Closing Costs by Liz Crowe Read Free Book Online Page A

relax. There are some people coming to take you to the hospital." The next minutes passed like hours. Sara faded in and out of consciousness and the ogling crowd grew larger.
    "Oh God it hurts…." Her loud moan ripped through his gut. When a hand touched his shoulder he jerked away trying to focus on her.
    "Sir, sir, please, let us handle this."
    He started, then let the paramedic pull Sara off his lap. "Are you hurt?" The woman's eyes traveled up and down him as her partner laid Sara back and started taking her vital signs. He looked down at the apparent carnage reflected on his clothes. Her blood. So much of it. He swallowed hard.
    "No, no, it's not me. I found her here like this, sat down and…." His brain focused. "Take her to U of M. I'll meet you there."
    "Okay dad, calm down. We need to get her stabilized first." The woman patted his arm. By now the entire office had collected in the hallway, staring at the bloody scene. Craig struggled to comprehend what she said to him.
    "Oh, no, I'm not," he looked up as Jack Gordon came barreling through the door separating the public from the private part of their sales office. "I mean, is she okay? She seized on me; about a minute."
    "Yeah, her blood pressure is through the roof, pulse thready. Let's get her out of here." The medics bustled around. "Excuse me sir, you need to move aside." Jack stood, staring at the room, mouth agape, eyes wild. Craig took in what the man saw: the floor darkened with Sara's blood and her back arched, feet kicking against the carpet as another seizure gripped her. He watched the man's face go utterly white. "Sir!" The medic shoved Jack out of the way and rolled the gurney in. Once she stilled, two EMTs lifted her up and hustled her out into the waiting ambulance.
    "You okay?" Craig narrowed his eyes at Jack.
    "No." The other man turned, pushed his way through the gathered crowd and ran outside. Craig grabbed his helmet and rushed out behind Jack. Following the ambulance through midday streets, taking deep breaths to calm his heart, he forced himself to focus on the traffic while long forgotten prayers raced through his brain.
     
    ****
     
    Jack watched from a safe distance as the emergency room staff did their thing, hooked Sara up to machines and tubes, spoke quickly and quietly and moved around to get her stabilized. His brain would not comprehend the scene. The sight of her body, swollen and continuing to stiffen with small seizures, made him want to punch a hole in the wall. He closed his eyes, hoping to erase some of the trauma from his memory.
    Why the fuck would she not listen to doctors? Her own father, for Christ's sake.
    When he made the extreme mistake of opening them, a drip of bright red blood splashed to the floor at her feet, making made his stomach do flips. He groaned and focused on not passing out.
    A hand dropped onto his shoulder. Craig's dark eyes met his. The man's pants and half his shirt had stiffened, dark with her blood. "We need you." Jack frowned at him.
    "I don't do blood. I can't...," but he stood.
    "She's come to, crying, won't relax. They can't get the needle in her spine...," Jack held up a hand, tried to keep the room from spinning.
    "No, I don't need to know any details." They both looked up at the sound of Dr. Matt Thornton's roar of outrage as he stomped into the curtained area.
    "What the fuck do you think you're doing? Get her upstairs. You will not operate on my daughter in this filthy ER."
    The commotion he caused made Jack's hackles rise. He followed Craig across the room, listening to the man berate and brow beat every doctor and nurse in a five-mile radius. Jack settled himself at Sara's head, focusing on her eyes, brushing away the tears that streamed down her face. One of the guys moving around between her raised legs seemed to be charge. He pointed at Jack, Craig and Matt.
    "Who are all of you people? Can I get this space cleared out please? I have to perform an emergency C-section now."
    "Fuck you,