Danny's party, alright?"
"But Caid…"
"I'm fine," I said again, even more firmly. "Go have fun, Liz, and I'll see you tomorrow. Tell Danny I'm sorry, okay?"
"Caid…"
"Bye." I hung up the phone and limped into the bedroom, removing the ice under my shirt and struggling out of my biking outfit into a pair of cutoff sweats and a baggy t-shirt.
Finally I lowered myself onto the couch, put the icepacks back in place on my ribs and jaw, and closed my eyes.
The icepacks had become lukewarm bags of water and it was near dusk when a knock at the door roused me from sleep. I automatically moved to get off the couch, and fell back with a groan as the various aches and bruises I'd gathered earlier in the day made themselves known.
"Hang on!" I croaked, and cautiously tried to sit up again. It was painful, but bearable as long as I moved slowly, and eventually I shuffled my way to the front entryway. The form on my doorstep, even distorted by four inches of glass block window, was unmistakable.
Robyn.
The jumble of anger and gladness, longing and hurt that washed through me at the sight of her confused the hell out of me, and only intensified when I pulled the door open and saw the magnitude of her relief when she saw me.
"Caid," she said breathlessly in that damned smoky, bedroom, honey-soaked voice of hers.
I gripped the door tightly, waiting for the now familiar emotional havoc that Robyn created inside me to subside.
"Robyn," I managed neutrally when it passed. "What are you doing here?"
She ignored my question, cataloging my scraped face and arms, bruised jaw and pain-stiffened posture with the intensity of a medical resident.
"Oh, baby, are you okay?" She stepped forward, and before I could move away, I was pulled tightly against her, engulfed in long, strong arms. I fought it for all of five milliseconds, and then relaxed into the embrace, resting my cheek against her neck and soaking up her warmth.
It felt…amazing.
She smelled slightly of cigarette smoke and cooking spices; party smells that told me how she knew I'd been hurt. Underneath was the faint floral scent she wore, the one that clung to the sweatshirt of hers that I still had, the one that lingered in our trailer, even when she wasn't there.
I breathed it in - breathed her in - and felt her arms tighten in response.
I gasped as a knife of pain from my ribs sliced through my haze of hug-induced euphoria.
"Ow…shit…"
Robyn released me immediately and stepped back as though stung.
"My ribs…" I blew out a steadying breath as the pain eased.
She stood with her hands partially outstretched, looking uncertain, wanting to help but not knowing what to do. At this distance I remembered what had immediately flown from my head the moment Robyn had touched me. She had lied to me, and I was supposed to be angry with her.
"Robyn, why are you here?" I repeated my earlier question, and the look of concern she had been giving my ribs turned to a tiny frown at my tone.
"I dropped by Danny's party…Liz told me that you'd been in an accident, a crash of some sort…I couldn't get any more information out of her, so I volunteered to come see how you were." She paused, and asked tentatively, "that bike…in the truck," she glanced behind her in the drive to where a beat-up pickup was parked next to Twila. In the bed lay a red mountain bike, its front rim bent almost in half, the fork twisted, and the handlebars skewed at an odd angle. "Was that…"
I nodded, not looking at the bike. Every time I looked at it, I realized that it could have been much, much worse. If I hadn't been wearing a helmet…I shivered and yawned, suddenly realizing I was very, very tired.
"Thank you for coming by, Robyn. You can tell everyone I'm fine. I need to go sit down." I stepped back and started to close the door.
Her frown deepened. "Caid…"
I stopped, the door half closed, waiting.
"Can I come in for a while?"
I didn't have enough energy to say no, so I just turned and
"But Caid…"
"I'm fine," I said again, even more firmly. "Go have fun, Liz, and I'll see you tomorrow. Tell Danny I'm sorry, okay?"
"Caid…"
"Bye." I hung up the phone and limped into the bedroom, removing the ice under my shirt and struggling out of my biking outfit into a pair of cutoff sweats and a baggy t-shirt.
Finally I lowered myself onto the couch, put the icepacks back in place on my ribs and jaw, and closed my eyes.
The icepacks had become lukewarm bags of water and it was near dusk when a knock at the door roused me from sleep. I automatically moved to get off the couch, and fell back with a groan as the various aches and bruises I'd gathered earlier in the day made themselves known.
"Hang on!" I croaked, and cautiously tried to sit up again. It was painful, but bearable as long as I moved slowly, and eventually I shuffled my way to the front entryway. The form on my doorstep, even distorted by four inches of glass block window, was unmistakable.
Robyn.
The jumble of anger and gladness, longing and hurt that washed through me at the sight of her confused the hell out of me, and only intensified when I pulled the door open and saw the magnitude of her relief when she saw me.
"Caid," she said breathlessly in that damned smoky, bedroom, honey-soaked voice of hers.
I gripped the door tightly, waiting for the now familiar emotional havoc that Robyn created inside me to subside.
"Robyn," I managed neutrally when it passed. "What are you doing here?"
She ignored my question, cataloging my scraped face and arms, bruised jaw and pain-stiffened posture with the intensity of a medical resident.
"Oh, baby, are you okay?" She stepped forward, and before I could move away, I was pulled tightly against her, engulfed in long, strong arms. I fought it for all of five milliseconds, and then relaxed into the embrace, resting my cheek against her neck and soaking up her warmth.
It felt…amazing.
She smelled slightly of cigarette smoke and cooking spices; party smells that told me how she knew I'd been hurt. Underneath was the faint floral scent she wore, the one that clung to the sweatshirt of hers that I still had, the one that lingered in our trailer, even when she wasn't there.
I breathed it in - breathed her in - and felt her arms tighten in response.
I gasped as a knife of pain from my ribs sliced through my haze of hug-induced euphoria.
"Ow…shit…"
Robyn released me immediately and stepped back as though stung.
"My ribs…" I blew out a steadying breath as the pain eased.
She stood with her hands partially outstretched, looking uncertain, wanting to help but not knowing what to do. At this distance I remembered what had immediately flown from my head the moment Robyn had touched me. She had lied to me, and I was supposed to be angry with her.
"Robyn, why are you here?" I repeated my earlier question, and the look of concern she had been giving my ribs turned to a tiny frown at my tone.
"I dropped by Danny's party…Liz told me that you'd been in an accident, a crash of some sort…I couldn't get any more information out of her, so I volunteered to come see how you were." She paused, and asked tentatively, "that bike…in the truck," she glanced behind her in the drive to where a beat-up pickup was parked next to Twila. In the bed lay a red mountain bike, its front rim bent almost in half, the fork twisted, and the handlebars skewed at an odd angle. "Was that…"
I nodded, not looking at the bike. Every time I looked at it, I realized that it could have been much, much worse. If I hadn't been wearing a helmet…I shivered and yawned, suddenly realizing I was very, very tired.
"Thank you for coming by, Robyn. You can tell everyone I'm fine. I need to go sit down." I stepped back and started to close the door.
Her frown deepened. "Caid…"
I stopped, the door half closed, waiting.
"Can I come in for a while?"
I didn't have enough energy to say no, so I just turned and
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