Chapter Five

I hadn't realized how long we had been out until dark began to fall upon us. The sun was setting, and it was clear we needed to be heading back. I had grown up there so knowing my surroundings was one thing, but timing the sun became a thing of the past without practice. I guess stopping and taking a nap wasn't the best of ideas, but it was something of a ritual for us when we went out for the day. The late start was what threw it all off.

We had made it back to the creek just before the sun had set completely, keeping me confident that the moon would give off enough light to allow us to get home with no worries. The only problem was the lapse in-between the two.

"We've been out late before haven't we, girl? This is nothing for us, huh?" 

I patted her neck and then pressed my heels in slightly to give her a push as we entered the tree line that was damn near a straight up hill to climb through. As usual, she didn't need it. She knew the property as well, if not better than, I did and within seconds, we were almost at the top. I had been leaning forward in my seat to adjust to the angle we were in but brought myself back up to upright just before we crested the hill. It was the biggest mistake I could have made. I didn't hear it at first, but Nyah most definitely did. Her front legs came off the ground, and without having a decent fitting on the saddle, my weight threw me backward and off of her completely. Nyah reared up again just as I screamed from the pain as her back foot came down on one of mine. Adrenaline must have kept me from passing out because I had never been more terrified than with the angle we were still at, she could lose her balance and crush me completely. A slight shift took her hoof off my foot, and that was when my pain hit an all-out high. I screamed again at the top of my lungs, barely taking notice of what it was she was attempting to stomp on that made the situation all the more problematic. I could see nothing, but the sound of the rattler became clear as day. Nyah reared up once again, but when she came down for the last time, I knew it must have struck at her because she ran as fast as she could, leaving me behind and all alone.

I struggled to my feet, but the pain wouldn't allow me to apply any pressure, and without seeing where the snake was, I screamed as loud as I could for help, knowing that I was too far away from the house for anyone to hear me. Cold-blooded fear set in but my adrenaline continued to push me further and further as I crawled as fast as I could out into the open, hoping to God I didn't cross paths with it in the process. I no longer heard the rattle, so I went with the assumption that I was no longer a threat to it and it would leave me alone.

Once again, I stood, or let me say, I tried to stand, but there was no getting past the pain. With my riding boots on, I couldn't see what I was clearly feeling but I would take that as a blessing. If it looked as bad as it felt, I knew I would probably pass out, and there was no way in the world I could afford to do that. I'd grown up out there and I knew the creatures that lurked that far away from the house at night, which was only beginning to scare me more. My cell phone was in my mother's house giving me no way to get ahold of anyone, either. I was screwed and terrified. Crawling across the field, my hands were becoming raw from the broken sticks and rocks slicing into my palms, but knowing I couldn't stay there any longer forged me on. 

I had only made it about fifty yards when I forced myself to my feet and attempted to hop on my left leg. That didn't work to my advantage, either—the ground wasn't level, and within seconds I was falling back down.  Frustrated beyond belief, I screamed again at the top of my lungs but only heard my echo in return. Too many noises took place in an environment where nothing should make a sound. Each crack of a stick from weight bearing down on it petrified me. I was cold, alone, and deathly afraid of what was coming for me if I didn't find a way out. Attempting to crawl again only got me another one hundred yards before my knees were screaming at me to give up. Crippled from pain, I rolled to my side, curled into a ball, and openly wept. There was nothing I could do. All my options were spent.

Time was immeasurable, but it felt like hours before I heard the sound of hooves meeting the earth. So grateful for the rescue, I sat up and wiped my tear-stricken face, ready to get the hell out of there and to a hospital for amputation if that was what it would take to rid me of the pain. 

"I'm over here."

The silhouette of the horse and rider I was allowed to see, given from the moon’s glow, slowed to a walk and then stopped. Eagerly, I stood on my good leg and began rambling. 

"I don't know how you found me but thank you. I have been scared to death. How did you know to come look? Did Nyah make it back? Is Ari worried? I'm sorry. It was the snake—"

Canyon climbed off the horse I could only guess to be Malcom and cut me off by saying, "Do you ever stop?"

I almost choked when I heard the voice as he walked closer to me. Forgetting my pain due to shock, I instinctively took a step forward and let out a blood-curdling wail before falling back to the ground again.  

"Holy shit. Are you okay? What hurts?"

Jase rushed to my side and was crouched down over me.

"It’s my foot, you jerk."

I could see his form firm up as if he was unsure how he wanted to respond, which was far from normal, but it only lasted a second before he relaxed.

When he advanced toward me, I was the one who locked up. I hated him that close, but when his arms scooped me up into his, I was forced to let it go. I needed him, and he knew it. Within seconds, he was on his feet and lifting me on to what I now could tell was Nyah. 

"She came back?"

"Yeah, that's when I knew something was wrong."

Once he was sure I was on, he grabbed the saddle horn and pulled himself up, ending with him in front of me. I was forced to do the one thing I would rather cut my hands off than do: wrap them around him.

"Don't enjoy it too much, Red. I'm only allowing it under the circumstances."

He kicked Nyah, not waiting for a response from me, and we took off. Her gaits were always the smoothest in transition, but the bouncing wasn't working for the pain shooting up my leg.

"Jase, I need you to slow her down. Please."

She came to a stop abruptly, forcing me to slam into the back of the man I hated more than anything in the world—second to my father.

"Rubbing yourself against me will do nothing."

If there was any way I could have kicked him off my horse and forced him to walk back, I would have done it.

"Why are you so hell-bent on making my life miserable? I need to go to the damn hospital, not listen to you make stupid jokes that aren't even funny."

He said nothing other than the sound he made when he clicked his tongue and Nyah began to move, thankfully at much slower of a pace. I was trying not to think about the pain, and you would think that having to be next to him would have been a good enough distraction but nothing was working. 

"Where is Canyon? Do you have your phone on you? Don't you think it’s a good idea to let them know that you found me?"

"They went out to dinner. I was just turning off the lights to the barn when Nyah came running back."

My body went stiff from the idea he could have left anyway. That was the Jase I knew, the boy who had picked on me since he first started school the year I turned ten. From the tripping on the playground to egging my car senior year, he had always been hell-bent on hating me. So, why come for me now?

"Thank you," was all I would allow myself to say. I could have asked the question I was left with, but the answer wasn't necessary. I needed him whether I wanted to admit it to myself or not. 

It was almost an hour later when we were close enough to see the lights from the house in the dark of night. He and I hadn't said a word to each other the entire ride. I was more focused on keeping my tears unnoticed and my whimpering mute. Giving him ammunition to use against me was not something I was willing to provide. By the time we got to the barn, I was losing my battle. Have you ever noticed how it's easier to hold back tears until you see someone you know will share your pain with you? Knowing my sister was in the house made it almost impossible to hold back the burning scream I was containing. 

Jase got down and tied Nyah to the fence before he came back to help me off. It was another opportunity for me to be shocked because the man I had always known would have simply left me on the horse and walked away. His arms outstretched as I leaned over into them, allowing him to help me down. When it was time to put my feet down, he said, "Oh, no you don't. I have heard you the whole ride back, Red, and you aren't going anywhere on your own."

I was cradled in his arms, wrapping my hands around his neck, not wanting to fight his generosity, but the moment when my eyes locked with his, something happened I never expected. There was compassion buried deep within them, and I, for the first time, didn't feel disgust for the very man who was my worst enemy. Shaking his head to pull from our gaze, he spoke softly when he said, "Let's get you to the hospital."

I couldn't believe he was offering to take me. 

"My sister will, you don't have to do this. You've already done enough."

"Don't be silly. They aren't even back yet, and I would be a douche bag if I left you here waiting for them."

His feet began to move, and for the first time, I allowed him to see me cry, for my pain and uncertainty were far surpassed by the willingness Jase was giving to be kind and tender. There was something about him that I had never been able to see, and what would come from it was something I never would have expected.