The deafening sound of rain lessens a bit under the protection of the branches above. Somehow the ground here has yet to become soaked to the core. Instinctively, I seek out my rock. My feet find their way to it without the help of my brain. Trusting the pull, I allow myself to be dragged across the root-laden ground.
Lightning flashes again.
A dark figure is leaning against my rock.
“Tobias,” I whisper.
He looks up at me, both relieved and scared. He's clutching at his sides. He's dying.
Within seconds, I am at his side.
“Where’s your inhaler?” I scream, sinking down beside him. He's too weak to answer. He just closes his eyes in defeat.
No. You are not going to die on me.
“What should I do?” I wail at him.
He lifts his hand and slowly forms a curve. His fingers then form something that looks like a person walking. What the hell is he doing? Then he makes a fist. No, not a fist. His thumb is in front of his fingers…an R! He is signing the letter R. That curvy thing was a C, then a walking dude, then an R. C something R. Shit!
“CPR?” I gasp. “You need me to give you CPR?”
His eyes close in relief.
My heart swells. I could save him.
If only I knew CPR.
Tobias
One look at her soaked and ashen face and I realize she doesn’t know how to do CPR. I give her a small smile trying to convey that I understand; that it isn’t her fault. I try not to think about dying, but each breath is bringing less and less oxygen and I can feel myself slipping away.
Before I close my eyes against the crushing pressure in my lungs, I look up at her one last time. She is trembling and dripping wet. Knowing I can't do anything to comfort her is almost as painful as the lack of breath. I want to reach out and tell her that it will be okay, but I can’t lie to her. Besides, I'm too weak to talk right now. I just want to sleep. Just close my eyes for one second…
That’s when I feel her lips on mine. Hot and electric. A literal jolt of life surges into me.
My eyes open. Her face is pressed against mine. Her drenched golden hair falls against my chest. But it's her breath that consumes me. Warm and healing. Filling my lungs. Her lips, pressed soft against mine, replenishing my body with life. An angel has come to save me. Again.
Jada
It is working! His chest is rising and falling! Maybe I do know CPR after all? Maybe watching all those ER shows as a kid has paid off. Cocky, I move my hands over his chest ready to start compressions, but his hand touches mine. Heat surges all over my body. I look down at him, crumpled on the ground and he shakes his head. Then points back to his mouth.
For a second I think he wants me to kiss him, then I realize what he's trying to say. His doesn’t need chest compressions. His heart is still beating. He just needs air, you moron!
Feeling foolish, I bend back over him, pinch his nose shut and give him another series of breaths. As I press my mouth to his, I try to ignore how soft his lips really are. Hawk was right. They are soft: like silk, burning hot silk. And familiar. Achingly familiar.
Without actually meaning to, my breathing somehow turns into kissing. It starts as a soft peck at first but after that taste, I want more. Need more.
Hungry now, I move my lips to his again, more urgently than the last time. His lips respond to me, melding with mine perfectly. My hands dig into his hair, lifting him off the ground so I can straddle him. His hands press into my hips, locking me on top of his body. When his tongue brushes against mine, I almost lose my mind.
When a small cough escapes Tobias' lips, however, my trance is broken. I rip my lips away and force myself off him. Still coughing, Tobias pulls himself up to lean back against the rock. His breath is labored, but he seems okay.
We sit together in silence for a moment listening to the rain pelt against the trees. I keep a close eye on his chest, making sure it's still moving. The trees have done a decent job blocking the rain, but he won’t last much longer out here. He needs to get to a doctor. Fast.
“That’s twice you’ve saved my life now,” Tobias says, coughing a bit.
“Let’s not try for three, okay?”
His hand reaches out and cradles my face, pulling my eyes to him.
“Thank you,” he whispers again. His voice is low husky and sexy as hell.
His hand is cold and shriveled from the rain but his touch is like fire. It’s both comforting and confusing. The ache in my chest returns and pulls me forward. Foolishly, I lean in to kiss him again. One kiss, I tell myself, I just need a tiny little taste of him.
He refuses to let my lips go when I try to pull away. His hands lace into the back of my hair, pulling me closer. A shiver of excitement runs down my spine.
When his tongue slides inside my mouth this time, I actually groan with delight. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I know I should stop. I'm probably making it harder for him to breathe, but the way his hands have slid around to cup my breasts I can only assume he’s getting along just fine.
He has me completely in his trance, this boy I hardly know, yet know more about than I know of myself.
It's only when he starts coughing again that I realize he's not out of danger.
“Damn it,” he coughs. “I'm sorry.”
I run my hand down his chest and feel his heart beating wildly against my touch.
“It's not your fault. It's this storm. We've got to get you out of here.”
“I know.” He looks pissed at himself. Probably angry that he can't even kiss without getting sick.
Undeterred, I stand up and reach down for his hand. “Lean on me. I’ll get you out of here.”
He clenches his teeth in understanding, and I feel his weight against me as I wrap my arm around his waist. Tobias rests his head on my shoulder and I have to fight against the urge to do the same. His wheezing has returned a bit and it's causing me to panic.
We take our time getting out of the woods even though he seems stronger. I don't want to risk a set back.
Once we're at the edge of the woods, I look up at the sky. It's still raining.
“What do we do?” I ask Tobias, who is shaking against the cold.
He lets go of me for a second and starts to take off his shirt.
“What are you doing? It's freezing out here?”
He wrings out the water as best he can.
“I'll cover my mouth with this. It might help.”
Nodding, I bring my arm back around his waist.
“On three?” I say. He gives me a weak nod.
“One. Two.” Please don't let him die.
“Three.”
Together we half-run, half-walk, straight past my house to Kari's.
Neither house has power, but Kari has a car. And right now, that's all I care about.
“Ms. Philips! I need help!” I yell, knocking her front door open with my foot. It is rude, but don't have time for manners.
Her house is pitch black from the power outage. My teeth chatter against the fading warmth of the house.
Setting Tobias down on her couch, I pull one of those throws she has on all of her chairs to me and wrap it around him. I'm yanking a second from the couch when Ms. Philips comes around the corner with a candle in her hand.
“Good Lord in heaven! What’s going on?”
“Ms. Philips – Kari, we need to borrow your car. He needs to go the hospital!”
Kari looks at Tobias who is shaking and dripping all over her couch.
“What’s wrong with him?”
I start to tear up. “It's his asthma. He doesn't have his inhaler and this stupid rain has made it harder for him to breathe.”
Kari walks closer to Tobias bringing the light of the flame with her. The blue tint of his skin is returning, causing a wave of nausea to flood over me.
“Your mama's a nurse, right?” Kari asks Tobias. He nods weakly.
Kari puts her hands on her hips. “Then I'm taking you h
ome. I know where he lives,” she tells me, grabbing her coat.
“Home? No wait, he needs to go to the hospital!” I shriek.
She turns on me, her eyes dark. “I am not stepping foot into another hospital.” Her voice shakes when she says this, which makes me step away in shock.
“Tobias, do you have stuff at home that can help this?” She gestures to his chest.
He nods again. Kari turns to me.
“Think about it, darling. If I take him to a hospital, he's gonna have to wait, maybe hours before he gets the medicine he needs. Let's get him home, get him some meds right away. Then if his mama needs him to see a doc after that. If she wants him at the hospital I'll drive them there. Got it?”
I bite my lip, hating that she's right. On a night like tonight, the ERs will be filled with people needing help or at least thinking they do. Emergencies always bring out the crazies.
“Okay then,” I say, resolved. I guess that made sense. “Let's go.” I start to help Tobias up, but her hand comes down on my shoulder.
“You're not coming, Jada.” Kari says, firmly. “You need to go home. Before your father finds out you're not there.” Her eyes pierce into me. “I don't want you to get in trouble for sneaking out.” I wonder suddenly if she's overheard our 'arguments' before.
I stomp my feet on the ground in frustration. I hate that Kari is right. If I weren't at home when Dad got up, after everything he'd had to drink, there could be marks on me that I wouldn't be able to hide in the morning.
Tobias brushes my hand with his and my fears melt. “I’ll be fine, Jada,” he says, standing up on his own. “Honest. I just need my nebulizer. Besides, my mom's not going to be happy with me leaving the house. Probably better if you didn't see that.” He gives me a small smile.
Kari jerks her head to the door in a not so subtle hint to hit the road.
“He's gonna be fine, honey. You go home now.”
I give one last look to Tobias who gives me a weak smile before I turn and look at Kari. She's turned herself around to look at her wall of photos.
“Please, please don't let this happen again,” she whispers to the wall.
I take that as my cue to leave.
Tobias
Ms. Philips stares dead ahead along the road towards my house. I don't ask how she knows where I live. It's a small town. Everybody knows everybody.
“I'm sorry,” I wheeze. “I didn't mean to cause her...” Wheeze. “...trouble.”
Her lips form a hard line. “That girl was in trouble the minute she laid eyes on you.” She turns to glare at me.
“Trouble?” I cough out.
Her shoulders slump and she lets out a big sigh. She shifts gears and pulls onto the dirt road that leads to my house. Her hands stay firmly planted on the wheel as though she's trying to control herself.
Kari narrows her eyes at me. “Have you ever seen two people in your life that you knew,” she asks, “deep down in your gut that they were meant to be together?” I start to answer, but she holds up her hand to stop me. “Now, I'm not just talking about puppy-dog crush. I'm talking about the kind of love that consumes your entire body – takes you hostage. A feeling so powerful that makes you do or say anything, just to be near them? Almost like you're being physically pulled towards them?” She glances over at me to get my reaction.
My mouth opens to say no, but it's a lie. That's exactly how it is with Jada.
“That's what I thought,” she says grimly. “Jada does that to you, doesn't she?”
I start coughing, surprised at her perceptiveness. “I never said that.”
Kari shakes her head. “You didn't have to. It's plain as day when you two look at each other.” She pulls into my driveway and cuts the engine before looking me dead in the eyes. “And that is exactly the reason you need to stay away from her.”
“What?”
“Now, I know this doesn't make any sense. You're too young and stupid to think that anything bad could come from loving someone so much that it hurts.” A candle flickers upstairs and then vanishes. Ma must have seen us pull in. I know I should go in, but I can tell Kari has more she needs to say.
“In college,” she finally says, “I had a friend who fell that hard for a boy. His name was Etash.” Her voice starts to waiver. “The day the two of them met, it was like lighting came down from the heavens. I have never seen two people more in love than those two were. For one brief moment they were happy.” A small smile creeps onto her face for a second before it vanishes. “Since then I’ve learned that sort of happiness comes at a cost.”
“Thanks for the warning,” I say reaching for the door handle.
But before I can get out of the car, her hand is on my arm. “Your friend, Hawk. He has blue eyes, right?”
“Um, yeah. Why?”
She closes her eyes, like I've punched her. “Like the color of ice.” It's not a question.
“I guess you could say that. So what?”
She nods her head slowly. “It'll be him. He will take her away from you.” Her eyes are wide now.
I start to cough. I need my meds, but her gaze is so intense that it's frozen me to the seat.
“Don't trust him,” she pleads.
“Tobias!” The door beside me rips open. Ma is standing out in the rain. Her face is covered in fear.
“He needs help, Ms. Garret. I found him out on the road. I knew you could help him faster than that damn hospital. You call me, though, if you need a lift there.”
Ma nods her thanks, grabs my arm, and starts to pull me out of Kari's car. My lungs cough against the night, but I can't help and glance back at Kari one last time. She's hunched over the wheel, crying.
Chapter 11
Jada
As soon as Kari’s car pulls out of the drive with Tobias, I spring from our kitchen window where I have kept vigil since she kicked me out of her house. Dad's still passed out on the couch. I've got another hour easily, judging by that snore. The only good part about her kicking me back home is at least I've been able to get some dry clothes on. It would be just like me to die of pneumonia after tonight's ordeal.
Checking on Dad once more, I sneak back out of the house and run over to Kari's. I need to be there when she returns. I need to make sure Tobias is okay. If he is all right then I can take whatever punishment Dad can dish out.
Although the rain has stopped, the wind has kicked up, making me wrap my arms around my body for warmth. A gust cuts right through me, blowing Kari's front door wide open. She must not have shut it all the way when they left.
Instead of just shutting the door, I opt to go in. After all, it's freezing out here.
Closing the door quietly behind me, I stand in the hall.
“Kari?” I ask her dark house.
There is no answer. Of course, there isn’t an answer you moron, you just saw her drive off!
A light flicks on in her kitchen, causing me to jump. Chill out Jada, the power must have just kicked back on. Still spooked, I tiptoe into her living room as though the walls might tattle on me if I where to make too much noise.
Even in the now, that damn picture calls to me. In the dim light from the kitchen, I can tell his dark eyes watch me; beg me to remember something. Eventually I turn away, ashamed that I couldn't see what he wanted me to see.
The kitchen light calls to me like a beacon so I follow its pull instead of the scarred boy. It's only when I see her table that I realize that it is still him calling to me. Covering Kari's table are piles and piles of photos albums. Amid all the pages laid open his eyes find me. The hairs on my neck stand up. My feet pull me to the table. A yellowed newspaper clipping with his face looks back at me.
My eyes dance down to read the article.
Webster Journal
The Circle of Life -- Times Three
Tragedy mixes with miracles at Webster General Hospital
October 14, 2011
Tragedy struck late Sunday night at the Webster General Hospital in Webster, NH
, when three teens were killed in what appears to be a twisted love triangle. Naya Adams, 18, of New York, Etash Kapur, 17, of New Jersey and Seth Falconer, 18, of Webster, were all pronounced dead Sunday evening.
According to Detective Simons, of the Webster Police Department, Falconer, Adams' ex-boyfriend, allegedly kidnapped and drugged Adams, causing her to overdose. When Adams' new boyfriend, Kapur, arrived on the scene, Falconer punctured Kapur’s left lung with a butcher knife before killing himself with his father's shotgun. Doctors tell us that Kapur rallied until the ambulance arrived shortly thereafter, but ultimately suffocated to death on his own blood. Simons said the murders happened in the home of Falconer’s parents, Douglas and Natalie Falconer, who were out of town when the events occurred. At press time, they had no comment.
Distraught family and friends arrived at the ER in shock about the night’s events. One teen, Kari Philips, 18, had this to say about the death of her college friend. “I had no idea how cruel Seth was. I knew she was scared of him, but no one knew what he was capable of.”
In a twist of fate, that same night in the NICU unit just above the ER, three babies were born: Jada Williams, Tobias Garrett and Hawk Sanders. Nurses on the scene called their births on such a night“a miracle.”
Not everyone present, however, saw the events the same way. The grandmother of Kapur had this to say: “My grandson may have died tonight, but not his soul. It has moved on.” She went on to say, “It was no accident that three babies were born on the same night those three teens died. It was fate.”
The parents of the 'miracle babies' were unavailable for comment.
I have to read the article several times before the depth of what I'm reading sinks in. The reminder that he died makes tears form in my eyes. But even more confusing, is that Kari was there the day he died... the day I was born...
“I thought I told you to go home.” Kari’s voice startles me.
“Oh!” I snap my head up, knocking over a cold cup of tea that had been perched on the table as I did. It shatters into oblivion at my feet.
Pulled Back (Twin Flames Series) Page 9