THE ACCIDENT

ALEXA POV

"Mommy!"

I turned at the sound of Lily's voice.

A second later, tires screeched against the asphalt and Lily's pink bicycle was lying twisted in the middle of the road and she was several feet away from it.

My heart stopped.

"Lily!"

I ran to her and dropped to my knees. "Baby, look at Mommy."

She didn't move.

"Lily, please. Open your eyes."

My hands shook as I gently touched her shoulders. Nothing.

No, no, no. This couldn't be happening.

A car door slammed and someone hurried toward us.

"Oh God. I'm so sorry."

I looked up and a man stood beside the car, staring at Lily with pure horror on his face.

"You hit my daughter!" My voice broke. "Someone please call an ambulance!"

"Ma'am, I'm really sorry." He dropped to his knees and tried reaching toward her.

"Don't touch her!" I slapped his hand away. "Don't you dare touch her!"

He pulled back immediately. "I'm calling an ambulance." He yanked out his phone, his fingers shook so badly he nearly dropped it.

I turned back to Lily. "Stay with me, baby." I brushed her hair away from her face. Her eyelashes fluttered.

"Mommy..."

"I'm here, baby."

"My head hurts."

A sob escaped me. "Oh, thank God." I pressed my lips to her forehead. "Mommy's right here."

Suddenly the sound of sirens grew louder and the paramedics rushed toward us. They carefully lifted Lily onto a stretcher and placed an oxygen mask over her face.

"Ma'am, come with us."

I climbed into the ambulance without thinking. I didn't let go of Lily's hand. The man from the car stood beside the ambulance doors.

"I'm coming too."

"No." I looked directly at him. "I don't need your help."

Before he could respond, I shut the doors. As we pulled away I grabbed my phone trying to call Victor.

I called him several times but every call went to voicemail.

"Victor, please pick up." My voice trembled. "It's Lily."

My throat tightened. I couldn't afford to lose Lily. We reached the hospital within minutes. The paramedics rushed Lily through the emergency entrance.

"Ma'am, does she have any allergies? Any medical conditions?"

"I don't know." My voice came out louder than I intended. "Please. Just help her." They wheeled her through the double doors. I tried to follow, but a nurse stopped me.

"You'll have to wait here."

I stared at the doors, pacing restlessly and the smell of disinfectant filling my nose. Suddenly, I heard footsteps behind me. The same man from the accident was walking toward me.

"I paid the deposit," he said quietly. "I'll cover everything. The hospital bills, all of it."

I stared at him. "I don't need your money."

"I know you don't want my money, but whether you forgive me or not your daughter still needs treatment." His voice was strict but calm.

I swallowed. "If anything happens to my daughter..." My voice broke. "If anything happens to her, I swear..."

The emergency doors suddenly opened.

"Where is she?"

I knew that voice, I clenched my fist and turned, Victor was stumbling into the hallway.

His eyes were red and unfocused. Then the smell of alcohol hit me. My face burned with embarrassment.

"Victor, keep your voice down. We're in a hospital."

He ignored me. "Where's Lily?"

"She's with the doctors."

He took a step toward me and stopped. His eyes landed on the man beside me and suddenly his entire expression changed. The drunken haze vanished and his face immediately went pale.

The man frowned at him, studying his face. "Do I know you?"

Victor didn't answer. His lips parted slightly. He stared like he'd seen a ghost. "Cole..."

My eyebrows pulled together. "What?"

Victor blinked fast, "Nothing."

"I heard you," I said. "You said…..."

"Alexa, not now." He said cutting me off immediately 

"Not now?" My voice echoed through the hallway. "Your daughter is behind those doors, Victor. You disappear when I need you, then show up drunk and act like nothing happened!"

He stared at me with a blank expression. "She's going to be fine, right?" But he wasn't listening to me. His eyes had returned to the man beside me and were fixed on his hands, on his expensive watch.

The stranger shifted slightly, uncomfortable under Victor's stare. "Look, I'm really sorry. I didn't see her. She came out from between the cars and….”

"Stop talking," Victor said coldly. 

I looked between them. Why was Victor looking at him like that? 

Before I could ask, a doctor walked toward us. "Mrs. Bennett?"

I rushed to him. "Yes?"

"Your daughter is awake. She has a concussion, but thankfully there are no major injuries. We'll keep her here for observation."

My knees nearly gave out. "Can I see her?"

"In a few minutes."

I closed my eyes. Thank God.

Victor reached for my arm. "We need to talk. Later."

I pulled away. "About what?"

He didn't answer and i didn't wait. I went straight to Lily's room.

Lily looked so small in the hospital bed. Her face was pale, her hair messy, but her eyes were open. That was all that mattered.

I rushed to her side. "Mommy."

She gently squeezed my hand. "I'm here, baby."

Her lips trembled. "I'm sorry. I didn't look before I crossed."

My heart broke. "It's not your fault." I kissed her forehead. "None of this is your fault."

Victor stood quietly in the corner. The monitors beeped beside Lily. For a while nobody spoke.

Then the door opened. The man from the accident stepped inside, holding a paper cup. He placed it on the small table beside me.

"I brought this for you."

I looked at the coffee. "You don't have to."

"I know." He gave me a small smile. "But you've been here for hours."

"Thank you."

He nodded and looked at Lily. "Glad you're okay, kiddo." Then he left a black business card on the table and walked out.

Lily smiled faintly. "He's nice."

I looked toward the door but for now i still didn't know what to think about him.

Then I noticed Victor's eyes fixed on the table. The business card the man had left was sitting there.

Victor walked toward it before I could reach it and picked it up. His fingers tightened around the edges until they turned white. He turned the card over, stared at it for several seconds, then slipped it quickly into his pocket.

My eyes narrowed. "Victor?"

He didn't answer.

"Victor?" I said louder. "What are you doing?"

He finally looked at me, his jaw clenched so tight I could see the muscle jumping. "Go back to Lily."

"What is wrong with you? You've been acting strange since you got here."

He sighed, but his eyes kept flicking toward the door where he had just left.

"You're overthinking," he said.

He stared at me for a long moment, then at Lily in the bed.

"That man was never supposed to find us.”