was telling her that this couldn’t be happening, there’d been some mistake, everything was going to be fine and any minute now Jamie would be home.
Yet somehow, simultaneously, the other half of her brain was listening to a calm female voice relaying the message that Jamie Kendall had been involved in a traffic accident and could she please call this number as soon as possible…
And now the ground was tipping and another voice, a male one this time, was advising her to make her way to the Royal Surrey County Hospital in Guildford. Jamie was currently in a critical condition, the voice on the phone explained—No, no, no, he can’t be, screamed the other voice in her head—and he was in the process of being transferred from casualty to the intensive care unit.
Chapter 2
Bip. Bip. Bip. Bip. Bip.
The sound of the heart monitor filled Ellie’s ears. As long as it kept on doing it, everything would be all right. With every fiber of her being, she willed the bipping not to stop.
It was four o’clock in the morning but the intensive care unit was flooded with blue-white light. Most of the nursing staff was busy working on an elderly patient at the other end of the ward, calling out instructions and rattling machines across the floor. Ellie shut out the noise they were making. She had to concentrate all her attention on the bips. And on Jamie, who was lying on the bed looking like a life-sized waxwork model of himself.
How can this be happening? How can it?
The left side of Jamie’s head was swollen and purplish-blue. He was unresponsive, in a deep coma. His skin was warm but when she held his hand he didn’t curl his fingers around hers. Saying his name provoked no reaction. Even when the doctor had rubbed his knuckles hard against Jamie’s sternum, he hadn’t reacted to the painful stimulus.
For God’s sake, he wasn’t even able to breathe on his own. A ventilator was doing the job for him. Plastic tubes were running into his body. Every function was electronically monitored. It looked like something out of a film but with ultra-realistic special effects. Except it was real. Already gripped with terror, Ellie jumped a mile when a hand came to rest on her shoulder.
‘Sorry,’ said the nurse. ‘But could we ask you to leave for a short time?’
‘Can’t I stay? I want to stay.’
‘I know, dear.’ The no-nonsense nurse shook her head, indicating the increased activity around the bed at the other end of the ward. ‘Just for a while, though. Go and have a cup of tea, and we’ll call you back as soon as we can.’
She wasn’t asking, she was telling her to leave. On wobbly legs, Ellie made her way out just as the doors crashed open and three white-coated doctors burst into the unit.
Time to phone Jamie’s dad. Oh God, how was she going to tell him about this? But she had to.
Please, just make it stop.
Outside, the sub-zero temperatures gripped her and her teeth began to rattle. The ground was slick with frost, the puddles were frozen. How had Jamie felt as the car had begun to skid on the ice? What thoughts had flashed through his mind when he knew he’d lost control? She couldn’t bear to think about it but she couldn’t stop thinking about it. Horrific images replayed themselves over and over in her mind. If only there was a button she could press to switch them off. Had he cried out as the car had hit the crash barrier? When he woke up would he remember every detail or would his memory of the accident be blanked out?
OK, just do it, call Tony in LA and tell him what had happened. Would he be able to come over or would he have filming commitments he couldn’t get out of?
Ellie’s hands shook as she found the number on her phone. The time difference between LA and London was eight hours, so it was eight thirty in the evening there. How should she say it when he answered the phone? Which were the best words to choose? Right, just press Call. Do it. The sooner it was done, the sooner she could get back to Jamie.
Moments later she heard his familiar voice at the other end of the line. Do it now.
‘Tony?’ Aware that she was about to break his heart, her voice cracked with grief. ‘Oh, Tony, I’m so sorry. There’s been an accident…’