Saltwater Secrets - Amelia Addler Page 0,31
so that she could reach her arm around his shoulders.
“Thanks.” She steadied herself, surprised by his effortless power in supporting her. They slowly made their way to the ambulance.
Jade had no idea how long she was with the paramedics. She did her best to try to answer their questions while watching Matthew out of the corner of her eye; it wasn’t long before he took off with the firefighters. An odd thought floated through her head – she realized Morgan’s planning board for Colby Farm was in her room. Now they would have to make another one.
The paramedics recommended that she go to the emergency room to be checked out fully. She agreed to it – or she must’ve, because the next thing she knew, they were driving to the hospital. She felt a bit panicked when she realized that Matthew was still back at the house.
“Can you make sure that he doesn’t go back in? That Matthew doesn’t get hurt?”
The paramedic smiled. “Don’t worry – he’ll be just fine. Do you want us to call anyone to meet you at the hospital?”
“Oh yes – please. Could you call my mom?”
“Sure. What’s her number?”
Jade opened her mouth and then closed it again. “I…can’t remember. But I know her number. I just…”
“It’s okay. You’re probably still in shock.”
“Her name is Margie. She’s married to Chief Hank. Do you know Chief Hank?”
He laughed. “Of course, everyone knows Chief. Don’t worry, we’ll get in contact with them.”
“Thank you. Oh – but can you please let my mom know that I’m okay? She’ll have a heart attack when she gets a call from you.”
When Jade got to the hospital, she started to feel a bit more with it. She still couldn’t believe what had happened – and how quickly it all happened. But she was, at least, starting to wrap her head around the events.
A doctor came to see her within minutes of her arrival and ordered some blood work and testing. Jade had to sit in her room for a while after that, but a kind nurse gave her a warm blanket and some juice. It helped to sooth her throat.
After not too long, the doctor returned, closely followed by her mom.
“Oh my goodness, thank God that you’re okay!”
She immediately went in for a hug, causing Jade to let out a little cough.
“I’m so sorry honey!”
Jade laughed. “I’m okay, really.”
The doctor offered a handshake. “Hi, I’m Dr. Erron. Your daughter is going to be just fine.”
“Thank you so much doctor.”
Jade took a measured breath before speaking again. “Are my lungs okay?”
She nodded. “Yes, you’re oxygenating fine and all of your testing was negative. You’re going to have a nasty bump on your head, and you’ll have to watch for any signs of a concussion, but I don’t see any evidence of injury from smoke inhalation. It seems you got out just in the nick of time.”
Her mom let out a whimper. “How could this happen?”
“I have no idea,” Jade said, shaking her head. “I just woke up and my room was on fire.”
Another whimper. “And you ran out of bed and out the door?”
Jade took a slow breath so as not to agitate her lungs. “Not exactly. I got disoriented. Then the ceiling collapsed – and that’s when I hit my head. It was so dark in there…”
“How did you get out?”
Jade paused, wondering if she’d imagined it all. No – it was real.
He was real.
“Matthew ran in and picked me up.”
Her voice cracked. Suddenly the gravity of it hit her. She almost died. If Matthew hadn’t been there…
Her mom pulled her into another hug. “It’s okay honey, you’re safe now.”
“Yeah,” she said, clearing her throat. She still felt a little shaky and like she might burst into tears, but she was able to keep it together.
About an hour later, she got the okay to leave the hospital and Chief Hank came to pick them up.
“Hi,” Jade said sheepishly as she got into the back of his police car. “Actually – where’s your car, Mom?”
“Oh, I had to get an Uber here when I heard what happened.”
Jade cocked her head to the side. “What? Why? What happened to your car?”
“It’s a long story. Someone hit me and I didn’t know if the car was safe to drive, and while I was waiting for the police to get there I got the call about you, so I just left it.”
“Where did you leave your car? Where were you?”
Chief Hank turned to her. “Yeah, where