Smoke

Sixteen

Billy’s voice shattered the air, drawing everyone’s attention, he ran towards the pump frantic

“Guv! Guv! It collapsed, the whole place! It’s on top of her!”

Kevin’s attention snapped in the direction of the noise, he felt his body tremor as he realised the words that had been shouted, they settled on him, stinging as they did so,

“No” he whispered, his heart sinking, “Scarlett!”

He cried out as he leapt forward only for hands to clamp around his arms,

“Leave it mate, it’s okay!”

“Scarlett!” he thrashed against his friends dragging them forward with him “LET ME GO!”

Sub marched over,

“Take him round the back of the motor! Calm him down!”

George nodded leading Kevin away, he threw his helmet to the ground, sinking to his knees, he clamped his hands over his face, his head spinning as his eyes began to burn filling with tears, George pulled him close,

“It’s alright mate it’s going to be alright!” George felt the weight of his best friend hanging on to the sides of his tunic, he felt Kevin’s body convulse as every sob escaped, he watched from a distance hoping that she would walk out of there, smiling and laughing, brushing everything off as if it had been a minor inconvenience, he wanted to tell Kevin to stand up and stop being a tart and everything was okay, he looked over as Bayleaf dragged her from the building, he glanced to George and shook his head, “She’s out Kev, they’ve got her out”

Billy walked over to Kevin, sighing as he lay eyes on him, Kev sat on the floor leaning against the pump, his face pale and eyes glassed over, he stared a thousand miles ahead of him,

“George they’re about to put her in the ambulance, did you want to move awa- “

“I want to see her”

Kevin spoke his voice almost a whisper, Billy shook his head,

“She’s not in a good way mate”

Kevin stood suddenly noticing paramedics walking towards them with a trolley, he lay eyes on Scarlett, her neck braced and face coated with a shock of blood and a smattering of soot, he felt himself wretch,

“They’ve cut her kit”

He said quietly, George sighed,

“I know mate, they had to”

The paramedic turned around, looking at the crew in front of him,

“Who’s accompanying”

Georgiadis stepped in,

“Sicknote book Medhurst and Green off the run”

He nodded leaving quickly, George half smiled at the rest of the sombre looking crew as the ambulance doors closed.

He rushed through the hospital George in tow until he was met with his mother in laws tear stained face, throwing her arms around him she sobbed,

“What happened Kevin? What went wrong”

He shook his head,

“It was structural, it just collapsed, what have they said?”

“touch and go love” Rita looked up at him “She might not make it!”

Kevin collapsed in to one of the hard-plastic chairs, rubbing his face with both hands, almost numb, he took a deep breath in,

“So what we just wait and see?”

Rita nodded chewing her lip as more tears brimmed in her eyes, the two of them sat quietly, watching as doctors and nurses rushed in and out of her room, only catching quick glances of her shattered body as the doors swung open, George arrived with coffees for each,

“The lads send their love” he whispered “They’re all thinking of you”

Kevin nodded,

“I appreciate it, she’s going to be just fine, she’ll be home by the morning I guarantee it!”

A young doctor left the room, approaching the three of them,

“Mr Medhurst?” Kevin stood slowly unsure as to whether his legs would hold his weight, “unfortunately your wife has sustained some serious injuries, some may even be life altering, but for now we’ve managed to stabilise her and although she is still unconscious for the moment we are happy with her vitals at this point”

“What injuries?”

George asked, the doctor sighed,

“I can only discuss that with family!”

“He’s my brother”

Kevin sniffed wiping his face with his hand, the doctor nodded

“In which case, there’s a small hairline fracture to the skull, both tibia and fibula in each leg are shattered and will require surgery, there’s a small fracture to the pelvis, a deep laceration on the forehead and a punctured lung”

The further the list went the weaker Kevin felt himself become,

“Can we see her?”

“You can but I warn you now, she is being helped to breathe and is wired to a lot of machines”

“I don’t care, I want to see her!”

The doctor nodded, leading Kevin and Rita in to the small room, he felt every memory rush back at once, holding her after her first big job, it had frightened her she struggled to sleep that night, fixing her car after hearing her shouting and swearing at it in the stations car park. He froze to the spot, the silence deafening, she looked so small in the bed surrounded by different machines, her skin patched up with stitches and bandages, he knelt next to her leaning on the hard mattress, he placed his hand over hers,

“She’s cold” he looked at Rita “Oh Dolly what have you done”

Rita walked over to him, placing a hand on his back, holding herself up right,

“She is breathing Kevin, she’s just resting now love” she stopped taking a deep breath in “She just resting”