The Other Half || Jerrie

Chapter Nineteen

Perrie Edwards met her future wife’s younger brother in the worst way possible. When Perrie met Karl Thirlwall, the thirteen-year-old was dying.

Perrie had just finished her first week of her second year of graduate school in the fall of 2016 and was heading over to Jesy’s apartment. She’d been to her high school best friend’s apartment a handful of times in the past year, and had joked that Jesy was lying when she said she had a roommate. She’d yet to meet the mysterious ‘Jade,’ but Jesy had promised that she would be around for their dinner party that night.

And Perrie did meet a Thrilwall that night, just not the one she was expecting.

It was a hot day as Perrie walked through Union Square. She was listening to music, not paying too much attention to what was going on around her, until a loud sound startled her. She glanced to her left as she saw a manhole cover being blown high into the sky. It happened without warning and suddenly, landing on a teenaged boy and young woman.

Perrie immediately rushed towards the pair as the dust around them settled, glad that she’d taken an EMT class that year.

As she knelt beside the two, the older woman, probably a few years older than Perrie herself, stood up. The manhole cover had landed on the younger boy and had only knocked the older woman over.

“My name is Perrie, I’m a registered EMT,” Perrie greeted. “Let me help.”

“You have to help him,” the dirt covered woman insisted with a sharpness that brushed Perrie somewhat the wrong way.

“I’ll do everything in my power,” Perrie responded, knowing that promising to save a life was never a good idea. “What is his name?”

“Karl. His name is Karl.”

“And what’s your name?”

“I’m Leigh-Anne,” the woman answered. “She’s my best friend’s brother. Help her.”

Perrie nodded and took in the situation in front of her. The young blond lying underneath the manhole cover was unconscious and surrounded by blood, but in the dust from the exploded pavement it was hard to find the source of the blood.

The EMT worked her way around Karl, trying to get a handle on Karl’s injuries as Leigh-Anne called 911 beside her. After assessing the situation, Perrie decided it was okay to remove the manhole cover, and with Leigh-Anne’s help, managed to do so.

With the cover removed, Perrie placed two fingers on Karl’s pulse. “I can’t find a pulse,” she stated.

Perrie tried to keep calm, but on the inside she was freaking out. She was just a passerby and suddenly the young, random boy’s life was in her hands.

“I’m going to give him CPR,” Perrie spoke out loud, hoping she sounded more confident that she felt.

“You don’t need to explain to me what you’re doing, just do it!” Leigh-Anne insisted. Perrie realized she was right and immediately started chest compressions. She then tilted Karl’s head back and blew down his windpipe. She repeated the lesson she’d learned the first day of EMT class, until finally she tested Karl’s pulse again.

The pulse was weak, but it was there. Moments later, Karl began to cough up smoke.

In order to prevent her from worsening any injuries, Perrie gently placed pressure on Karl’s shoulders, keeping him in place.

“Karl, it’s okay. There was an accident, but you’re going to be okay,” Perrie spoke with a soft voice. “My name is Perrie. I’m an EMT. There’s an ambulance on the way, but can you tell me what hurts?”

“My head,” the boy whispered.

“Anything else?”

“I can’t feel my legs. Perrie, why can’t I feel my legs?” the young teen whispered, his voice cracking as she tried not to cry.

Perrie quickly made sure that Karl was stable on the ground, that he couldn’t move and make things worse. Her college best friend, Ariana, had been partially paralyzed as a child, and Perrie knew what she dealt with on a day-to-day basis. If Perrie could prevent this little boy from doing the same thing, she would.

The ambulance arrived only moments later, with on-duty EMTs whisking Karl away after Perrie explained to them everything that had happened.

Perrie wished she had been able to find out what had happened to the little boy in the following weeks and years. And eventually, she did find out.

Karl would be the one to put it all together. He would be the one who would recognize Perrie as the girl who saved his life. Karl would be the one who would point out the thread that would eventually unravel everyone. In fact, if it weren’t for the fact that Karl nearly died that day, it would have taken Perrie and Jade much longer to realize how much their lives had always been intertwined.