Again, she laughed, but Silas quite literally wanted to throw up.
“We’ll head to the clinic,” he told her as he removed twigs and leaves caught in her hair.
“It’s a two-mile walk to the cabin from here,” Doc said while gathering the items Raven had strewn on the ground.
“I’ll carry you,” Silas said, unconcerned that his bad shoulder was fatigued from a long day.
“Oh, no, please. I can walk. I’ll just need your help,” she said.
And though he wanted to insist, he let it go because the most important thing was getting her to the clinic.
He helped her stand and drape her arm across his shoulder. “Lean on me as much as you want,” he told her as they began the tedious journey up the hill. Every wince from her prompted Silas to pull her in tighter against his body. By the time they reached the top, he was supporting most of her weight.
“Raven, let me just carry you on my back. I won’t drop you,” he said, and she must’ve really been tired and in pain because she didn’t protest. He stooped low while she climbed on, and he held her firmly as he straightened, minding her injured foot.
With Raven’s face nestled against his sweaty neck, her steady breathing kept him walking at a consistent pace, even when he grew tired and his shoulder began to throb.
When they finally emerged from the forest, the sun had mostly set, and only a dim orange glow could be seen on the horizon.
The Mountaintop team met them halfway in the field, their relief palpable. “I’m okay. Silas is taking me to the hospital,” Raven assured Bodie before telling a guilt-ridden Halo and her daughter, “It’s not your fault! I’m the clumsy one.”
All the while, Silas kept Raven on his back and didn't slow down until he’d reached his vehicle. He drove as carefully as he could, but every time he hit a bump in the road, he’d turn to look at her in the passenger seat.
“I’m good,” she’d say, but it was a relief when they arrived at the small clinic.
Raven barely had to wait before she was ushered to the back for treatment. Silas, on the other hand, waited quite a while for her to return. In the interim, he paced the room, updated the team over text, stress-ate snacks from the vending machine, and tried not to replay the afternoon’s events.
He was on his third bag of chips when Raven reappeared on crutches. Her left jean pant had been cut to capri-length, and her foot was bandaged up.
“No head injury and it’s just a sprain,” she said, grinning. And once again, it was the simple fact that she was in good spirits that loosened the tightness in his lungs.
“I can’t wait to take a shower. Eat something. Sleep,” she said once they were back in his truck.
“What are you eating for dinner?” he asked as he pulled out of the parking lot.
“I have some double-stuffed Oreos that I’m pretty excited about,” she said jokingly, but Silas cast her a look.
“I can make you some dinner,” he said tentatively.
He thought she might reject his offer, but she said, “You know what? I’d love that.”
And that’s all he needed to change direction toward his own home.
* * *
“I always end up at your house in your clothes,” Raven said, entering Silas’s kitchen on her crutches and wearing his sweatshirt and pants. The last bits of stress he’d been harboring in his body melted away seeing the evidence of the day washed from her skin and hair.
Now that they were both showered, all that was left to do was eat.
“Food’s almost done,” he told her from his place in front of the stove. “You can take a seat while I finish up.”
But she didn’t listen and hobbled to stand beside him and peer into the pans. “It smells so good,” she said.
“Carbonara,” he told her.
When she didn’t move to sit after that, he turned to look at her.
“Thanks for coming to find me,” she said softly.
