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I can’t make those words go away. Of course, if they are critical, they are alive, and that gives me a sense of hope. I feel myself start to drift back off to the friendly abyss of darkness. I like it there.
    “Dani. Daniella,” I hear my name.
    I can tell we are still moving quickly when I feel a hand interlock with mine. It’s warm and soft. I want it to stay there forever.
    Then I hear the paramedic’s voice again—I think his name is Danny. I remember him telling me we have the same name in the ambulance. He is talking rapidly, saying a lot of numbers that I don’t really understand. I hear his words and know they are about me, so I try to concentrate in order to figure out what is wrong with me, but I can’t. I don’t know what any of it means.
    “Daniella,” I hear the female voice say again with more urgency. It’s more matter of fact now and stern enough that I open my eyes.
    They land on Mrs. Collins, Nate’s mom. She’s in her white lab coat, morbid concern etched all over her face. Of course she’s here; she is a doctor, although she has always told us to call her Mrs. Collins because she’s just Nate’s Mom to us.
    The smile on her face when my eyes meet hers is so genuine I think it must be nice to have her as a mom. I’m sure my mom wouldn’t be nearly as happy to see me.
    “Dani.” She gently runs her hand over my forehead as she brushes some loose hair out of the way of the bandages I only notice now that her fingers glide across them. “You’re going to be okay.” She smiles. “Okay? Just hang in there.”
    I think I nod my head, but I’m not sure. It’s so heavy. I feel tubes in my nose. I don’t think I can talk, so I don’t try.
    “Honey, was Nate with you?”
    I see her motherly concern, and I want tell her he was in the other car, so I try to talk. I know he’s okay, and I want her to know that, but the words aren’t coming, so I shake my head.
    Relief floods her, but I have to make sure she knows.
    “Other car,” I try to say.
    Her smile tells me she understands.
    I need to ask her how everyone else is. I think I ask it, but I must not have since she doesn’t answer me. Or she doesn’t know what to say.
    Now she is talking to the paramedic, Danny, and he’s giving her all of my information. I’m trying hard to listen, to concentrate. I need to know who is critical. Are they going to be okay? I try to ask again, but I’m getting frustrated because the words are not coming out.
    “The parents have not been contacted yet,” I hear Danny say, and my stomach lurches with relief.
    We are still moving, yet we are slowing down. I glance over to see there are several more doctors waiting for us, all wearing the same white coats as Mrs. Collins.
    She approaches them when we come to a stop right in front of where they are standing. Someone turns on an extremely bright light above us, and I close my eyes to block it out. I hear her giving them orders and updating them on my condition. However, my brain must not be letting me absorb any of the information, because it’s like gibberish. On her words, everyone flies into action, though. Then I hear her calming voice again.
    “Dani?” She finds my hand with her own. “We’re going to take care of you, honey. We need to run some tests, okay?”
    Once again, I try to nod my head. Then I see her give a curt smile to another doctor before I feel sleep pulling me away from her, away from the commotion, the frantic hustle and bustle of the doctors surrounding me. I try to focus on her face, her smile, yet the urge to sleep is too strong.
    I hear loud beeping that lulls me back to my deep dark, safe place. I can’t fight it any longer, and I don’t want to.

 
     
     
    Chapter Six
    Three months ago – December
     
    I’m on the sideline of the basketball court with the rest of our varsity squad, building the excitement of the crowd with our cheer, not that we really need to with the boys currently on the court. They are their