Nodding, I took the drink gratefully. There was still ice inside, and the cold water was a shock to my system—one that was much needed. It was then that I also realized that he’d kicked the air up and positioned the vents to blow directly on me. Not only that, but he’d pulled us into an empty parking lot far enough away that the accident was no longer visible.
“Fuck,” I said, wiping my mouth. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. Just drink some more.”
I took another couple of deep gulps before handing the cup back to him. My heart wasn’t jackhammering anymore, and with the air blowing on my face, I could breathe again.
Leaning back against the headrest, I said, “How did you know?”
“Know what?”
“You asked me to close my eyes. How did you know that accident would set me off?”
Ollie’s eyes penetrated mine. “Do you want the truth?”
“Yes.”
“Because I was there.”
“You were where?”
He dropped his arm from the steering wheel to stroke the scruff on his jaw. “I’m a paramedic. I was there the day of your accident. As a matter of fact, I’m the one who got you out of the car.”
His words sucked the air from out of the small space, and I felt my mouth fall open. “What did you just say?”
“You heard me.”
“You—” The words got stuck in my throat. Ollie was the one who’d saved me? Ollie?
“I know that’s probably surprising. It was a hell of a shock to get the call that morning and see that it was you.”
“I-it was?”
“Yeah. I’d seen you about ten minutes before at Joe’s while we were getting coffee. It wasn’t exactly how either of us pictured our mornings going, I imagine.”
“Wow.” That was all I could manage as I let that information sink in. “I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t have to say anything. I just thought you should know.”
In a daze. That was how my head felt. “Was it as…bad…as the one back there?”
“We got you out. That’s all that matters.”
“I heard the driver that hit me walked away fine.”
“A bit of whiplash, but yeah.”
“Huh.” I crossed my arms and stewed about that fact for the millionth time.
“You can say it.”
“What?”
“What you’re thinking. That it doesn’t seem fair that the accident was his fault and yet you’re the one suffering.”
“How’d you know that’s what I was thinking?”
“Because I would be. Doesn’t make you a bad person to have those thoughts.”