A love story for you. part three I jumped out the door on the opposite side, and up onto the sidewalk. I ran toward the front of the car, and there was Jake, lying on the ground right behind the parked car in front of us. People from inside the diner were already pouring out the door. We called the ambulance, I heard one man say. I crouched down next to Jake, he was out cold. I put my hand near his mouth, and I felt his breath on my wrist. He was alive. I called his name loud and abrupt, but no response. I saw a bone sticking out of his right leg. Right through his jeans. His pant's were soaked with blood. He looked alright other than that. Although his head was laying kind of crooked to his shoulders. Then I saw a small trickle of blood coming from his ear, and a small puddle forming by the back of his head. Out of the way folks said the medic. I was about to move when he pushed me hard away from Jake. I scrambled to my feet and began crying. One medic was at the car checking on the driver who was just waking up. The other car was kind of crushed into the drivers door angled toward the front. Another medic was tending to the guy driving the car which hit us. He was put on a stretcher and they covered him with the white sheet. I later learned that man had a heart attack, and that was what caused the crash. I sat in the Emergency room with Jake for hours. Even though he was breathing, they did a tracheotomy and hooked him up to a respirator. They did an MRI and a CT scan. Jake was in pretty bad shape. He had a compound fracture to his right femur, and a Jefferson burst fracture in his neck, and a head injury. He must have tried to get out of the way from the car, the policeman said. The car bumper struck his leg, pushing him forward and into the rear end of the parked car, head first. I stood over Jake just looking at him. My heart was in agony. Wake up Jake, please just wake up. I closed my eyes and kissed his lips softly, and I heard movement. My eyes darted open expecting to see his see his, but they were closed. It was only a technician coming to check his vital signs. They worked pretty fast on him considering what I knew about hospitals. With mom, everything was as slow as trying to pour molasses out of the jar. But with Jake, it was different. Maybe because he was young and hurt so bad, or maybe they knew he was rich. Either way they acted fast. He went from the ER to surgery and they fixed his leg. A titanium rod had to be inserted. It would stay with him for the rest of his life. After surgery he was put in to the intensive care unit, or as a lot of people call it, the ICU. He had a hard plastic Aspen collar around his neck, and a bandage on his head. He was still unconscious. The doctor said that Jake's head injury had caused severe brain trauma, and only time would tell if he would recover. Being in a small town hospital, doesn't always offer the best treatments like you get in the big cities. I woke up in the chair around nine am. Jake was lying in the bed exactly the way I left him. Nothing had changed. Again I called his name hoping to stir some kind of response. anything at all, would have been great. Nothing. I just sat there all day, waiting, expecting him to wake up because he loved me and I loved him. This wasn't the movies, if he was to wake up, it would be when his brain said so. I decided to go home and shower, and get changed into some clean clothes. It felt like a life time since yesterday on the riverbank. I looked at the picture on the shelf. I had waited all my life for Jake and didn't even know it. He was the one.My one and only. I held the picture against my heart and cried. I was also, Jake's one and only true love. I realized right then, that we were soulmates. I had to get cleaned up, and I did so in a flash. I was in a hurry to be by him no matter what. If I stayed by his side, I thought, he would be fine, and we would live out our destiny together. I had to get back to the hospital. I grabbed a water and some crackers, and climbed into my old Chevy and started it up. What if he doesn't remember me when he wakes up I thought. I dismissed the idea and zoomed out of the driveway and toward the hospital. If Jake wakes up, I need to be at his side. He will see me, his love, and we will be together. It had been almost five hours since I saw Jake. I wondered if he was awake yet. I thought of mom again, and how she always told me that my Mr. Right, would show up when I least expected it. She always seemed to know everything. I bet she never thought it would happen like this. I turned into the hospital parking lot, and pulled into the closest spot I could find. I hurriedly walked inside and up to the ICU. Before I could press the button to ask the nurse to open the door to the unit, it opened, and a cleaning person came out. I slipped in and dashed to Jake's room. It was empty. It was all clean and ready for a new patient. I think my heart stopped beating. I ran to the nurses station. Where is my Jake, I asked in a panic? Who are you she asked me? I am Jake's girlfriend I said, I was here all through the night by his bedside. I just went home to get cleaned up. Where is he I persisted. I am not allowed to give out any information she told me. Only to immediate family members. Is he dead I asked, starting to cry. No said the nurse. Then where is he, what is going on? She could see I was genuinely distraught. How long have you two been dating she asked me. I looked into her eye's and shared the whole story. I watched as tears began to fill her eye's. The nurse pulled me into the linen closet and said, They flew him to another hospital better equipped to care for him. Where I asked, what hospital. I do not know what hospital she said but it is somewhere out west. I went to the hospital administrators office and demanded to know where Jake was flown. I'm sorry mam, but by law I cannot release any patient information without the patient or legal guardians consent. I told him the story of how I and Jake came together after all these years hoping to get him to be sympathetic. But he was cold. I'm sorry mam, he said, it's the law. After trying several other offices, I gave up and left. I sat in my car crying for hours. Oh Jake. Oh my precious Jake. Out west? Jake said Lizzy moved out west. I wondered if that is where he was sent. Out by Lizzy. That made some sense to me. But how would they have known. I decided to drive to the police station. They must have police reports. I was involved in the accident. They had to give me copies. No mam, the reports will not be ready until Tuesday. Tuesday I barked at him, that's five days away. I'm sorry he said, you can come back then, and we will make your copies. I had no choice, I would have to wait. I was a wreck. My whole life was turned upside down and twisted inside out. Finally, I had my true love, my one and only, my mister right, and poof he was gone. I laid on my bed crying for days. If only I had said no to dinner and just stayed here, we would be holding and loving each other right now. I cried even harder. As each day passed, I felt a little better. The pain in my heart was still strong, but I stopped crying. I was a woman, not a little girl any more. I would forge on. Tuesday came and I picked up the police reports. They even had the nerve to charge me a dollar per page. I sat in my car and opened the envelope. It had to have Jake's name and address, after all, it was his car. I read through the reports, Jake's name was there but no address. He was listed as a passenger, as was I, in a vehicle owned by Lexi's Limo Service. It was not Jake's car, it was a rental. There was no other useful information in the report. I decided to drive to the diner and get something to eat. I probably lost ten pounds this week and I was hungry. I asked the waitress if I could use the phone book and she brought it right over to me. I looked up Lexi's Limo Service. There was only one listed in the state and it was 100 miles south of here. I went to the payphone on the wall and dialed the number. Lexi's Limo's the man answered, how can I help you? Hi, I said, I was wondering if you could help me. What do you need mam? I am looking for the address of one of your patrons, a Mr. Jake Morgan. I'm sorry lady but we don't give out our clients information, it is against policy. But, I said, I was the victim in a car accident with him in one of your limousines in Prattsburg last week. Oh that car he said. I'm sorry mam, that car was reported stolen a week before the accident. You will have to contact the police department for any information. My jaw hit the floor. Stolen? I was numb. My brain was all over the place. Who is he? I hate him, no I love him. Oh god, Mom, please help me. End part three.