grabbed the inside of her arm and squeezed. Caroline willed herself not to cry but the pain made it virtually impossible. She tried not to sound too whiny. “Do you have to push so hard?” she whispered.
Christine’s voice softened. “I’m sorry, Punky. I’m trying to do what I can before the paramedics arrive.” She looked at the EMTs cowering a few feet away and shook her head. “Jesus Christ,” she murmured. “Useless.”
That was a first. Representative Sullivan throwing shade at medical personnel. Caroline would have commented on it but she was choosing when and what to speak very carefully. Every sentence was a struggle. Christine untied the scarf around her neck, rolled up part of it, pressed it to the wound, and began wrapping the rest of it around Caroline’s arm.
“What are you doing?” Caroline tried to pull away but the pain that radiated through her arm convinced her that moving it was not a wise idea.
“I’m bandaging your arm, goofball. Or, trying to.”
She’d figured that much out. She wasn’t blind. “Why are you doing that?”
“You’re bleeding all over the place.”
Forget saving her words. It was time to be offended. “I gave you that scarf.”
“I know.” Christine gave her an odd look, tightening the wrap. “You have an incredibly random mind, you know that?”
“I got it for you last Christmas.”
“Yes, you did.”
“I bought it at Neiman-Marcus.”
“Congratulations.”
“I never shop at Neiman’s. You know that. That is the most I’ve ever spent on a gift for you and you’re wrecking it.”
Christine raised Caroline’s arm above her head, keeping her hand pressed against the scarf covered wound. “I’m trying to help you here. And, desperate times…”
“You don’t think the EMTs have some gauze and tape?”
“I don’t think those people could find their backsides with both their hands. This works just as well.”
Caroline scowled. “I’m never buying you anything nice ever again.”
Christine sighed. “It is a great relief to me that you are maintaining your sense of humor right now. Just hold still, okay?”
“This must be bad if you’re willing to ruin your scarf and have someone go get Jack.” On top of that, where the hell was the ambulance?
“No, Caroline. You’re going to be fine, even though I know you’re in a lot of pain. I just think he should be here with you.” Christine’s voice was brusque again.
Caroline knew she could trust her. Chrissy would never lie. Not to her. She tried to concentrate on her breathing, counting each breath in her head, attempting to distract herself. It wasn’t working.
“What happened?” Christine asked.
Sharp stabs of pain shot through her arm and down her side, and Caroline struggled to speak. “I brought some constituents over for a tour. I wasn’t supposed to, but you know how I am right before the recess. I wanted to come over here. Personal – touch.” She gasped and Christine let up on the pressure on her arm, just a little.
“Tell me more,” Christine said evenly.
Easy for her to say. It was hard to talk. “Chrissy-”
“Tell me more,” she repeated.
Caroline replayed the scene in her mind. It was hard to forget. “I was about to leave when I saw this guy with a gun. I don’t know how he got in. There was a camp group or something standing near me and I saw him start to point the gun at some of the kids. Or maybe at me, I don’t know. And I reacted. I don’t know how I did it. I don’t even know what I did. It happened so quickly and we were all on the floor and then someone lifted me up against the wall.” She gulped. “Are those kids okay?”
Christine brought her left hand up to sweep the hair back from Caroline’s face, then noticed it was covered in red and hastily drew it out of her line of vision.
Nausea was not a desirable feeling when coupled with excruciating pain. “That’s a lot of blood,” Caroline said weakly.
“It’s not. Calm down.” But Christine’s tone was less than convincing, and she looked surprised when Caroline grabbed her bloody hand and didn’t let go. “Those children are fine,” she continued. “You got them out of the way. The police must have gotten to the gunman right after he started firing because you’re the only one who got hit.”
“Lucky me.”
Christine massaged the back of Caroline’s hand with her thumb and smiled wanly at her. There was no mistaking it; Christine was shaking. She was upset and couldn’t hide it. Caroline wasn’t sure whether to be frightened