The second James zoned out, I knew we were in trouble.

"James! The light!" I screamed, but it was too late. By the time James noticed we went through the intersection, the impact of the crash had happened.

The SUV spins around before tipping, and the next thing I know, we are upside down. My hand flies up to my head from the impact of hitting the dashboard.

"OH MY GOD! JAMES!!" 

I don't remember much. I remember the paramedics showing up. I remember turning my head to look at James.

I remember screaming.

Once he was taken out of the vehicle and put on a stretcher, someone unbuckled me from the burning vehicle while the firefighters tried to put out the flames. 

I'm able to stand.

I'm able to turn my head.

I'm able to see the SUV we hit. I see Nate's driver.

Nate.

Everything from this point on happened so fast.

"NATE!" I rush to him, hearing the paramedic telling me to stop. "OH MY GOD."

 Malcolm. The driver's eyes are open, but he's not responding. I cover my mouth with my hand. He didn't survive the crash.

I run to open the back seat.

"No. Jules, no. oh God, please. No."  Nate cries and gasps for breath. He's holding his chest and hyperventilating. Oh my God. He's having another heart attack!

"Help! He's having a heart attack!" I yell to the paramedics who are already running this way to help.

"Oh my God, Nate!" I cry, and his eyes shift to see me. "They're coming, Nate, ok?" I see him turn his eyes back to the side and then close them. "Nate. Nate!!"

The paramedics push me away and start working on Nate. And Julia. Malcolm has clearly passed away. I glance at him once to see the damage and immediately look away and throw up on the ground in front of me.

I don't remember anything more until I wake up in the hospital.

*****

"Ma'am? Can you hear me?" The doctor flashes a light across my eyes to check my pupils.

"Where's Nate?" It's the first thing I say as I try to lift my head.

"Whoa, hold on. We just finished stitching up your wound. Take it slow." The woman backs up a little, and I slowly lift my arm to feel my forehead. I feel the bandage and hold the side of my head that stings.

"Do you remember what happened? The police are here to get more information." 

"Nate Hollan. Where is he??"

"Right in the next room. Would you like to see him?"

I nod, and the doctor helps me up into a wheelchair. A young nurse wheels me down the hall and into the doorway. Nate is sleeping. He's hooked up to the monitors to check his vitals.

"He's ok, right??" My eyes water.

"He'll be just fine. It was a minor stressed induced episode, not a full-blown heart attack."

Oh, thank GOD. I breathe out.

"James. James Gallo... Where is he?" I look over to the nurse who is pushed aside by two officers who have been impatiently waiting for someone to wake up for a statement. They ask me a bunch of questions and then repeat themselves and ask again.

"Tell me again, what happened, Ms. Banks?" The officer asks.

"We were coming to check on them. Both their phones were off all day yesterday and today. That's not like either of them. I thought something was wrong." I cry

"And you didn't see the light change?"

"I saw it change. I yelled to get his attention!"  I start hyperventilating while replaying the accident.

"Ok. Take a deep breath, Ma'am. So, you saw the light change, but your friend didn't."

"Correct. He had just gotten off a long shift. He hadn't slept much. I think he just... zoned out."

"Mr. Gallo." The officer looks down at his paperwork.

"Right. James."  I cry uncontrollably, and the nurse steps in now.

"She needs to rest." The nurse says angrily. The female officer pats my shoulder to console me as the nurse wheels me back to my room.

The moment I think about James, I start hyperventilating. I can't catch my breath.

"She needs another dose."  The doctor looks over at me from the nurse's station.

"Yes, Doctor."

It's the last thing I hear.

*****

A river of tears floods my eyes the moment I wake up again. Stupid fuckers keep giving everyone Ativan like it's fucking Tic-Tacs around here. 

Shit. Julia. I never checked on her.

"Hey. You? Yeah, you." I nod to the male nurse walking by.  "Can you tell me anything about Julia Moretti?"

He stops and looks at me with sympathy.

"I'm sorry, Ma'am. I can't. She's not my patient." He quickly walks away. Jerkass.

"Can ANYONE tell me what the FUCK is going on???" I sit up and slowly inch off the bed, holding on to my head with one hand and my IV pole with the other.

"What the hell." I hear a frustrated nurse say as she rushes over. "You all need to stay in your beds for goodness sakes." She sits me in my wheelchair.  "You, my dear, have a concussion."

"Well, if someone would tell us what the hell is going on maybe we wouldn't be trying to get out of our beds to find out for ourselves!"   I retort and see Jonah walking down the hall. "Jonah! JONAH!"

His shoulders fall down when he sees me and comes to my room.

"I've got this, Hailey." He says to the nurse he clearly knows and sits down in the empty chair next to me.

"Jonah. Please. Tell me what's going on." I plead.

"I don't know much, but I'm getting there ok, Trish?" My tired friend says. "I just got here a half hour ago."

"The police." I hold my head and squint my eyes from the light. "They're asking questions."

Jonah doesn't have an answer for my next question.

"Are we in trouble?"

*****