swear the gate grew farther away. I had to occupy my mind with something other than how much this hurt. I started counting down from thirty. Surely it couldn’t take any longer than thirty counts to reach an end to my misery.
30, 29, 28, I promised to never do this to myself again, 26, 25, 24, I tasted bile and prayed harder, Please, don’t let me throw up.
21, 20, 19, these men were idiots, 16, 15, 14, black spots appeared in my vision, 10, 9, 8, the gate was there, a few more steps, 5, 4, 3, I grabbed the gate, sagged to the ground, and everything went black.
* * *
“Cassie, Cassie!” Damon’s voice echoed around the edges of conscious thought. He scooped me off the ground and cradled me in his arms. This man was not only fine but tough. I was not a lightweight.
“Cassie.”
I opened my eyes and stared into perfection. “I made the gate,” I said.
A short bark escaped his lips. “Yes, you made the gate.”
I leaned into his sinewy shoulder. “My prayers have been answered. Bury me here, please.”
He laughed again. “You okay?”
“Sure. Never been better.” I’d made it to the gate. My breathing was almost back to normal. My prayer had been partially answeredI made it to the top of the hill, I didn’t throw up, but I had passed out. Maybe I would just have to increase my Bible reading but not surpass Prevention.
Then it registered: I was in the midst of a full-body hug from Damon. Okay, okay. I’d read my Bible more.
After a few delicious seconds, I dredged up some pride. “You’d better set me down. I know I’m not light.”
“You’re fine,” he said, but he set me on my feet. Luckily for me, he kept one arm around my waist.
“Ready to run back home?” I asked, forcing a bright smile. Now that full consciousness had returned, my throbbing legs reminded me of the abuse they’d endured.
Damon looked at me like I was insane.
“Where are the guys?” I looked around at the path we’d taken through the trees and a wider road winding down the canyon, noticing for the first time that we were alone.
“The ‘guys’ are sprinting back down the road to get the truck and rush you to the hospital. None of us have cell phones on or there would be an ambulance on its way.”
“Oh, no,” I groaned. “I’m fine. How embarrassing is this?”
Damon lifted a stray hair and tucked it behind my ear. “It’s not embarrassing at all.”
“For you.” I harrumphed and spun away from him. My legs crumpled and I made friends with the dirt road. Damon lifted me up and into his side again. I brushed at the brown clinging to my hands and legs.
“I bet you can’t wait to take me to dinner tonight,” I mumbled. “Or rather carry me to dinner.”
“If you aren’t in the hospital, I’ll be thrilled to carry you to dinner tonight.”
“Ha-ha. Please stop making me laugh. I am not going to the hospital. If there’s a road why did we run up that uneven trail?”
Damon chuckled. “The trail is more interesting.”
I rolled my eyes and determinedly put one foot in front of the other. Damon kept one arm securely around my waist, supporting more of my weight than I was. We walked at a decent pace, but it still took us an hour to cross a few miles. When I saw Joe’s truck barreling up the pot-holed road I almost collapsed with relief. He and Trevor must’ve sprinted down that road. I can’t imagine anyone running seven miles and then driving back over them that quickly.
I barely managed to convince them not to take me to the hospital. They were all humiliatingly nice about the incident. Trevor kept telling me how tough I was.
Suffering a load of embarrassment was worth it though. Damon drove me home, Trevor followed in my car. Nana was out shopping, so Damon was able to “assist” me all the way up to my bedroom. The hug he gave me when he said goodbye made me think tonight was going to be a lot of
30, 29, 28, I promised to never do this to myself again, 26, 25, 24, I tasted bile and prayed harder, Please, don’t let me throw up.
21, 20, 19, these men were idiots, 16, 15, 14, black spots appeared in my vision, 10, 9, 8, the gate was there, a few more steps, 5, 4, 3, I grabbed the gate, sagged to the ground, and everything went black.
* * *
“Cassie, Cassie!” Damon’s voice echoed around the edges of conscious thought. He scooped me off the ground and cradled me in his arms. This man was not only fine but tough. I was not a lightweight.
“Cassie.”
I opened my eyes and stared into perfection. “I made the gate,” I said.
A short bark escaped his lips. “Yes, you made the gate.”
I leaned into his sinewy shoulder. “My prayers have been answered. Bury me here, please.”
He laughed again. “You okay?”
“Sure. Never been better.” I’d made it to the gate. My breathing was almost back to normal. My prayer had been partially answeredI made it to the top of the hill, I didn’t throw up, but I had passed out. Maybe I would just have to increase my Bible reading but not surpass Prevention.
Then it registered: I was in the midst of a full-body hug from Damon. Okay, okay. I’d read my Bible more.
After a few delicious seconds, I dredged up some pride. “You’d better set me down. I know I’m not light.”
“You’re fine,” he said, but he set me on my feet. Luckily for me, he kept one arm around my waist.
“Ready to run back home?” I asked, forcing a bright smile. Now that full consciousness had returned, my throbbing legs reminded me of the abuse they’d endured.
Damon looked at me like I was insane.
“Where are the guys?” I looked around at the path we’d taken through the trees and a wider road winding down the canyon, noticing for the first time that we were alone.
“The ‘guys’ are sprinting back down the road to get the truck and rush you to the hospital. None of us have cell phones on or there would be an ambulance on its way.”
“Oh, no,” I groaned. “I’m fine. How embarrassing is this?”
Damon lifted a stray hair and tucked it behind my ear. “It’s not embarrassing at all.”
“For you.” I harrumphed and spun away from him. My legs crumpled and I made friends with the dirt road. Damon lifted me up and into his side again. I brushed at the brown clinging to my hands and legs.
“I bet you can’t wait to take me to dinner tonight,” I mumbled. “Or rather carry me to dinner.”
“If you aren’t in the hospital, I’ll be thrilled to carry you to dinner tonight.”
“Ha-ha. Please stop making me laugh. I am not going to the hospital. If there’s a road why did we run up that uneven trail?”
Damon chuckled. “The trail is more interesting.”
I rolled my eyes and determinedly put one foot in front of the other. Damon kept one arm securely around my waist, supporting more of my weight than I was. We walked at a decent pace, but it still took us an hour to cross a few miles. When I saw Joe’s truck barreling up the pot-holed road I almost collapsed with relief. He and Trevor must’ve sprinted down that road. I can’t imagine anyone running seven miles and then driving back over them that quickly.
I barely managed to convince them not to take me to the hospital. They were all humiliatingly nice about the incident. Trevor kept telling me how tough I was.
Suffering a load of embarrassment was worth it though. Damon drove me home, Trevor followed in my car. Nana was out shopping, so Damon was able to “assist” me all the way up to my bedroom. The hug he gave me when he said goodbye made me think tonight was going to be a lot of
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