He turned to the closest EMT for a second opinion. I tuned him out to consider the jumble of inexplicable images churning chaotically in my head. When they'd lifted me away from the car, I had seen the deep dent in the tan car's bumper — a very distinct dent that fit the contours of Edward's shoulders… as if he had braced himself against the car with enough force to damage the metal frame…

And then there was his family, looking on from the distance, with expressions that ranged from disapproval to fury but held no hint of concern for their brother's safety.

I tried to think of a logical solution that could explain what I had just seen — a solution that excluded the assumption that I was insane.

Naturally, the ambulance got a police escort to the county hospital. I felt ridiculous the whole time they were unloading me. What made it worse was that Edward simply glided through the hospital doors under his own power. I ground my teeth together.

They put me in the emergency room, a long room with a line of beds separated by pastel-patterned curtains. A nurse put a pressure cuff on my arm and a thermometer under my tongue. Since no one bothered pulling the curtain around to give me some privacy, I decided I wasn't obligated to wear the stupid-looking neck brace anymore. When the nurse walked away, I quickly unfastened the Velcro and threw it under the bed.

Contour 輪廓

Escort 陪同

Cuff 袖口

Velcro 魔術貼

　　他明顯沒有相信我的感覺，轉向離他最近的一個緊急醫療救護員問了第二個人對我受傷程度的判斷。我把他放到了一邊，去想那一堆雜亂無章地浮現在我腦子裡的無法解釋的畫面。他們把我從車邊上擡走的時候，我看見那輛棕紅色小汽車的保險杠上有一道深深的印痕--一道非常獨特的印痕，與愛德華肩膀的輪廓正好吻合……好像是他用了很大的力，撐靠在車上把那個金屬玩意兒給弄凹了。……

　　接下來就是他的家人，遠遠地站在一邊，表情各異，從反對到盛怒，但就是絲毫不見對他們這位兄弟安全的擔心。

　　我試圖想出一個合乎邏輯的答案，來解釋我剛剛見到的這一切--來排除認為我神經不正常的臆斷。

　　自然，救護車由一名警察護送到了縣醫院。他們把我從救護車上擡下來的整個這段時間，我都感到很可笑。更可氣的是，愛德華卻可以輕而易舉地溜出病房，自由活動。我咬緊了牙齒。

　　他們把我放在急救室。急救室是一間狹長的屋子，裡面擺放着一溜病床，床與床之間由一些蠟筆畫圖案的簾子隔開。一名護士在我胳膊上綁了一個血壓袖帶，在我舌頭下面放了一個體溫表。既然誰都懶得拉上簾子給我一點兒自己的空間，我想我也就沒有義務戴那個傻乎乎的頸托兒了。護士走開後，我三下五除二，扯開了維可牢搭扣 ，把它扔到了床底下。