Everything was dark again; my body craved new air. My mouth and eyes flew open when my lungs pulled in a sharp breath on their own. I gasped repeatedly for more air; it couldn’t come into my body quick enough.

Dazed and disoriented, my eyes tried to refocus on all the faces that looked down at me. Some faces were sideways, some were upside down.

How peculiar! I tried to reason with these new visions but the burn in my chest and the taste of blood in my mouth overpowered those thoughts. Who are these people? Why am I lying in the street?

I turned my head to see who was talking to me. It was Jimmy Pop; he was kneeling next to me.

“Oh Miss Taryn. Oi!” he cried.

“Oh Miss Taryn! Stop taking pictures of her!” Jimmy yelled. He tried to shield my body with his own.

I wanted to get up; I didn’t want to be laying in the cold snow and the street. When I tried to move, the pain blasted in my gut and radiated out towards my hips.

In the distance I could hear the screaming sound of sirens; the noise was coming towards me.

“Don’t move, don’t move! Stay still!” another voice shouted at me.

The shrill of sirens was more pronounced now. Their tones changed as they approached. I could see the red and blue flashing lights reflecting off the puddles on the wet street.

“Jimmy,” I choked. “Jimmy.” The blood in my mouth clogged my throat.

I looked at the old, Italian man kneeling next to me; his eyes were wrinkled and wet with tears.

“My purse…” I garbled. “Phone. Call Ryan.”

“Move back, everyone move back,” I heard a man shouting. A new face appeared in my vision; this one too was upside down. I felt the leather of his gloves when he wrapped his fingers around the sides of my head. Even though his face was reversed, he still looked familiar.

“Don’t try to move,” he cautioned me. “Tell me your name.”

“Taryn.” I tried to swallow. The blood tasted horrible. “Taryn… Mitchell.”

“Taryn, it’s Officer Carlton. The ambulance is on its way. Are you allergic to any medicines?”

“No.” I felt relief knowing I’d be rescued soon.

“Can you tell me what happened?” the officer questioned.

I could see from the corner of my eye that Jimmy Pop had my phone in his hand. He and another man were fumbling with it. If they would just hand me the phone I could call Ryan. “Give me…” I weakly asked, holding my arm out to them.

“Taryn!” Do you remember what happened?” Officer Carlton asked again with more urgency.

“I was… crossing the street. She was… car… waiting.” I tried to lift my left arm and point in the direction where Angelica’s car was, but when I tried the pain shot down into my elbow. My arm must be broken.

“I didn’t see.” I tried to swallow. The blood was congealing in my mouth.

“Oh, Mister Ryan, Mister Ryan. It’s Jimmy. Oh, come. You come quick! Miss Taryn, she’s been hit by a car! Oh, ho, ho!” He started to cry.

New sirens joined in the mix of noise and confusion. They seemed to come from all directions towards me, and they had different tones.

“I’m alive,” I mumbled, hoping Jimmy would tell Ryan the same. The police officer that was holding my head still kept asking me questions.

“Um, I’m on the pill... just birth control.” I answered his question about what medicine I take. Someone covered me with a blanket.

“She’s talking to the police,” I heard Jimmy say in the phone. At least he knew I was alive. Oh, Ryan, I cried inside.

“Ambulance is here. You come now!” Jimmy ordered. “I don’t know. I find out.”

I was glad that the police made the crowd move away from me. There was too much going on; it was confusing.

“Tell me your name,” a new voice asked. Latex clad hands replaced the policeman’s hands and I was looking at a new upside down face. The paramedic was attending to me now.

“Taryn Mitchell.” I tried to pick dried blood off my lip. It felt strange to talk; my lip seemed way too big. Swollen. My right arm moved with only the slightest bit of pain.

“I’m twenty-seven,” I muttered, answering his age question.

He asked me the same questions about medicines and allergies. Just get me off the damn cold street is what I really wanted to say. My head was wrapped in some red colored rubber collar thing. It made me feel claustrophobic when they squeezed it to my cheeks. No longer could I glance at Jimmy Pop and the phone that connected me to Ryan.