Chapter 11

 

Ashalyn didn’t know how long she sat there, cradling Mike’s limp body in her arms and sobbing, but she did just that until she heard sirens approaching.  She looked up from her tears to see two ambulances and a police car pulling up.  She gently lay Mike down on the seat and scrambled towards her door to get out of the car.  The door was stuck at first.  She pushed against it as hard as she could, and it suddenly flew open, causing her to stumble out of it, nearly falling on her face.  She quickly regained her balance and hurried over to the policemen that were getting out of the squad car.

 

“Miss, are you okay?” one of them asked when she came running up to them, her face streaked with tears. 

 

She nodded.  “I am, but there are two people in the car that are dead, and one’s unconscious,” she choked out, tears rising again in her eyes.

 

One police officer headed over to talk to the paramedics that were climbing out of the ambulances, while the other officer gently put his arm on Ashalyn’s shoulder and led her over to his car.  He let her sit on the trunk of it and then he asked her what had happened.  She tearfully explained as best she could. 

 

A few minutes later, she looked up to see the paramedics wheeling two stretchers by.  Ashalyn stifled a sob as she saw the body bags on the stretchers.  It was Leighanne and Mike.  The officer saw her watching them and quickly tried to distract her from watching them by asking her some more questions.  Ashalyn tried her best to pay attention to him and answer the questions, but seeing her boyfriend in one of those horrible black body bags would haunt her for the rest of her life. 

 

Then, two more paramedics wheeled another stretcher by.  Brian was lying on this one.  Ashalyn watched them load him into ambulance, praying that at least he would survive. 

 

***

 

Half an hour later, Ashalyn sat in a waiting room at the local hospital, aimlessly gazing into space.  She felt completely numb.  The police officer had asked her if she wanted him to call anyone to come be with her, and immediately, she had given him Serena’s number. 

 

A few minutes later, the door flew open, and Serena burst in.  “Ash!” she cried, running to her best friend and pulling her into a hug.  Ashalyn saw that Serena had tears in her eyes.  Her hug felt good, and some of Ashalyn’s numbness wore off.

 

“Ash, how is everyone?” Serena asked.  “The police called me, and they wouldn’t tell me anything, just that you can gotten into a car accident and that you were fine, but that you wanted me to meet you here.”

 

“M… Mike’s dead,” Ashalyn said, beginning to sob.  Serena gasped and pulled Ashalyn close to her.  Ashalyn lay her head on Serena’s shoulder and wept, as Serena gently rubbed her back, trying to soothe her.  “And Leigh’s dead too,” Ashalyn added a few minutes later.

 

“Oh, my God,” Serena whispered.  “What about Brian?” She was almost afraid to hear the answer.

 

“I don’t know,” Ashalyn said softly.  “As far as I know, he’s alive, but no one’s telling me anything.”

 

“Oh, Ash,” Serena said, hugging her tighter.  Ashalyn hugged Serena back, feeling comfort in her friend’s arms.

 

***

 

A few minutes later, Serena called Jenna and Elyssa, who in turn promised to call AJ, Nick, and Howie.

 

The five of them arrived together less than ten minutes after that.  Serena and Ashalyn still had not heard anything on Brian and were getting more and more worried as the time passed by. 

 

The seven of them sat together, gripping each other’s hands, but not speaking, for the situation they were in was too horrible for words.  Two people were already dead, and they just kept praying that there would not be a third.

 

***

 

Finally, after close to forty-five minutes of waiting, a young male doctor entered the waiting room and approached their group.

 

“Hi there, I’m Dr. Stamper.  Are you all with Brian Littrell?” he asked.  They all nodded, anxiously awaiting what he had to tell them.  “Ok then.  I’ve got some good news for you.  Brian is doing just fine.”  The seven of them sighed with relief.   “He must have hit his head on the steering wheel during the crash, and that’s what knocked him unconscious.  He has a minor concussion from this.  Also, he has a few bruised ribs from the impact of the steering wheel and his shoulder belt, but those will heal shortly.  Other than that, he just has some bruising and cuts, but nothing serious.  He came out of this very well,” Dr. Stamper explained.

 

“Thank God someone else did,” Ashalyn whispered.  She looked up at the doctor.  “Do you know where the other two were taken?” she asked softly.

 

“The other two?” Dr. Stamper asked.

 

“Brian’s wife and my boyfriend were killed in the crash. They died on the scene,” she replied, struggling to hold back her tears as she said those horrible words.

 

“Oh.  I’m sorry,” Dr. Stamper said sympathetically.  “They wouldn’t be here though.  I’m sure they’ve been taken to the morgue.”

 

Ashalyn nodded sadly.  “Thanks,” she whispered.  Serena, who was sitting next to her, gently wrapped an arm around Ashalyn’s shoulders. 

 

“Well, if there are no questions, I need to get back to work,” Dr. Stamper said.  “If you’d like to see Mr. Littrell, he is in room number 117.  We’ll keep him here overnight, but he should be released by tomorrow night, if everything goes well.”

 

“Thank you,” said Howie, shaking the doctor’s hand.  They watched Dr. Stamper leave the room and then stood. 

 

“Well, guys, should we go see him?” AJ asked. 

 

“Yeah, let’s go,” Nick said quickly.  They could tell Nick was anxious to see Brian, whom he’d been very worried about. 

 

***

 

 

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