I heard Vega call out to Jace before the line went dead. My head was bleeding; blood trickled down my chin, and my whole left side hurt something awful. The airbag wasn't going down, so I was starting to get claustrophobic. I was trapped, and I couldn't move. It was a horrible feeling. I needed Vega to call me back so that I wouldn't start to panic.
The next thing I knew, someone was knocking lightly on my window. I glanced up to see a woman with concern flashing on her features.
"Hello Miss, I'm from the car behind you; I wanted to check on you real fast and let you know that help is on the way. My head had started to pound, so her voice was killing me.
"I'm ok. I'm pinned between the door and the steering wheel. I'll be ok," I said as loudly as I could.
"Ok, help will be here soon. I'm going to check on the others. We have quite the pile up on our hands." She said as she ran up the ramp. I looked up and could see that several people had gotten out of their cars and were all conversing with one another; I wished I could be free.
I must have hit my head hard because my vision had begun to cloud over.
"Incoming call from Vegas cell, Incoming call from Vegas cell." It's so loud. I pushed the phone button to answer.
"Lyra, we're almost there. Has help arrived yet?" Vega screamed into the phone. She was wreaking havoc on my pounding head.
" No, but they should be here soon. Can you whisper? My heads pounding?" I said.
"What is your situation?" Vega asked.
"I had my left foot up, on the cup holder on the door, and my left elbow was resting on my knee. So my leg and arm are pinned between the steering wheel and the door. I think I've broken both my arm and leg. Both hurt pretty badly. I hit my head, and I'm bleeding, my head is pounding, and my vision is getting blurry." I whispered.
"Oh no," Vega whimpered. I could hear her sniff, and I knew she was crying.
I heard sirens coming from a distance, and Vega and I sighed in relief. I wished I could pass out right about now. My whole left side was in unimaginable pain, and my head, oh goodness.
"I love you, Vega," I whispered.
"Oh God, Jace, hurry up. Lyra, you're going to be fine. Help has arrived. I love you too," Vega cried.
I closed my eyes and hoped that when I opened them again, the fog would be gone. The next thing I knew, someone had tapped on the window. I looked up to see two identical twin firefighters. I closed my eyes, and when I opened them, they merged into one.
"I'm going to break the back window and come in through the back to assist you. Hang tight, ok. I've got you," He said. Then I heard Vega yelling.
"That's my sister in that car; please let me through. I need to be with her. LYRA, LYRA, I'm here. Please let me through," Vega cried.
"Ma'am, you can't go over there. They have to have space to work."
"But she needs me," Vega cried. She still had her phone on, and the whole conversation blared inside my car, which made my head pound even more.
"Vega, damn it, stop screaming," I yelled.
"Shit, I'm so sorry, Lyra. I love you. I'm going to let you go now so I can call dad and talk to the paramedics," Vega rushed, and the line went dead.
At that time, the firefighter smashed the window. I heard the back door open, and I listened to shards of glass hit the ground. Then I heard him scooting along the back seat; he appeared in my review mirror.
"I'm here; I'm right behind you. Can you tell me your name, please?" He asked.
"Uh, Lyra Riley, and you, sir," I slurred out. He clasped a neck brace around my neck and held my head steady while he popped the airbag. Oh, thank God for that; I could finally breathe.
"I'm Jacob O'Donnell, ma'am. Do you know what has happened and where you are Lyra?" Jacob asked.
Bloody hell, get me out. I glared at him but winced in pain instead, and he caught the sight in the mirror.
"You've hit your head Lyra, and I need to ask these questions real fast, ok," Jacob said quietly. Oh, he's trying to assess if I have brain damage. I know how this goes in the movies.
"I'm in West Texas, and I have lived here my whole life. I am Twenty-one years old. I have a twin sister Vega, and she was the one yelling earlier. Um, the year is 2012. I'm a psych major," I slurred out slowly and winced in pain.
I heard a commotion going on all around me outside, and I wanted to look to see what was going on, but I couldn't move my head due to the neck brace. Jacob saw me rolling my eyes to the left as if he knew what I was thinking said.
"They have to move the cars out of the way that was behind you so that we can get you out."
Oh my goodness, was he going to leave? I don't want to be left alone here.
"Please, please don't leave me in here by myself; I can't move. I'm broken, and I'm sure I'm about to pass out; my head hurts so bad, I'm so scared," I cried as I looked at Jacob through the mirror; tears streamed down my cheeks.
"Someone get me a towel, please," he hollered out the door. Moments later, Jacob cleaned the blood and tears from my face. "I'm not going to leave you, Lyra. I'll stay right here with you." Jacob said.
Someone walked up. "I need to check her vitals. Can I switch places with you for a second?"
At that time, someone was trying to pry open the door. My eyes went wide in horror. "Hold on, wait a minute, let me check her vitals and get her secured here first; she's got several injuries. I'm not leaving you, ok," Jacob said.
"Give it to me, and I'll do it," Jacob said. My eyes fluttered and closed due to heaviness. "Lyra, open your eyes, look at me. You've got to stay awake," I heard him, and I tried to; I couldn't, I moaned in aggravation.
"It hurts. I'm trying; I can't." I said.
"Keep talking to me then; ok, stay awake, don't go to sleep," Jacob said as he wrapped a blood pressure cuff on my right arm and placed two fingers on my wrist. "It's too low; we need to get her out now," he yelled out to the EMT. "I'm going to get her left side secured. You guys get ready and let her sister go with her; go around and tell the guys I'm ready, will you? I don't want to frighten her." Jacob yelled.
"How long have I been stuck like this? I whispered; my eyes finally fluttered and opened.
Jacob had been busy trying to get his arm in place to catch my arm and leg once the door sprung free, but he looked up into the mirror for a few seconds to let me know it's been over thirty minutes. Meaning I've been pinned here for what, almost an hour.
"Whhhhhhhaaaaaattttttt?" I slurred.
"I'm ready," Jacob yelled.
"Ok, Lyra, the door wouldn't open on its own; they will be using the jaws of life; ok, don't be afraid," Jacob said into the mirror. My eyes fluttered and closed, and everything faded into darkness. "LYRA, LYRA, come back to me, you can't.....LYRA," I could hear Jacob, but I couldn't get past the darkness. The pain was gone; I think I'll stay here.
VEGA*
I've been standing here for thirty minutes. I knew this was crazy; it's a twin thing. I could feel Lyra's pain; stabs of pain randomly shot down my left side now and then. Let's not get started on what's going on with my head. Jace had held me up as I cried. I called my dad; he and my mom were both at the Covenant emergency room, dealing with all of the trauma. It's all hands on deck over there.
I've seen the ambulances take several victims of this hit and run to various hospitals. There were over ten cars piled up on the loop. It made sense; everyone around here was always in a hurry to get somewhere, but my sister was at the point of it all; Lyra was the only one trapped. They won't let me go to her. Now and then, someone updated me on what was going on. Wrecker trucks removed one car and then another; until finally, the last vehicle was released.
Finally, I could breathe until I heard the fireman inside her car crying out to her. All of a sudden, I felt at peace. It didn't seem right. At that moment, they had pried the car door open. I watched as they carefully put Lyra on a stretcher. The fireman was on top of her pumping her chest. He looked over at me, and I ran over to them.
BLAZE*
BLAZE*Everyone had returned. Vega ran up to Jace and gave him a quick hug and kiss. They walked over and sat where Vega was seated between Jace and me. I wondered where Jace and Tanner had taken off to? They hadn't said where they were going when they left.However, Jace had asked me to keep Veg
JACE*With Vega gone, I thought this would be a great time to talk to dad. "Mr.Riley, sir, can I talk to you for a moment in private?" I asked. Richard stood up and bent over to kiss Rebecca."Would you like some coffee, sweety?" Richard asked Rebecca."No, love, I think I'm fine for now," Rebecca said."Alright, son, let's go over to the cafeteria, and we will have a chat," Richard said as he flung his arm around me, and we headed out the door.Once we arrived at the cafeteria, Richard and I grabbed a coffee cup; and decided on straight black coffee. We found a table for two and sat down, and sipped our coffee. Even though Richard's like a dad to me, I was nervous. I wanted my talk with Richard to be perfect, like when I proposed to Vega."Well, son, let's have it; what's going on?" Richard asked.I took a sip from my coffee and set the cup back down on the table."Well, sir, you know that Vega and I have been together for six months. We spend pretty much all of our free time together
BLAZE*I sat at my desk on a Saturday morning and tried to calm my nerves. Taylor, our office manager, had left Thursday with no explanation. I don't know how the office would run smoothly without her. Jace, Tanner, Conner, and Wade would be arriving soon.I'm so glad this happened when we were all on a break. The guys and I knew that we would hire crews to split up and run our units. We have been so busy building and landscaping that we hadn't realized how backed up we were getting. That might be why Taylor left because we were all constantly in the field. Taylor had been here alone to cover the office. Jace had been here now and then when he worked on building designs, but other than that, Taylor must have been lonely. I've got to hand it to Taylor, though; she kept the office clean and in order. Taylor had been trying to tell us for a few months that building operations had been piling up. None of us had taken the time to listen, though. I looked at four mansions that needed to have
LYRA*I have heard and read up on near-death experiences. When I was in the ambulance, I went into the future. I was getting married to the man of my dreams, quite literally, I must say—and a double wedding at that. That would be amazing if that wedding were to happen. It had been enough to jump-start my heart and had brought me back to reality, which happened to be unimaginable pain. I couldn't open my eyes. All I could do was mumble, and I couldn't form words.Now I lay here and listened to everyone who came to visit me as I laid there in peace. Sometimes my soul would leave my body, and I could see whoever happened to be talking to me as I hovered above them. I would will myself to wake up. Looking at myself, though, kept me in this realm of peace. I did not want to go back to the pain I knew would consume me once I woke up.I drifted in and out of dreams that made no sense. More people that I had never met before came and went; as the future continued and flashed before my eyes.An
JACE*I had just left the office and was headed back to the hospital to pick up Vega. It was now eleven o'clock. It would have been nice to sleep in this morning, but Blaze and his all work, and no play, had to ruin it. I feel bad for Taylor. I was the only one who worked in the office from time to time. I would meet new clients there and draw up my building drafts. Otherwise, she was alone and running around like a chicken with her head cut off. She made sure everything ran smoothly and on time. Made certain supplies were ordered, and we had plenty of stock at the warehouse. We are probably Lowes and Home Depot's most favorite customers now. I hope that Vega will take me up on the offer to do the Secretary's job.Once at the hospital, I quietly walked towards Lyra's ICU room. I peek into the room and see that Vega was smiling for once. I slid the glass door open and stepped inside. Then slid the door shut."What's going on? You look so happy. Did Lyra move or anything?" I asked as I
BLAZE*I didn't want to leave Lyra. Even with all of the bruises, casts, and wires hanging all over the place, she was still the most beautiful woman I had ever encountered. I hoped that she would wake up soon. I want to meet her and get to know her. The nurse had said that I could come back later if I wanted. So I decided it would be best to head home to rest, and I would come back later before going to my parents for dinner. Jace would be bringing Vega tonight so that everyone could meet her. As of now, Tanner and I are the only ones to have met and spent some time with Vega. Once I arrived home, I grabbed bottled water from the refrigerator and walked to my room. I stripped down to my underwear and crawled into bed. I guzzled my water and then laid down. I set my alarm to wake me up at four o'clock; it wasn't long before I passed out. My alarm went off at four o'clock, and I woke up and made myself presentable for dinner at my parent's tonight. I grabbed my phone, keys, and walle
BLAZE*Once there, I pulled into Lyra and Vega's circle driveway. Even though I had a hand in creating this West Texas Oasis, I couldn't help but admire it.Lyra and Vega's parents had said they needed a low-maintenance yard, so we had laid down a beautiful white rock and had installed a timed sprinkler system to water the trees and plants in the front and backyard. I can't wait to see what Lyra and Vega have done to the inside of the house.I climbed down from my truck and walked up to the door. I pushed on the doorbell and waited for someone to let me in. Jace opened the door a few moments later."Come in, Blaze. Breakfast is almost ready. I went simple with eggs, toast, and bacon; I figured we could get lunch afterward," Jace said."Sounds perfect to me," I said as I glanced around at the living room and kitchen."Wow, they've done an amazing job with the painting and decor in here," I said.A dark grey leather couch and love seat were squared off with two light grey recliners. Bla