When I saw the dark red tick, I was in a silent panic, and luckily, I could remove the tick (although I used my bare finger which is a big no-no), and the pink area around the tick went away. I had to go to the emergency room; and I was there from 6 to 8:30 PM. The doctor says that it doesn't look like the tick was not on my body for that long, so I probably was not infected with anything. However, he did tell me to see if anything happens over the next few days (e.g. fever, aching, etc). If that happens, then I should contact the hospital again. I'm 23 so I think I'll be alright, but I don't know.

One of a few things can happen:
I may not have been infected.
I may have been infected with Rocky Mountain spotted fever, which if not treated can be serious and occasionally fatal if not treated. Symptoms happen after 1-2 weeks.
I may have been infected with Lyme disease, which is potentially fatal if not treated. Like Rocky Mountain spotted, symptoms happen after 1-2 weeks.

In the meantime, I just have to hope and pray and watch how I feel. Most likely, nothing happened, but I've got to do what I hate doing most with these sorts of things: wait and see what happens.