“She’s awake.”
I’m strapped to a gurney, and as the EMT shifts to the side, I see Demyan being fussed at.
He shoves the EMT away and strides over to me, with Erin hurrying behind him.
I gasp. “The baby! Is?—”
“You seem fine, but we’re taking you in for a checkup. You’re lucky your brother was there to catch your fall and cushion you. You landed on him pretty hard.” The EMT takes the blood pressure cuff off and motions for me to be loaded into the ambulance.
I struggle up, trying to unclip the straps, but Erin takes my hand.
“You’re going to be all right. I know it.”
My head’s clanging, and I’m trying to piece it all together.
One moment, I was fighting with Demyan, with things getting nastier than I can get my mind around, and the next,I stepped on something and went flying. Then everything went black.
My brain’s throbbing but it’s stress, not anything else. And as I move my extremities I can’t find any pain.
Demyan must have gotten the brunt of it. Not me.
“What happened?” I ask.
“Sasha didn’t pick up all his toys, and you stepped on one of his toy trucks. It threw you off balance, and then you just didn’t…fight…” Her voice drops. “I think you fainted. Demyan was a madman, leaping in the way to catch you. He loves you. I hope you know that.”
“I know,” I push out. “And Ilya?”
“He loves him, too.”
She’s trying to stay focused on me, but she’s clearly caught up in Demyan, who’s on his phone, hovering at the end of my stretcher, a white gauze bandage sticking to his temple.
He rips it off, and I shrink back as he approaches, not wanting to face his wrath. I cling to Erin.
“No,” I say, “Has someone called Ilya? He… I need him. And he needs to know something could be wrong?—”
“Nothing’s going to be wrong. Demyan caught you.”
“I know that.” I plead silently with her. “Call him, please.”
Erin pulls out her phone and calls.
Then calls again.
And again.
Her frown deepens with each try.
My panic that threatens to drown me is irrational, but I can’t stop it. I never said goodbye to Max. What if something I don’t know about is wrong, and— I need…I need to speak to Ilya. I try to get out of the gurney straps, but the EMT comes back. They load me into the ambulance and go to close the doors.
“Wait!” I glare at them.
The EMT that’s in the ambulance already sighs heavily, and the other swings in next to me.
“Whatever it is can wait. You’re pregnant, so we want to get you checked out properly?—”
“I said wait, or I’ll have your jobs.” I can’t do that, and I don’t care. “Erin!”
“There’s no answer,” she says, her phone still pressed to her ear. “I can keep trying?—”
