions?” the tall man says, indicating towards the door so we can step outside and have a more private conversion.

How can I leave, though, when Shane is here? How can I step out without knowing how he is? I take a step back because I want to stay here.

“I’ll come and look for you if there’s any news,” the nurse says with a gentle smile.

I nod, and when the two police officers move, I follow them.

“We’ll be quick,” the tall man says while pulling out a small notepad and a pen.

“Okay,” I say, looking through the door, itching to go back inside to be with Shane. The most difficult thing I’ve done today was let go of his hand.

“What’s your name?”

“Jamie Wilson.”

“Mr Wilson, can you recall the incident?”

“I was talking with a friend, and when his face became as white as a sheet, I turned around. Shane had just picked up my dog because she’d wandered into the road.” I stop as another wave of tears overwhelms me.

It’s my fault. If I’d only checked that her leash was properly attached. If only I hadn’t stopped to talk with Simon and instead walked to the park like Queen wanted.

“I’m not sure how Queen got off her leash.”

“That’s okay. What happened after that?”

“Everything happened so quickly. The car was coming, and I knew Shane wouldn’t have time to jump out of the way. He launched Queen out of his arms just before the car was on him. Oh my God.” My stomach revolts, and I bend over to empty it of the coffee I had this morning.

The memory of the car hitting Shane, his body flying and landing on the ground with a sickening thud, makes me sick, and I keep dry-heaving until my guts are contorting in pain.

“Are you okay?”

How can I be? When someone’s in hospital and his life is at risk because of me?

“Do you need any help?”

I take a few deep breaths, trying to calm my stomach, and use my sleeve to wipe the tears away from my face.

“Yeah,” I say to him, and then continue. “The driver tried to brake and swerve too late, but hit a wet patch and slid, crashing into Shane. He flew into the air for a moment before landing on the car and then hitting the ground. After that, he didn’t move. I shouted at someone to call the ambulance, and now here we are.”

“Is Shane a friend?”

Is he? Can I lie to the police? “Yes, he is.” Yep, I can easily lie to the people who enforce the law.

After that, they ask me to share my personal information in case they needed to talk to me again. Before they go, they tell me they’ll be back to speak with Shane, but only once he’s better.

I watch them go, and then slowly walk around, finding a chair tucked in a corner where I can have another meltdown. I collapse onto the chair, my legs no longer supporting me. My body has run out of adrenaline and just wants to be next to Shane.

The whispered words of the other people remind me of the pain we share, of the prayers sent above to keep the ones we care for safe. The sounds of plastic shoes squeaking across the floor, and the wheels of the machines used to take the vitals of those waiting to see a doctor but aren’t sick enough to be priority... they’re all reminders of the situation I’m in.

I lean my head against the wall, shut my eyes, and clap my hands together between my trembling knees. There’s the buzz of a fluorescent light, probably at the end of its life, but more than that, I hear my heart pounding in my ears.

I wanted him to suffer, but I never thought it would end up like this.

I turn my thoughts to the man above, even knowing I have nothing to bargain with. “Please,” I whisper, and wish I had a sign of my devotion to clasp between my hands, but still hoping to connect with the power above. The power that has control over life and death.

“Mr Sutton,” calls the nurse, and an old man slowly rises and walks even slower to meet her.

I go back to my prayer. Sitting there in a hard plastic chair, I pray, asking the universe to keep Shane safe and to make sure he wakes up. “Please, just let him make it through. Please.” I close my eyes and mumble my prayer like a mantra, my lips trembling while my mind keeps flashing back to the moment the car hit him. Then on the ground, pale and unmoving, and so different from the man who drove me crazy just the night before.

The door opens again, and I look up, hoping they’re coming to tell me he’s awake. Instead, the nurse doesn’t even look at me, but walks past just to disappear behind another closed door.

I look down at the floor, noticing the cracks in the worn linoleum, my vision blurred by unshed tears, my thoughts focused on my prayer. “Please wake up.”

My phone vibrates inside my pocket, and the reality outside these walls takes my thoughts away from the man lying in a hospital bed because of me.

Ruby

Hey, lovely. How are you and Queeny?

I look at the message, trying to rein in my tears. I must have created a lake by now. Rising from my seat, I walk out but stand near enough to the door so it doesn’t close and I can still hear if they call my name or Shane’s.

I click on her name and then the green button to call. I pace in front of the door, waiting for her to answer.

“Hey.”

“Rubs,” I croak, my voice hoarse and still infused with tears.

“Jamie? What’s wrong?”

“There was an accident—“

“Are you okay?” she interrupts, and I hear the sounds of her moving around in a hurry. “Where are you? I’m coming, baby.”

“It’s not me—“

“Is it Queeny?”

“No, we’re okay. It’s Shane.”

“Who?”

“Shane,” I say, emphasising it to make her understand who I’m talking about.

“Oh… is he okay?”

“I don’t know. I’m outside the A&E. He wasn’t waking up.” My voice breaks, and another wave of tears fills my eyes.

“Baby, what happened?”

“He saved Queen, but the car couldn’t stop in time and he was hit.”

Shane’s face was void of any emotion but fear, looking at me until he couldn’t anymore because he was flying up and then plummeting down to the ground without a sound.

“I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“Th—“

“Is there anyone for Shane Campbell?”

“Yes, me,” I say, rushing back inside and raising my hand for the nurse to see.

“We’re keeping him in and moving him to the ward.”

“Okay. What do I need to do?”

“Are you family?”

My mind goes blank. What am I to him? No one.

“Jamie. If you tell her you’re no one, they won’t tell you anything.”

Only when Ruby’s voice comes from the speaker do I remember I never ended the call.

“I’m his partner.” Oh my god. I’ve lied again, and this is something I can’t take back.

“It’s okay, baby. Breathe. Everything is going to be fine,” says Ruby on the other end of the phone.

I do as she says, trying to forget I’ve just lied to the police and to the hospital.

“Follow me.”

And that’s what I do.

I want to cry when I see him. His eyes are still stubbornly closed, his face paler than the white sheet he’s resting on, and the machine he’s attached to is beeping so loudly in the otherwise silent room.

I follow but don’t pay attention, because that’s split between my prayers for him to open his eyes and look at me and him lying motionless on the bed.

I wait outside while they bring him into the room and attach everything he needs to have attached. Once they’re done, I sit in the big chair next to the bed and reach for his hand.

I turn my thoughts to the universe and begin my bargaining once again.

“Please, please, bring him back to me. If you do, I promise I’ll listen to whatever he has to say.”

I watch Shane, but nothing happens, so I sit back until I’m resting on the backrest. I close my eyes and continue praying.