Immediately, I begin chest compressions. “Come on. Come on.” She wasn’t under long. She can’t be dead. Then I notice blood seeping from her head. Shit. “Come on, Adelina. Come on.” I blow air into her mouth and do more chest compressions. Finally, she coughs out water and opens her eyes. I sit back, relief coursing through me. She’s alive. “Adelina?”
She touches the back of her head and winces.
“I need to get you to the hospital,” I tell her. “You hit your head pretty hard. You’re bleeding.”
She stares up at me in surprise, not saying a word.
“I got you,” I say. “Come on.” I lift her into my arms.
“Can we help?” the dad of the family asks.
“Keep a better eye on your kids,” I mutter, walking past. He looks down, ashamed.
I hurry back into our hotel room, where I left my phone. “I can’t take you on my motorcycle. I need to call for help.” I place her down on the bed. “You hit your head hard. How do you feel?”
She blinks, opening her eyes wider, still not speaking.
“Ok. Ok.” I call Dario.
“Aren’t you supposed to be on your honeymoon?” he asks after he answers.
“Adelina got hurt. You need to drive her to the hospital. I don’t want to take her on my bike.”
“Of course. How bad is she hurt?”
“She hit her head on the pool. She’s alive, but she’s bleeding.”
“Ok. I’m on my way.”
I hang up and rush to her side. “Adelina? Answer me, please. How do you feel?”
She looks down at her fingers, bloody from touching her head.
I run into the bathroom and grab a towel. “Here.” I gently press it to her head, and she winces. “This might help. Please talk to me. Are you in pain?”
She opens her mouth to speak, then closes it, staying silent.
We wait until Dario arrives, and he texts me when he’s at the hotel.
“Your brother is here. Come on. “After I help her stand, Adelina clutches me as we walk out of the room and into the elevator. She stumbles into me. “Woah. I got you. I got you.”
Adelina leans against me, and I lift her back up into my arms. I don’t think it’s safe for her to walk right now. She doesn’t object to being in my arms, which I’m not sure is a win at the moment.
I hurry into the lobby and out the front doors, spotting Dario in the parking lot. He runs over to us.
“Is she all right? Adelina?”
“She’s not talking,” I tell him. “Let’s get to the hospital.” I place her in the back seat of Dario’s car and slide in next to her. Dario drives off, not wasting any time.
We make it to the hospital in record time, with Dario running a few red lights. I carry Adelina into the emergency room, shouting for help, and a nurse runs over. “She hit her head,” I explain. “Now she’s not talking.”
“We’ll take a look at her. Here.” She guides us over to a bed and has me place Adelina down. Dario and I crowd around as the nurse looks at Adelina’s head. “It’s bleeding, but head wounds are notorious for that. I’ll have a doctor check it out, but looking at it, it will just need a few stitches.” She motions for a doctor to come over. It’s a young man with blond hair.
He observes Adelina and says, “After we get her stitched up, I’ll want to take a head scan, make sure there’s no serious damage.” He motions for the nurse to start work on stitching Adelina. “I’ll be back later.”
Adelina is quiet through the stitches and remains quiet as they take her away to get her head scanned, leaving Dario and me in the waiting room.
“How did this happen?” Dario asks.