Page 105 of Promising You
“Hold on.” I cradle the phone between my head and shoulder and reach down to my throbbing knee. My jeans are soaking wet and from the pain I’m feeling I know it’s blood. “I can’t meet you there. I fell and did something to my knee. And I hit my head, so I’m kind of dizzy.”
“Shit! Okay, I’ll go to the clearing and when you hear me just start yelling.”
Within minutes he finds us, out of breath from running so fast.
“Lilly.” He kneels down, taking her from me and hugging her tightly against his chest.
“I think she’s okay,” I tell him. “But she’s freezing. She needs to get inside.”
“Jade’s hurt,” Lilly says.
“I’ll be okay,” I assure her. “Garret, take her inside. I can wait here.”
He shines his flashlight along my body. “Jade, what the hell happened? There’s blood everywhere!”
“It’s not everywhere. It’s just my knee. I tripped over Lilly, but I’m fine. Just take her in the house.”
“Your head is bleeding, too.” He reaches up to touch it.
I wince. “Ouch! Don’t do that!”
“I barely touched you. I need to get you inside. Can you put weight on your other leg?”
“I don’t know.” I try to get up but can’t do it on my own.
“Lilly, I need to help Jade.” Garret sets her beside him. “Hold the flashlight and don’t you dare run off.”
She nods, taking the flashlight and letting her sleeping bag fall down around her.
Garret helps me stand up on my good leg. The pain in my other leg is now excruciating and my vision fades to black.
When I come to, Garret is carrying me in his arms and walking fast toward the house, Lilly at his side.
“Did I just pass out?”
“Yes.” Garret says. “You need to get to a doctor. Fast.”
“No, really. I’m fine. I just need to clean my leg up.”
“Your leg needs stitches, Jade, and maybe a cast. And you probably have a concussion.”
“But I don’t have insurance.” As I say it my head feels dizzy again and my vision blurs. “I can’t—” Everything goes black.
* * *
I wake up in a bed,but it’s not mine and it’s not Garret’s. I’m wearing a hospital gown and I’m hooked up to an IV. But I’m not in a hospital bed. It’s just a normal bed in what looks like a normal room with wood floors, a patterned area rug, a leather chair off to the side, and beige curtains on the windows.
“Jade.” Garret appears next to me.
“Where am I?”
“You’re at a private medical clinic. The same one I went to when I was shot.”
“But where? Are we by your house?” I sit up, suddenly remembering what happened in the woods. “How’s Lilly? Is she okay? What happened with your dad? And Katherine?”
He takes my hand. “Hey, one question at a time. And lie down. You’re making me nervous.”
I rest back on the stack of pillows behind my head.
