The sharp smell of burnt chemicals filled the small cabin of my sedan and forced me to open my eyes.
The white fabric of the deployed airbag rested heavily against my steering wheel, and it pressed tightly into my chest. I blinked several times because the streetlights outside the cracked windshield seemed entirely too bright for the early evening hours.
My hands were still firmly gripping the leather steering wheel, and I slowly released my fingers one by one to ensure they were not broken or fractured.
I needed my hands to draw and paint for my university classes, so finding my fingers completely unharmed brought a massive amount of relief to my aching body.
Someone knocked loudly on the driver's side window. I turned my head and immediately winced because a sharp pain shot directly down the right side of my neck. A woman in a grey business suit was standing outside the glass while she held a cell phone to her ear.
"Are you okay in there?" the woman shouted clearly through the thick glass window. "I already called for an ambulance and the local police department."
I reached for the interior door handle and pulled it twice before the locking mechanism finally clicked open. I pushed the heavy metal door outward and stepped my left foot onto the cold asphalt of the street. My knees felt incredibly weak, but I managed to stand up and lean my back against the side of my damaged car for physical support.
"I think I am entirely fine," I said to the woman while I rubbed my forehead. "My neck hurts a little bit, and I might have a bruise on my head from hitting the steering wheel during the impact."
"You should definitely sit down until the medical professionals get here to check you out," the woman insisted, and she gestured toward the concrete curb. "That delivery truck rear-ended you at a very high speed when you stopped for the red traffic light."
I looked toward the back of my vehicle and saw the large blue delivery van crumpled against my trunk. The driver of the van was already standing on the sidewalk, and he was talking quickly to a police officer who had just arrived at the busy intersection.
I reached into my coat pocket to retrieve my cell phone because I needed to call my boyfriend immediately.
Tyler and I shared an apartment only ten minutes away from this exact intersection, so I knew he could drive here very quickly to help me.
I dialed his number and held the device to my ear while I waited for him to answer the call. The phone rang four times before Tyler finally picked up and began speaking.
"Alexia, I am in the middle of a very important marketing report right now," Tyler said loudly through the phone speaker. "Did you forget to pick up the groceries for dinner tonight when you left the university?"
"I was just in a car accident on the corner of Fifth and Main Street," I told him while I gently massaged the back of my sore neck. "A delivery truck hit the back of my car, and the police are here taking statements right now."
"Are you seriously telling me this right now?" Tyler asked with a heavy sigh that conveyed pure annoyance instead of any genuine concern. "Is the car completely totaled and ruined?"
"I do not know about the condition of the car, but the ambulance just pulled up to the intersection," I replied, and I felt a sudden rush of disappointment wash over me at his immediate reaction. "Can you please come down here and help me deal with the insurance process?"
"I will be there in ten minutes, but you really need to understand that this is incredibly inconvenient for my work schedule," Tyler told me before he abruptly ended the phone call without waiting for me to respond.
I lowered the phone and stared at the dark screen for a long moment. I understood that Tyler took his junior marketing position very seriously, yet his absolute lack of concern for my physical safety felt deeply unsettling to hear. I pushed the negative thought away because two paramedics approached me carrying a bright orange medical bag.
"My name is Sarah, and this is my partner David," the first paramedic said as she gently shone a small flashlight directly into my eyes. "Can you tell me your full name and the current date so we can check your cognitive awareness?"
"My name is Alexia Winters, and today is Thursday, the twelfth of March," I answered clearly while I followed the movement of the light with my pupils.
"Your pupils are reacting perfectly, but we still need to check your vitals and make sure you do not have a serious concussion," David explained as he wrapped a gray blood pressure cuff around my left arm. "We want you to sit on the back bumper of the ambulance so we can check your neck and shoulders for any hidden injuries."
I walked over to the large ambulance and sat down on the thick metal bumper. Sarah carefully pressed her fingers along the back of my neck and asked if any specific spots caused extreme pain when touched. We spent the next five minutes discussing my medical history, and we confirmed that I had not lost consciousness during the sudden collision.
"Your blood pressure is slightly elevated because of the adrenaline from the crash, but everything else looks very stable and healthy," David announced while he wrote several notes on a plastic clipboard. "We are going to transport you to the local hospital just to get a scan of your neck and head to be absolutely safe."
"My boyfriend is driving here right now, so I need to wait for him to arrive before we leave the scene," I told the paramedics as I looked down the busy street.
"We can wait a few more minutes, but he can also just meet us at the emergency room if he takes too long," Sarah suggested as she packed her medical tools away into the orange bag.
I looked past the police cruisers and spotted Tyler's familiar black sedan pulling into a parking space near the coffee shop on the corner. I felt a brief moment of comfort because I assumed he would rush over to check on my injuries and offer a hug. Tyler stepped out of his car and locked the doors, but he did not run or even walk quickly toward the flashing lights of the ambulance.
Instead, Tyler stopped walking completely and pulled his phone out of his front pocket. He stared down at the screen and began typing a message using both of his thumbs.
I watched him stand there for a full minute while he completely ignored the police officers and the wrecked vehicles in the middle of the road. I felt a sharp ache in my chest that had absolutely nothing to do with the car accident I just survived. I stood up from the bumper and walked slowly toward him because I wanted to know exactly what was more important than checking on my current health.
Tyler did not notice me approaching because he was completely engrossed in his glowing phone screen. He smiled widely at whatever he was reading, and that joyful expression caused me to freeze in my tracks just two feet away from him.
I looked directly at his brightly illuminated screen and easily read the large text message displayed at the very top of his messaging application. The contact name at the top of the conversation thread clearly read 'Lily', which was the name of my closest friend since my freshman year of college.
The message from Lily said, 'Did you get out of the apartment yet? Tell her you have to work late so we can still get those drinks tonight. I am already dressed up and waiting for you at the bar.'
I felt severe nausea in my stomach while I read the words over and over again to ensure I was not hallucinating. I stood perfectly still and watched Tyler quickly type his response to my best friend.
'She just got into a car crash, so I have to deal with this annoying mess at the hospital first,' Tyler typed out rapidly. 'I will leave her there as soon as she gets a room, and then I will come straight to your place. Wear that red dress I bought for you last week.'
I stopped breathing for several seconds because the sheer reality of the betrayal paralyzed my entire body. Tyler was not just secretly messaging my best friend, but he had actually purchased clothing for Lily and fully planned to leave me alone at the hospital so he could go on a romantic date with her. The man I had dated for the last three years was actively cheating on me with the woman I trusted most in the entire world.
Tyler finally hit the send button and locked his phone screen to turn it off. He looked up and visibly jumped backward when he suddenly realized I was standing directly in front of him.
"What are you doing walking around the street?" Tyler asked loudly as he quickly shoved the phone deep into his front pocket to hide it. "You should be sitting down with the medical team so we can leave soon."
"I was waiting for you to come over and talk to me," I said, and I forced my voice to remain completely steady even though my hands were shaking terribly. "You stopped walking, and I thought you might be lost or confused."
"I was just answering a very urgent work email from my boss," Tyler lied effortlessly while he adjusted the collar of his expensive suit jacket. "He needed the final numbers for the new marketing campaign, and I had to send them immediately or risk losing my job."
I stared directly into his eyes and searched for any sign of guilt or hesitation. I found absolutely nothing but mild annoyance in his facial expression. He did not ask if I was bleeding, and he did not ask if I was in pain. He simply looked around at the damaged cars and sighed heavily.
"They need to take me to the hospital for a physical scan of my neck," I told him calmly.
"Fine, you go ride in the back of the ambulance, and I will drive my car behind you," Tyler instructed me as he pointed his finger toward the medical vehicle. "We need to get this done quickly because I still have a lot of work to finish tonight when I get back to the apartment."
I did not argue with him because I knew any argument would simply be a waste of my time and energy. I turned around and walked back to the ambulance where Sarah and David were waiting to load me into the back area. I climbed into the vehicle and sat down on the padded bench while Sarah secured the heavy safety straps across my chest.
The ambulance doors closed heavily, and the large engine rumbled to life. I remained completely silent during the entire ride to the hospital. I did not cry, and I did not panic. I simply stared at the blank white wall of the ambulance interior and processed everything I had just witnessed on his phone screen.
Tyler did not love me, and Lily was not my friend. I had spent years cooking dinner for a man who viewed me as a frustrating inconvenience, and I had shared all my secrets with a woman who actively wanted to steal my life.
The ambulance finally pulled into the emergency drop-off zone of the local hospital, and the back doors swung open to reveal the bright fluorescent lights of the admission bay. David helped me unbuckle the heavy safety straps and guided me down the small steps toward the automatic glass doors of the waiting room.
The hospital smelled strongly of cleaning supplies and sterile medical equipment. The waiting area was mostly empty because it was late on a Thursday evening, so the registration process moved very quickly. A nurse behind the large wooden desk asked me to provide my health insurance card and my driver's license.
I pulled my wallet out of my coat pocket and handed the cards to the nurse. I answered several routine questions about my home address and my emergency contact information. I purposefully gave the nurse my brother Owen's phone number instead of listing Tyler because I no longer trusted Tyler to handle any type of medical emergency.
Tyler walked through the front sliding glass doors a moment later and approached the registration area. He completely ignored the working nurse and walked directly over to where I was sitting in a rigid plastic chair. He did not offer to get me a cup of water, and he did not ask if the ambulance ride had been uncomfortable for my neck.
"The parking lot outside is completely full, so I had to park three blocks away and walk in the cold wind," Tyler complained bitterly as he brushed invisible dust off his jacket sleeves. "How long is this scan going to take? I really hope this does not take all night because I am already exhausted from working all day."
I looked up at his handsome face and realized I felt absolutely nothing for him anymore. I felt no anger, and I felt no sorrow. I only felt a cold determination to expose his true character. I made a sudden, firm decision right there in the hospital waiting room. I was not going to cry and beg for an explanation about the text messages. I was going to play a game and see exactly how far Tyler was willing to go to get rid of me so he could be with Lily.
"Excuse me," I said slowly, and I tilted my head to the side to force my face into a perfect expression of blank, innocent confusion. "Who exactly are you, and why are you talking to me about parking lots?"
Tyler stopped brushing his jacket and stared down at me with wide, irritated eyes.
"What kind of stupid joke are you trying to play right now?" Tyler asked sharply as he crossed his arms over his chest. "We do not have time for you to act childish right now."
"I am not joking," I replied, and I kept my voice completely flat and completely devoid of any familiar emotion. "I do not know your name, and I do not know why you are standing here complaining to me. Are you a doctor at this hospital?"
Tyler stared at me for a very long moment, and I waited for the natural panic to set in. I waited for him to yell for medical assistance or grab my hand in sudden fear. I expected him to show at least a small amount of basic human decency when confronted with a potential brain injury.
Instead, Tyler let out a long, slow breath, and the corners of his mouth turned upward into a very genuine, relieved smile.
"Are you seriously telling me that you have absolutely no memory of who I am or what our relationship is?" Tyler asked, and he stepped closer to my chair to lower his voice so the nurse could not hear his words.
"Yes," I answered simply, and I held his gaze without blinking. "I do not know you at all."
"Well, that makes my life incredibly easy," Tyler whispered before he quickly pulled his cell phone out of his pocket once again. "You just sit right there and do not move, because I need to make a very important phone call to the man who actually owns you."