And then they found us, a crowd of people with tears streaming down their faces, shouting at each other, shouting at us.
"Don't move," someone instructed.
"Get Tyler out of the van!" someone else shouted.
There was a flurry of activity around us. I tried to get up, but Amanda's cold hand pushed my shoulder down.
"Just stay put for now."
"But it's wet and if you keep pushing me down, then I'll think your coming onto me." I complained. It surprised me when she giggled under her breath.
"You were over there," I suddenly said, and giggle stopped short. "You were by your car."
Her expression turned hard. "No, I wasn't."
"I saw you." All around us was chaos. I could hear the gruffer voices of adults arriving on the scene. But I obstinately held on to our argument; I was right, and she was going to admit it. I would not get the liar title in this world I refused.
"Ryan, I was standing with you, and I pulled you out of the way." she unleashed the full, devastating power of her eyes on me, as if trying to communicate something crucial. Too bad I'm immune to the puppy eyes, Luna used that on me all the time for pudding when she wasn't supposed to have it.
"I have a eidetic memory soooo yeah you can't really lie to me about that...." her eyebrows shot up at once and she knew she was caught. The gold in her eyes blazed. "Please, Ryan."
"Why?" I demanded.
"Trust me," she pleaded, her soft voice
I could hear the sirens now. "Will you promise to explain everything to me later?"
"Fine," she snapped, abruptly exasperated.
"Fine," I replied smugly "and I'll remember this promise too." she looked at me with a sour expression. Internally i was laughing about getting a step closer to my goals of meeting the family of nice vampires.
It took six EMTs and two teachers - Mr. Varner and Coach Clapp - to shift the van far enough away from us to bring the stretchers in. Amanda vehemently refused hers, and I tried to do the same, but the traitor told them I'd hit my head and probably had a concussion. That petty bitch. I almost died of humiliation when they put on the neck brace. It looked like the entire school was there, watching soberly as they loaded me in the back of the ambulance. Amanda got to ride in the front. It was maddening. I'll punish her later for this.
To make matters worse, Chief Swan arrived before they could get me safely away.
"Ryan!" he yelled in panic when he recognized me on the stretcher.
"I'm completely fine, Dad," I sighed. "There's nothing wrong with me. And so help me god if you tell mom anything about this you will rue the day!"
He turned to the closest EMT for a second opinion. I tuned him out to consider the jumble of inexplicable images churning chaotically in my head. When they'd lifted me away from the car, I had seen the deep dent in the tan car's bumper - a very distinct dent that fit the contours of Amanda's shoulders... as she had braced herself against the car with enough force to damage the metal frame... such scary waifus I'm collecting man.
And then there was her family, looking on from the distance, with expressions that ranged from disapproval to fury but held no hint of concern for their Sister's safety. I wonder what would they say if they knew I could just throw out fiendfyre and wipe out their existence.
Naturally, the ambulance got a police escort to the county hospital. I felt ridiculous the whole time they were unloading me. I mean teacher put me through worse but I couldn't really talk my way out of it like. "oh hey my teacher breaks my bones on the daily. This is nothing but brain damage, hell it might fix some things."
They put me in the emergency room, a long room with a line of beds separated by pastel-patterned curtains. A nurse put a pressure cuff on my arm and a thermometer under my tongue. Since no one bothered pulling the curtain around to give me some privacy, I decided I wasn't obligated to wear the stupid-looking neck brace anymore. When the nurse walked away, I quickly unfastened the Velcro and threw it under the bed.
There was another flurry of hospital personnel, another stretcher brought to the bed next to me. I recognized Tyler Crowley from my Government class beneath the bloodstained bandages wrapped tightly around his head. This is what you get for trying to be a drift king you little shit.
"Ryan man, I'm so sorry!"
"Mild brain damage man nothing a few hard thumps won't fix, at least my face is still good how could I find someone to marry if anything had happened to it?" As we spoke, nurses began unwinding his soiled bandages, exposing a myriad of shallow slices all over his forehead and left cheek. "Your face however." he looked horrified, yeah try to squish me with a car fuckboy?
He ignored me. "I thought I was going to kill you! I was going too fast, and I hit the ice wrong..." He winced as one nurse started dabbing at his face.
"Don't worry about it; you missed me."
"How did you get out of the way so fast? You were there, and then you were gone..."
"Umm... Amanda was expressing her feelings to me and was going to push me down right there in the parking lot you really ruined the moment luckily me being handsome saved me."
"What the fuck?" he looked confused, that's exactly what I wanted to just confuse people with bullshit. "yep luckily for me I'm a bit clumsy and we slipped on the ice so you missed." more bullshit.
They wheeled me away then, to X-ray my head. I told them there was nothing wrong, and I was right. Not even a concussion. I asked if I could leave, but the nurse said I had to talk to a doctor first. So I was trapped in the ER, waiting, harassed by Tyler's constant apologies and promises to make it up to me. No matter how many times I tried to convince him I was fine, he continued to torment himself. Finally, I closed my eyes and ignored him. He kept up a remorseful mumbling.
"Is he sleeping?" a musical voice asked. My eyes flew open and a snarky reply popped out. "Nope I'm dead" Amanda was standing at the foot of my bed, smirking. I glared at her. don't think for one moment I'll let the embarrassing ride in an ambulance go I'll get her back.
"So, what's the verdict?" she asked me.
"There's nothing wrong with me at all, but they won't let me go," I complained. "How come you aren't strapped to a gurney like the rest of us?"
"It's all about who you know," she answered. "But don't worry, I came to spring you."