Accidentally His

by Brooks, Sarah J.

  The team took Jordan from the rescuer and me and loaded her into the vehicle before I got a chance to say goodbye or anything. The rescuer that was with me filled them in on what I’d told him, and then they pulled away.

  My rescuer assessed me for injuries while we sat in the second SUV. I felt fine. I was cold, and my toes and fingers weren’t feeling all that great, but overall, I was going to be just fine.

  “Can we get going? I want to be there when she wakes up.”

  “Actually, we are waiting for a third team that had to grab a group of young hikers. They have been trapped up here for nearly a week and just reached the ski area for help. They should be back here shortly.”

  “Everyone alright?” I asked.

  “Yep, sounds like they were doing fine but had held up in a side building at the top of one of the ski hills that wasn’t being used. If they’d have just gone to the other side of the mountain, they could have had a beer and been partying all week.” He laughed.

  I couldn’t help laughing too. When the other vehicle arrived behind us, we finally started to make our way down the mountain. I couldn’t wait to get to the hospital and see how Jordan was doing. Relief rushed through my body, and my hands started to shake violently.

  “It’s just the adrenaline. We will have you checked out when we get down, don’t worry,” my rescuer reassured me.

  Chapter 19

  Jordan

  “Hi, I’m Mary,” the nurse standing next to me said as she changed my IV bag.

  “Hi,” I said as I looked around the room and assessed the situation. I was definitely in a hospital room. I had monitors hooked up to my chest and an IV in my arm. There was a cast on my lower leg, but other than that, I felt pretty good. I imagined the stuff going into my veins was filled with some sort of excellent medication because as I turned my head the room seemed to be a few steps behind and a blur of dizziness hit me.

  “You’re in the hospital. You had surgery, and they cleaned out your wound, set your leg and stitched you up. Can you rate your pain on a scale from one to ten?”

  “I’m not in pain,” I replied. “But I really need to pee.”

  “You have a catheter in right now. That feeling won’t go away until it’s removed, but you don’t have to worry about it.”

  “My parents. I should call my parents. And my friends, I bet they are worried about me.”

  “Actually, there is someone out in the waiting room who was pretty eager to see you.” Mary smiled and walked out of the room to go get this person.

  I couldn’t wait to see Caleb. I bet he was so worried about me. What we had gone through together was amazing. I wanted to wrap my arms around him and hold onto him for as long as he would let me. I would have died on that mountain if it hadn’t been for him. I would have died in that tent, or on that ledge, and I certainly wouldn’t have gotten away from Peter.

  While I waited for Mary to return, I tried to straighten my hair out and my hospital gown. There was no use, though. I still looked like a woman who had been through hell and back again, but it didn’t matter. Caleb had seen me at my worst, and he was still there for me.

  My heart raced with excitement as the anticipation built up. I could hear Mary’s voice coming down the hall. She seemed really happy for a nurse. She laughed loudly just before entering the room.

  “Well, here you go,” Mary said and presented her guest.

  “Oh, my God, I thought you were dead!” Emma screamed and ran over to me.

  She practically jumped into bed with me as she hugged me. I started to cry instantly. I could only imagine how scared she had been once that snowstorm hit, and it was clear that I wasn’t coming back.

  “I’m okay,” I said as we held onto one another.

  “You went up alone. I told you to do it. Well, I didn’t exactly tell you, but I encouraged this independence. It was all my fault.”

  “No, actually you wanted me to go with you to your retreat. It was my decision to go on the hike. None of this is your fault. I’m fine. Look at me, I look fine. Okay, well maybe a little weathered, but I’m okay.”

  “The police are out in the lobby and want to talk to you. There was a really hot guy talking to them earlier. Is that who rescued you?” Emma asked as she found a spot to sit next to me on the bed.

  Being around Emma made me feel like I was home again. Her high energy and endless questions normally drove me nuts, but on this afternoon, it was a welcome change from everything I had been through.

  “I’m not sure who is out in the lobby,” I said, not ready to talk too much about Caleb just yet. “There was a nice man who helped me out, though. I would like to talk to him if he is around.”

  “Well, the guy who was talking to the police had to go to the police station. He said he shot someone. What the heck happened up there?”

  “Peter must have been following me after all. I don’t know if he just followed me up to the mountains or what, but he showed up at the cabin where I was staying. I tried to get away from him, but he tried to kill me.”

  “Well, hello, young lady,” a doctor said as he walked straight up to me and shook my hand. “I’m Dr. Masterson. I got word that you were awake and thought I’d stop in and check on you. How are you feeling?”

  “I feel pretty good. A little dizzy and a little nauseous.”

  “That might be from antibiotics and pain medication. I can get you something for the nausea,” he said as he wrote a note in my chart. “How’s the pain? You had some pretty extensive damage to your muscle and bone.”

  “I’m not really in pain right now,” I said as Emma grabbed my hand and squeezed it.

  “That’s good. I can cut back on the pain medication a little to see if that helps with the nausea, but you let Mary know if you need it again. We need you comfortable, so you can recover. Your body has been through a lot of trauma, and it is going to take a few days for you to feel like you want to get up and get moving.”

  The doctor and I continued talking about the precautions I had to take with my new cast and what the next few days in the hospital were going to be like. It was a relief to get filled in on everything that was happening and to know that I was being well taken care of.

  Even though I was likely going to have extensive rehabilitation to do, I didn’t care. I was alive. I was lucky to be alive, and I wasn’t about to complain at all. So many things had happened over the last week, so many wild events that could have killed me. If I had to go to rehab a few times a week or stay in a cast for a while, that was just fine with me.

  When the doctor finally left, Emma hugged me again. I knew someday I was going to have to tell her everything about what happened, but for the time being, I just wanted to cuddle with my friend.

  “Tell me when you want me to go get that police officer. I bet he just needs to get your statement.”

  “How long do you think he will wait out there?” I laughed. “Maybe I can just avoid him.”

  “Well, I think sooner or later he is going to have to come in and talk to you. Might as well get it done right away so you can rest.”

  Emma was right. I was awake and feeling good; there was no better time for me to get this whole thing over with. I just wished I could have gotten to talk with Caleb before I talked with the police. They couldn’t actually be charging him with shooting Peter, that was ridiculous. Clearly, he was just protecting me and wasn’t the aggressor in this situation.

  “Go ahead and go get him. I’ll talk to him now,” I offered.

  It had been a long time since I had to sit and talk with a police officer. In fact, it had been several years. The last time I gave a statement to a police officer was the same time Peter had attacked me.

  Luckily for me, the interview with the officer was very easy. They already had a statement from the Caleb, and it turned out even Peter had given a statement admitting to what he had done. Peter was okay and had been admitted to a psychiatric hospital which was reassuring.

  It was hard fo
r people to understand how I could be terrified of someone but also have compassion for them, but it was how I felt. Peter had once been a fun-loving teenager who I loved very much. I wasn’t sure what exactly had happened to him and why he was so angry now, but I hoped he would finally get the help he deserved.

  “Was Caleb charged with shooting Peter?” I asked as the police officer and I wrapped up the interview about thirty minutes after he had entered my room.

  “No, it sounds like a classic case of self-defense,” the officer said as he was leaving. “I’ll touch base with you in a few days if I have any more questions. You’re a lucky girl. Lucky to be alive.”

  “I know.”

  It was the truth. I was so lucky to be alive and so lucky to have my friend Emma there with me in the hospital. But I still couldn’t stop thinking about Caleb and wondering where he was and why he wasn’t there. If he had gone to the police station to give his statement, it didn’t sound like they intended to keep him so, where was he?

  The night was a long one as Emma helped me call my parents, and we notified everyone that I was alright. I talked to my parents for nearly an hour before I was finally able to get off the phone with them. They promised to be up at the hospital in the morning when I had a little time to rest.

  When I couldn’t keep my eyes open for another minute, there was another knock on the door.

  “Can I come in,” a familiar husky voice said.

  I hurriedly sat up and Emma smiled as she looked at me and saw how excited I was to see Caleb. I didn’t have to tell her that he was the guy, she knew right away.

  “Hi,” I said and tried to sound as casual as possible. “How are you?”

  “How are you? You’re the one who almost died.”

  “No, you wouldn’t have let that happen. I knew the whole time that you were going to keep me safe.”

  “I’m glad one of us did. I wasn’t so sure.” He laughed and then looked over at Emma

  “This is my friend, Emma. She was just leaving,” I said and urged her on with a head nod. “Emma, this is Caleb. He … well, he is the one who saved me.”

  “Oh, yeah, I’m leaving,” she said and grabbed her things to head out. “I was just going to go grab some food. I’ll check back with you in a little bit, Jordan. I’m planning on sleeping on that couch, though,” she said pointing to the couch and then Caleb. “Don’t get any funny ideas.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” he playfully replied.

  As soon as Emma finished giving me a hug, she gave Caleb one as well. She lingered a little longer on the hug for Caleb, but I really couldn’t blame her. He was absolutely the most handsome man I’d ever met without his long hair and beard. Obviously, he’d been pretty dang good looking with the hair, but now, wow, I could hardly look at him without looking away and blushing.

  Caleb was dressed in an expensive and trendy shirt and jacket. He looked like a man with millions of dollars, not at all like the man I’d spent the last week with in the woods. His short hair looked like it had been trimmed even more than what I had done, and his face was smooth and just begging for me to rub it, but I didn’t. The dynamic between us was much different at that moment. The tension between the two of us was awkward and weird, it wasn’t sexy or anything like that.

  “So, thank you for saving my life,” I said, and he quickly leaned in to give me a hug.

  “I’m so glad you are okay, Jordan.”

  This time his words lingered long enough that both of us started to tear up. He held onto my hands and looked into my eyes, and it all became so overwhelming. Only moments ago, I had been on top of the world, excited to be doing so well, and now with Caleb there, I could hardly see straight as the overwhelming emotions flooded me.

  “The doctor says I should be able to walk just fine after I get the cast off. I will need to do some rehab because of the muscle injury, but he was pretty optimistic.”

  “That’s really great, Jordan. It was pretty nasty up there.”

  “I know. I couldn’t believe how you just went straight to sewing it up. I would have been vomiting all over you if it had been your leg.”

  “I know,” he said a little surprised by his own actions. “I’ve never done anything like that before. I was sure I was doing it all wrong, but the doctor told me he hadn’t seen anyone field-stitched like that by a novice before.”

  “Maybe he meant they were so bad he hadn’t seen anything that horrible before,” I shrugged my shoulders and teased him.

  “Oh, man, that’s totally possible.”

  “So, are you going back up there soon?” I asked.

  Caleb didn’t look like he was dressed to return to the mountains. He looked more like he was planning on staying in town. I was trying to give him signals that I’d like to get his number and give him mine, but I was doing a terrible job at it.

  “No, I’m going to stay in my condo downtown for a bit. I’ve got some catching up to do, and I think I’m ready.”

  “That’s so good. I’m excited for you. I live pretty close to downtown,” I offered as I tried to hint.

  There was a long silence, and Caleb looked at me as if he wanted to say something, but he didn’t. Instead, he looked at the flowers and balloons that were lined up against the wall and went over to read some of the cards.

  I hadn’t even read them yet. I had no idea who had sent them or what any of the cards said. He was avoiding me. I felt it. He was trying not to talk to me or at least trying to avoid talking about what had happened between the two of us on the mountain.

  “I know I said this, but I’m really glad you will be able to walk again. There was a moment when I thought you might lose your leg. You couldn’t move your toes, and I just thought there was no way you could recover from that.”

  “I don’t remember much about us getting down the mountain. I was pretty out of it by then. You did a great job,” I smiled at him, and he looked away again.

  “Are you going to have anyone to help take care of you when you get home? I could hire a nurse for you or something like that.”

  “I’m pretty sure Emma will settle in at my house. I think I’ll be fine. That was a really nice offer, though.”

  Again, silence. Caleb wasn’t himself, and I didn’t feel like myself. Were the two of us acting more like our genuine selves when we had been up on the mountain? But maybe this awkwardness was really who we were and those emotions from the cabin weren’t real; I just didn’t know. All I knew was I had loved Caleb up in that mountaintop cabin, and I still had a lot of feelings for him. It was really strange that he wasn’t showing emotions or acting the same.

  The way he was acting was making me act more defensively. It was a domino effect that was quickly getting out of control. I didn’t want to keep the conversation going if we were just going to be super weird to each other.

  “Well, I better let you rest,” Caleb said before I had the chance to use the same excuse.

  “Yeah, it’s been a long day. I really do need some sleep.”

  “Okay, well I’ll stop back by in a day or two and check on you. Hopefully, you’ll be feeling well enough to go home soon.”

  “Thank you, Caleb, that would be really nice. I look forward to seeing you again soon,” I said in what came out as this oddly grown-up voice I wasn’t even familiar with.

  “Talk to you later,” he said and then literally waved goodbye to me and left my room.

  What the heck had just happened? I had no idea. The man who I had made love to only a few short days before basically just waved to me without even the slightest bit of sexual tension. It was such an odd interaction that I couldn’t sleep for hours after he left as I replayed the whole thing repeatedly in my mind.

  ***

  After leaving the hospital, I returned to my apartment, and Emma came to stay with me for a while. She helped me as much as she could, but I managed to do a lot of things for myself. My ability to take care of myself had increased tenfold since my trip. I wasn’t as afraid of being alo
ne or of making mistakes. It was a refreshingly free feeling. In the couple of weeks since returning home, I had more energy and confidence than I’d ever had in myself.

  “Are you ready Emma? Geesh, come on. I only have one working leg, and I’m ready ahead of you.”

  “You’re also excited about life right now, and I’m hating life right now. I don’t even want to go to work. Can we skip today?”

  “You can skip. I’ve got a big project I’m working on. At least drop me off because I’m not paying for an Uber.” I had upgraded to a walking cast which was much easier to get around in, but I still couldn’t drive.

  “Did you call Caleb yet?” Emma asked as she finished putting on her shoes.

  She actually expected me to just pick up the phone and call him. Caleb wasn’t the one who gave me his phone number; Emma had gotten it from the police report. My opinion was that if he wanted to reach me, he would have made sure he had my contact information. He would have made a point of coming back to the hospital to see me before I was released. Caleb clearly wasn’t interested in pursuing anything outside of what had happened between us on that mountain.

  “I’m not calling him, Emma. We talked about this.”

  “No, you said you would think about it. I thought you would think about it and see that it’s ridiculous that you aren’t calling him.”

  “Emma, he didn’t want to stay in contact with me. This is a pretty easy thing to figure out. If he wanted my number, he would have asked for it.”

  “I thought you said he had your information?”

  “No, he had my address to mail the tent, that was it. And I guess he knows where I work since I talked about that once. But that’s it. He came to visit at the hospital and said he would come back, but he never did.”

  “Jordan, things happen. You can’t just assume he’s not interested,” Emma said so emphatically that I almost believed her.