One Night by Georgina Cross

Author:Georgina Cross [Cross, Georgina]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2023-08-02T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 16

Sam

“I’m sending a text,” Alice says.

“Sam is right. We can’t let you do something that you’ll regret, Mom. We need the help.”

Her sister taps on her phone while their mom grips the edge of the counter. She slumps her shoulders, her body shuddering as she cries.

Alice’s thumbs move quickly, but she slows, like she’s trying to figure out what to write next. She reads out loud, “Head wound. This address.” She reviews the message once more before she taps the screen. Her eyes connect with Sam. “It’s done.”

They wait for a response. Another minute passes before Sam says, “Anything?” Alice shakes her head.

Sam sinks against the floorboards, the grandfather clock ticking behind her. With the rain lightening, the second hand cuts through the noise, the tick coinciding with the heavy thuds of her heart. She lowers her eyes to Cal. His heart is beating too.

“Here we go,” Alice says, and Sam bolts upright.

Alice frowns. “They can’t get to us right now. Some trees are down, and power lines are blocking roads. They have several emergencies.”

“But isn’t this an emergency too?” Sam cries.

“Of course it is.” Alice looks at the window. “They said another round of storms is coming and we need to be ready.”

Thunder rumbles from the west, the next squall moving in from the Pacific. Sam’s stomach clenches. This onslaught can’t be as vicious as the first one. She’s not sure how much more any of them will be able to handle.

Alice reads a follow-on message. “We need to keep pressure. Wrap his head with gauze, bandages. Slow the bleeding and keep him comfortable.” She looks up. “That’s it. That’s everything they wrote.”

“But we’re doing all of that already, and it’s not enough,” Sam says. The hope of an ambulance rushing to the beach to save Cal vanishes into thin air. The image of him waking up in a hospital and telling them what he knows slips away too.

Sam whimpers, “We need someone who can actually help.”

She considers the other possible injuries they don’t know about, internal bleeding or bruised organs. When Uncle Geoff crashed into his truck, Cal must have slammed against the steering wheel. He could have broken ribs. When he was dragged down the road, did anything else crack and break? When they moved him in front of the fireplace, did they damage his spine? He’s lying flat now, but who knows what the paramedics will discover when they check his body—if they can get to him in time.

Sam studies his face, his slow breaths. Stay strong, Cal. You’ve got to pull through.

Her mom remains in the kitchen, not speaking. Alice has requested help, and emergency services are aware of their situation. Return messages from the call center should be enough to stop her from doing anything drastic, at least for now. People know he’s here and if anything happens to him, they will want to know his status. There will be questions.

The image of Cal’s body, broken and twisted, pulses inside Sam’s head. His

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