Chapter 329\u00a0<\/p>\n
Something changed in his expression, clarity breaking through the fog of pain for just a moment. Our babies,\u201d he said, and his hand moved shakily toward my stomach before falling back down. \u201cHave to\u2026 protect them.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThey need you,\u201d I said. \u201cI need you. So you have to fight, okay? You have to stay with me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNot\u2026 going anywhere, his words were getting more slurred. \u201cHave babies\u2026 to meet. Have to\u2026 teach them\u2026 fo race.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re not racing,\u201d I said firmly, even though I was sobbing. \u201cThey\u2019re never getting on a bike.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018We\u2019ll see, he almost smiled, and then his eyes closed again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTristan? TRISTAN!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s still breathing, Derek said, his hand on Tristan\u2019s chest. \u201cPulse is steady. He just passed out, probably from the pain and blood loss.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The ambulance sirens were getting closer and the crowd was backing up to let them through, creating a clear path.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sarah knelt beside me, her arm around my shoulders. \u201cHe\u2019s going to be okay,\u201d she said, but her voice was shaking. \u201cHe\u2019s strong, Orion said his healing is already working. He\u2019s going to be fine.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
But there was so much blood. His head was still bleeding, the gash across his scalp deep and ugly. His leg was definitely broken, possibly in multiple places. And I didn\u2019t know what internal injuries he had, what damage had been done when his body hit the ground, when his head cracked against concrete.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The paramedics arrived and surrounded him, asking questions Derek was answering while I just held Tristan\u2019s hand and tried not to fall apart\u00a0<\/p>\n
completely.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They were putting a neck brace on him, stabilizing his head, checking his vitals, starting an IV line.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to transport immediately,\u201d one paramedic said. \u201cPossible skull fracture, definitely serious head trauma.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m coming with him,\u201d I said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018Ma\u2019am, we can only take family\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018I\u2019m his fianc\u00e9e and I\u2019m seven weeks pregnant with his twins and I\u2019m coming with him,\u201d my voice came out sharp, commanding, leaving no room for argument. \u201cTry to stop me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The paramedic looked at his partner, who shrugged. \u201cShe can ride up front.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
They loaded Tristan onto a stretcher with professional efficiency, careful not to jostle him, keeping his spine stable.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I watched them lift him into the ambulance, watched them strap him down, watched the monitors start beeping as they hooked him up to machines.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I climbed in front and Orion leaned in the window. \u201cWe\u2019ll be right behind you,\u201d he said, Sarah visible in the background, her face streaked with tears. \u2018He\u2019s going to make it, Athena. He\u2019s too stubborn not to.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I nodded, not trusting my voice.\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
1:25 pm P\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 329\u00a0<\/p>\n
The ambulance doors slammed and we were moving, lights flashing, siren screaming, and I turned in my seat to watch the paramedics work on Tristan\u00a0<\/p>\n
through the gap between the seats.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They were moving fast, hands sure despite the ambulance\u2019s movement, calling out vitals and numbers I didn\u2019t understand.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBP dropping,\u201d one said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cPossible internal bleeding,\u201d another replied. \u201cWe need to move faster.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The driver sped up and I gripped the dashboard, watching Tristan\u2019s face, watching his chest rise and fall, counting each breath like it was precious.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Because it was.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Because I\u2019d asked him to race,\u00a0<\/p>\n
almost died.\u00a0<\/p>\n
had told him I wanted to see it one more time, had pushed him when he was ready to be done with this life. And he\u2019d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry,\u201d I whispered, knowing he couldn\u2019t hear me. \u201cI\u2019m so sorry.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
But even as I said it, even as the guilt threatened to crush me, I knew Tristan wouldn\u2019t blame me. He\u2019d wanted this. Had needed to prove, to himself more than anyone, that he still had it, that months away from racing hadn\u2019t dulled his edge.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And he had proven it. He\u2019d been magnificent.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The best there ever was.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My hand went to my stomach where two tiny lives were growing, barely formed, barely real, but already so important. \u201cYour daddy\u2019s a champion,\u201d I told them softly, my voice breaking. \u201cHe\u2019s the best racer who ever lived, and he\u2019s going to be okay. He has to be, because you need him. Because I need him.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The ambulance screamed through the night, lights flashing red and blue against buildings, and I held on to hope and prayed I was right.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Prayed that Tristan\u2019s healing was strong enough to withstand this.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Prayed that I hadn\u2019t just lost the man I loved because I\u2019d wanted to see him race one more time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Prayed that our babies would get to meet their father.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The paramedic called out more numbers and the monitors beeped faster and I just sat there, helpless, watching through the gap as they fought to keep him stable, to keep him alive, while the city blurred past outside the windows and all I could do was pray.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Memories Drifted Into Soft Silence by Kyx Frost 329 Chapter 329\u00a0 Something changed in his expression, clarity breaking through the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[77],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26486","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-second-gear-of-love-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26486","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26486"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26486\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26486"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26486"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26486"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}