whispered, then said it again, louder this time.
Calum
suddenly appeared next to me, his eyes glinting. He pulled me close to him, an
expression of utter relief on his face.
»You
didn’t make it easy for me to find you, Emma. We’ve been looking for you for
hours.« Shaking his head, he looked down at me. His voice was filled with concern.
I
tried to answer, but couldn’t stop shaking.
»I’m
sorry, I got lost,« I finally said with great effort, relishing the warmth he
was radiating.
»Come
on,« he said, »we need to get you into the warm.«
I
tried to take a step, but my legs felt like cotton wool. When Calum realized I
wasn’t in any fit state to walk, he gently swept me up into his arms. I wanted
to protest, but it felt so good. My teeth continued to chatter relentlessly.
»We
have to do something about that,« he said, seemingly to himself. He reluctantly
lowered me down again and took off his jacket. Then he helped me into it,
despite my weak protests.
»But
you must be cold too, Calum. You need the jacket yourself.«
Calum
laughed softly in my ear. »Emma, if I had to, I could walk through the storm
half-naked and I still wouldn’t get cold. Believe me, a little bit of wind
doesn’t affect me in the slightest.«
The
image made my heart pound quicker. And he must have noticed my body’s
traitorous response, for he laughed softly again and held me closer to him.
»Showoff,«
I murmured petulantly, trying to cover up my embarrassment.
Wrapped
in his warm jacket and encased in his arms, I started to feel better minute by
minute.
It
took us a while to reach the car. Once we did, Peter came running to meet us.
»Calum,
you found her! Quick, get into the car.«
I
could see the shock on his face as he noticed my blue, frozen hands and purple
lips.
Calum
helped me into the back seat and sat down next to me. Exhausted, I laid my head
on his chest. Peter turned up the heat, called Bree from his cell phone, and
then started chattering away to us.
Still
feeling ice-cold, I was happy to feel Calum’s arm around me. I pushed my hands
under his pullover. Feeling him jump in surprise, I was about to pull them
back, but then he held me tighter.
»It
seems you’ve turned into an icicle.« He shook his head with a laugh. »How on
earth did you get up there?«
We
arrived back at the house all too quickly, and I reluctantly left his embrace.
As we made our way to the house after getting out of the car, he was carrying
me more than I was walking.
Bree
was standing at the door, her eyes red from crying. She snapped into action,
obviously intent on thawing me out from my frozen state, and sent me off to
have a hot bath. Then she brought me my jogging bottoms, my thickest pullover,
and warm socks.
Downstairs,
she put on a big pot of tea for Calum and Peter, then I heard her asking them
to fetch some wood and start a fire.
Relieved
and happy to be home safely, I sunk down into the bath. Even here, in the hot
water, the thought that I could have spent the night up on the mountain made me
shiver.
The
warmth felt so good. Suddenly, I heard Ethan’s voice out in the hallway. Amelie
came running into the bathroom, still in her coat and shoes, leant over the
bathtub, and gave me a bear hug. »Emma, you have no idea how worried we were. I
was so scared you might have fallen from the cliff.« She shook her head in
disbelief. »It’s unbelievable that Calum managed to find you. Come on, we’re
waiting in the living room for you.«
I
reluctantly left the warmth of the bath, pulling on the thick clothes Bree had
brought me and blow-drying my wet hair. I tied it into a ponytail, then went
down to the living room. Hearing the excited chatter even from the hallway, I
started to feel really uncomfortable. It was difficult to imagine what it would
have been like if something had happened.
I
shyly entered the room, wishing I could sink into the floor. But no one was
looking at me reproachfully; instead, every gaze was
Calum
suddenly appeared next to me, his eyes glinting. He pulled me close to him, an
expression of utter relief on his face.
»You
didn’t make it easy for me to find you, Emma. We’ve been looking for you for
hours.« Shaking his head, he looked down at me. His voice was filled with concern.
I
tried to answer, but couldn’t stop shaking.
»I’m
sorry, I got lost,« I finally said with great effort, relishing the warmth he
was radiating.
»Come
on,« he said, »we need to get you into the warm.«
I
tried to take a step, but my legs felt like cotton wool. When Calum realized I
wasn’t in any fit state to walk, he gently swept me up into his arms. I wanted
to protest, but it felt so good. My teeth continued to chatter relentlessly.
»We
have to do something about that,« he said, seemingly to himself. He reluctantly
lowered me down again and took off his jacket. Then he helped me into it,
despite my weak protests.
»But
you must be cold too, Calum. You need the jacket yourself.«
Calum
laughed softly in my ear. »Emma, if I had to, I could walk through the storm
half-naked and I still wouldn’t get cold. Believe me, a little bit of wind
doesn’t affect me in the slightest.«
The
image made my heart pound quicker. And he must have noticed my body’s
traitorous response, for he laughed softly again and held me closer to him.
»Showoff,«
I murmured petulantly, trying to cover up my embarrassment.
Wrapped
in his warm jacket and encased in his arms, I started to feel better minute by
minute.
It
took us a while to reach the car. Once we did, Peter came running to meet us.
»Calum,
you found her! Quick, get into the car.«
I
could see the shock on his face as he noticed my blue, frozen hands and purple
lips.
Calum
helped me into the back seat and sat down next to me. Exhausted, I laid my head
on his chest. Peter turned up the heat, called Bree from his cell phone, and
then started chattering away to us.
Still
feeling ice-cold, I was happy to feel Calum’s arm around me. I pushed my hands
under his pullover. Feeling him jump in surprise, I was about to pull them
back, but then he held me tighter.
»It
seems you’ve turned into an icicle.« He shook his head with a laugh. »How on
earth did you get up there?«
We
arrived back at the house all too quickly, and I reluctantly left his embrace.
As we made our way to the house after getting out of the car, he was carrying
me more than I was walking.
Bree
was standing at the door, her eyes red from crying. She snapped into action,
obviously intent on thawing me out from my frozen state, and sent me off to
have a hot bath. Then she brought me my jogging bottoms, my thickest pullover,
and warm socks.
Downstairs,
she put on a big pot of tea for Calum and Peter, then I heard her asking them
to fetch some wood and start a fire.
Relieved
and happy to be home safely, I sunk down into the bath. Even here, in the hot
water, the thought that I could have spent the night up on the mountain made me
shiver.
The
warmth felt so good. Suddenly, I heard Ethan’s voice out in the hallway. Amelie
came running into the bathroom, still in her coat and shoes, leant over the
bathtub, and gave me a bear hug. »Emma, you have no idea how worried we were. I
was so scared you might have fallen from the cliff.« She shook her head in
disbelief. »It’s unbelievable that Calum managed to find you. Come on, we’re
waiting in the living room for you.«
I
reluctantly left the warmth of the bath, pulling on the thick clothes Bree had
brought me and blow-drying my wet hair. I tied it into a ponytail, then went
down to the living room. Hearing the excited chatter even from the hallway, I
started to feel really uncomfortable. It was difficult to imagine what it would
have been like if something had happened.
I
shyly entered the room, wishing I could sink into the floor. But no one was
looking at me reproachfully; instead, every gaze was
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