Debbie gloated, "Of course. Now you know how powerful Kasie's backup is. You'd better treasure her."
When the lights turned red and the car stopped, Emmett turned back to look at Carlos and Debbie. "You're such a heartless couple," he complained. "I should tell Kasie to stay away from you two."
"Kasie always puts her friends first. Even though you are her boyfriend, she still loves me the most," Debbie retorted.
As the lights turned green again, Emmett looked straight ahead and concerned himself more with driving. "Mr. Huo, see how Mrs. Huo wants to bully me around?" he grumbled.
Stealing an affectionate look at Debbie, Carlos wanted to lean closer and give her a peck on the cheek.
But just then, a sharp blaring horn interrupted him. Instinctively, Debbie snuggled close and grabbed at him, her hands shaking like aspen leaves. Ahead, she could see the oncoming 24-wheeler truck. The truck driver had overtaken from the wrong side of the road and was hurtling like a maniac, dead in their lane.
Reacting to the looming danger, Emmett swirled the wheel to the right. "Mr. and Mrs. Huo, a truck running the red light! Be careful!" he shouted in a panicked voice.
Meanwhile, Carlos turned and pushed Debbie down in the back seat. He held her tight in his arms as he shielded her with his body.
It all happened so fast. The next thing they heard was a deafening noise, and an impact that left Debbie with harrowing pain in the limbs.
The anguished groans of Emmett and Carlos alarmed her all the more. Although Carlos was shaken to the core, he said something, trying to assure her. "Honey... I love you..." he mumbled.
But soon, her head went blank. For a moment, she was as deaf as a doorknob.
Outside, it was total mayhem. As onlookers screamed and cursed in distress, more cars knocked and piled up, brakes squeaking and horns blaring.
In the car, Carlos, as if in a spasm, squeezed her so tight that he almost suffocated her. "Honey..." She tried to make a sound.
But something sticky fell on her face.
Trying her best to summon some strength, she stammered something, but all that came out was feeble inarticulate mumbling. Responding, Carlos sounded so weak by now, even though he still held her tightly.
Debbie tried to move, but her body wouldn't budge.
"Ambulance...the police..." Carlos said, his voice on and off over her head.
'Right, call the ambulance, ' she remembered. But she could barely move. She tried to reach her bag to get her phone.
At this point, a lot of people were milling around the car. "Somebody is in the car. Hurry, call an ambulance!" a lady called out from the crowd.
Debbie wanted to know how Emmett was. No sooner had Emmett's name escaped her mouth than she passed out.
When she woke up, she heard people talking in hushed voices around her and going about with hasty footsteps. Shortly, she was moved to a bed.
Then, everything went deathly quiet.
'What's the matter? Why am I lying here?
Oh, right, there was a car accident. Carlos! Emmett!'
She suddenly remembered. When her eyes popped open, she stared at the blank ceiling, wondering where on earth she was. It was not until she sat up that it finally dawned on her that she was on a hospital bed.
'Carlos! Carlos! How is Carlos?'
All she could think of was Carlos. What happened to him? Was he safe, wherever he was? Her head began to spin as she attempted to get out of bed. The throbbing pain in her hand reminded her that she was on a drip. Clenching her teeth, she plucked the needle in the back of her hand and walked barefoot toward the door.
As soon as she opened the door, a nurse blocked her way. "Mrs. Huo, where are you going?" the nurse asked. "Go back to your ward. You can't walk around yet. We tried everything to keep your baby. We can't allow you to put yourself and the baby at risk. Go lie down."
But Debbie was dying to see Carlos. For him, she'd rather risk her own life, and even the baby's, if that was what it meant. "Please, tell me, where and how is Carlos?" she pleaded with the nurse. "Where is he? And where is Emmett?"
For a moment, the nurse was silent, not knowing how to break the news, especially the piece concerning Emmett. "Mr. Huo is still in the emergency room, but his assistant..."
Debbie looked at her, a bad feeling rising in her heart. "What about him?" she asked anxiously.
The nurse took her back inside the ward, trying the best she could to be of comfort. "Mrs. Huo, you have to be more careful. If you keep on doing this, you might lose your baby. Do you really want that? Lie down please, and I will tell you how Emmett is."
At least, the thought of her baby calmed Debbie down. But she still wished they could take her to Carlos right away. Grudgingly, she climbed onto the bed and lay down, pensively holding her bad hand on the chest.
"Oh God!" the nurse cried, feeling helpless as she turned to take a swab to clean Debbie's bleeding hand. She carefully broached the subject. "Mrs. Huo, I'm afraid Mr. Huo's condition is not so good. And Emmett...he was already dead when the ambulance arrived at the scene of the accident."
"What?" asked Debbie, her lips trembling, her face bone white.
'Emmett... is dead?" She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Was it a bad dream? A nightmare that she'd wake up from and see Emmett again?
The nurse put her back on the drip, taped the needle to the back of her hand and tried to assure her, "Don't worry, Mrs. Huo, we have put together a team of our best doctors to attend to your husband in the ER. Let's hope and pray it goes well with him."
But Debbie was yet to recover from the shock. "Emmett...is dead?" she mumbled. Closing her eyes as she mulled over the news, she took a deep breath and silently said a prayer. "Dear God, I hope this is not true!"
But when she opened her teary eyes, the nurse met her inquiring gaze, nodding in a way that confirmed Debbie's worst fears.
By now Debbie began to fear that Carlos too might have died and the nurse was only trying to be cautious. "Tell me the truth about Carlos, please!" she entreated weakly.
"I don't know yet. The doctors have been doing emergency surgery on him. When we arrived at the scene, we found both of you unconscious, but pressed against each other, as if your husband had seen the oncoming truck and wrapped his arms around you. I guess, he might have instinctively tried to shield you, using his own body. But to be honest, his condition looked bad and still is severe."
"Oh God!" Debbie exclaimed. Shaken to the core, her head began swimming. Before she could say anything more, she passed out again.
The young nurse was terrified. Had she said something wrong? Flustered, she pressed the nurse-call button.
When Debbie came to, she saw some visitors in the ward. There was Lucinda, Sasha, and surprisingly, Gail too. Contrary to her mom's and her sister's anxious-looking faces, Gail had a grudging expression. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that she must have been dragged to the hospital against her will.
Lucinda had been crying. Seeing Debbie come around, she wiped her puffy eyes like greased lightning and said with great relief, "Debbie, it's good that you're awake." Then she turned to Gail and ordered, "Quickly, go get the doctor!"
While Gail moved slowly to the bedside and pressed the nurse-call button, Sasha walked to the other side of the bed, her eyes also red and puffy. Debbie realized all of them must have been crying. "Debbie, how are you? How did this happen?"
Sasha asked between sobs.
Debbie raised her hand to stroke her belly. "Are they all right?" she asked, deeply worried.
The smile on Lucinda's face froze. "The baby is fine..." she hesitated. "Mr. Huo... he... he is still in the emergency room."
"It's been so long. Why is he still in the emergency room?"
Debbie tried to sit up. Just then, two doctors walked in.
They stopped her immediately when they saw what she was doing. "Mrs. Huo, your placenta isn't steady. You can't move around."
"Carlos! I must go see Carlos!" She demanded, her anxiety growing by the minute.
"Listen Debbie. Don't go yet. Mr. Huo is in the emergency room. You could only stay outside the room even if you went there. Why don't you have a rest? As soon as he is out of the surgery, I'll take you to see him, all right?"
Shaking her head, Debbie protested, "No, I must see him. By any means, I have to know how he is, Auntie. He got hurt while trying to save me. Please, take me to him. Let me wait for him to wake up..." Her sobs drowned out her words.