Fire And Ice

Chapter 16 - A Slice of Chaos

I looked around, "How long has it been?"

"Almost two hours. She kept trembling and muttering for an hour then paused some minutes and screamed for a solid thirty seconds. She's been quiet since then."

Keily wore a pair of skinny jeans and a short blue tube top. She was pale all over but her face was white as a sheet and her breathing was shallow.

Greg looked almost as frantic and worried as Hailey. "What do we do?" He asked.

"Unbuckle her belt first, it's constrictive. Greg, put some pillows on the floor so that they're almost level with the bed then put her head on them and raise her body at an angle to get the blood flowing to her head."

They rushed to do as I instructed, accomplishing it in under five minutes. I touched her forehead. It was clammy and cold to the touch.

"Greg, where are the hot water bags?"

"In the cabinet closest to the back door in the kitchen. Grams boiled water for tea just before leaving. It should still be hot."

I stepped out of the room and ran to the kitchen. The bags were easy to find and I boiled the water again for a minute before pouring it into three bags and carrying them upstairs. I placed one on her head, one across her chest and upper abdomen and the last one at her feet.

"I need a blanket."

Greg handed me one from the closet. I wrapped it around Keily as best as I could. Her breathing was still shallow.

"Greg, I need you to give her mouth to mouth on my indication."

I applied pressure on her chest five times. "Now"

Greg held her nose and breathed into her mouth.

We repeated this a few times till her breathing became deeper and evened out. The colour returned to her face after a minute so we laid her back on the bed.

I felt her head after some time, "She should be fine now. Her blood is circulating properly so she's not pale anymore and her skin isn't clammy. Her body temperature is normal so we might have to take the hot water bags away after some time so she doesn't get uncomfortable."

Hailey captured me in a vice hug, shedding tears of relief now, "Thank you so much, Ari. For all we know, she could have died. You're a lifesaver. You'd make a great doctor."

I smiled and returned the hug, "You're welcome. I only did what I could."

Greg sat at the foot of the bed, "That was incredible. Where did you learn that?"

I shrugged and sat next to him, "Just a few things I picked up in my old school's regular First Aid lessons. I didn't like anyone enough to talk to them so I actually paid attention."

"Well, thank God you did. Otherwise, we'd be having an entirely different conversation right now."

I heard Trevor's running feet approaching the house for a few seconds before hearing the door open. He ran up the stairs and burst into the room, panting.

"I couldn't find any cabs! Why are you just sitting there?" he breathed.

The three of us laughed at his confused expression. "It's alright now. Ari came in five minutes after you left and did some serious first aid. She said Keily's gonna be fine now." Hailey explained with a wide grin as I got up and took the hot water bags away and put them on the bedside table.

"Five minutes? I didn't see any cabs at all so how did you get here?" Trevor asked.

Greg stroked his chin, "Now that you mention it, I didn't hear any engines when you arrived."

I grabbed one bag and walked to the bathroom, "I ran. I was already close by when Hail called." I fibbed as I emptied the bag into the sink.

"But I would have passed you." Trevor countered.

Returning, I took the second bag to empty it. "You must have been in the opposite direction." I finished emptying the second bag and went back for the third.

"Maybe... What were you doing around here anyway?"

I grabbed the last bag, "I was taking a walk." I poured the water out slowly and returned.

"Your house is too far for you to be taking walks around here." Trevor scowled.

I wished he'd just drop it. "I was in the city settling some of my mom's leftover stuff. I finished early then decided to come visit you guys."

Trevor crossed his arms, "I thought you said you were taking a walk."

I matched his stance, "I got the cab to drop me at a distance because I wanted to walk in my old neighbourhood before I arrived."

"Cabs only access one side of the neighbourhood when coming in."

"I didn't come in with the cab. I got it to drop me off outside the neighbourhood."

At this point, we were glaring at each other. His eyes were brimming with suspicion while I stayed on the defensive. The tension was palable.

Hailey intervened and stood between the two of us, "It doesn't matter what Ari was doing or how she got here. All that matters is that she got here in time and knew what to do, right, Greg?" She looked to him for support.

"Yeah."

Keily stirred then woke up. Hail, Trevor and Greg rushed to her while I stayed where I was.

Her eyes landed on Greg first as she propped herself up, "What happened?"

"You passed out and looked like you needed serious help. Luckily, Ari knew what to do," Greg explained.

Her eyes landed on me and a sour expression nestled onto her face, "Why didn't you just call an ambulance?"

"We couldn't dial 9-1-1 and there were no cars to take you to the hospital. Ari probably saved your life."

The bitch just rolled her eyes. "I would have been fine either way."

"A thank you wouldn't kill you." I seethed glaring at both Trevor and Keily and left the room, not trusting myself to keep my anger from causing me to make a bad choice.

'I liked her better when she was passed out.' Candy muttered.

'Me too.'

I heard them all argue but ignored their squabbling as I walked down the stairs and let myself out. If I'd known socializing would be this maddening, I would've kept to myself.

So much for having friends.