123 A Free Woman

(Winona)

The paramedics load Jayden into the ambulance, their movements quick and precise. Their faces are grim as they work to stabilize him. The bleeding has stopped, but he’s lost so much blood.

I think most of it is on me, soaked in my clothes, making my hands sticky. I don’t care about the mess, though. I only care about him, lying there so still and pale.

“Please, let me ride with him,” I beg one of the paramedics, my voice trembling and desperate. “I need to be with him. He needs to know I’m here for him.”

“I’m sorry, ma’am,” the paramedic replies, his tone gentle but firm, like he’s used to delivering bad news. “We need all the space we can get to work on him. It’s critical. Every second counts.”

My heart is being ripped out of my chest as they shut the ambulance doors. “But he took the bullet for me,” I whisper, tears streaming down my face. “I can’t let him go alone. He can’t be alone.”

The paramedic’s eyes soften, showing a flicker of empathy. “We’ll take good care of him,