2. Yellow Gatorade
Yellow Gatorade
CARTER
The car came skidding to a stop, and I threw my door open, rounding the car in the next instant.
Heart pounding, I rushed to the edge of the embankment and peered over. My shadow blocked the light, but I heard a whimper and without a second thought I slid into the muddy ditch expecting the worst, and that’s exactly what I got.
“Sara?” I froze, fear slicing through me as I registered the horrifying red smears painted across her dress.
A split second later, I was moving, and my brogues squelched through the thick mud as I closed the space between us in several long strides.
“C-Carter?” She stumbled back, voice paper thin.
“I’m here now. Everything’s going to be okay.
” I forced the panic down, but I could hear the unsteady pitch of my voice as I spoke.
“Where are you bleeding?” I deftly unclasped my belt, yanking it off in one fluid motion, ready to make a tourniquet, but she just stared at me, a wild look in her eyes, and I realized she must be in shock.
When I reached for her, she backed away, mumbling utter nonsense.
“Sara, it’s Carter.” I lifted my hands, palms open. “I’m not going to hurt you. ”
She had her high heel in her hand and was just staring at it. “I can’t find my other shoe. I lost it.” She murmured, and then mumbled something about losing her buttons, and I wondered if she meant marbles.
She was definitely going into shock.
“We’ll find your other shoe.” I promised, and very carefully, I reached for her.
She stood there stiffly, as if she hardly registered me in front of her at all, while I frantically combed over her exposed skin, hunting for the source of the bleeding.
Swearing under my breath, I realized she had a pretty sizable gash on her arm—clean cut.
It was fairly dirty, but it was already clotting.
Other than that, she was just covered in small nicks and scratches, none of them even remotely large enough to be the source of so much blood.
Which meant she was bleeding somewhere I couldn’t see. I swallowed hard.
“You shouldn’t be here.” Sara murmured, still staring at the shoe in her hands. “You should leave.”
Shit. Head wound. Had to be. I was frantic as I started pulling pins out of her soft hair.
“W-What are you doing?” She choked out in surprise.
“I’m checking to see if you smacked your pretty little head because, you know, I’d never leave you out here.” I breathed, finding only a small gash on her temple. “Sara.” I started slowly, the lump in my throat hardening as I steadied myself. “Where exactly are you bleeding?”
She stared at me blankly, looked me dead in the eye for the longest minute of my life and then, as if she finally realized that I had her, that she was safe—a broken little sound like I’d never heard before, cracked out of her and I pulled her into my arms as she began to sob.
“You’re safe now. I’ve got you.” I murmured, feeling more panicked by the second. “Everything is going to be okay. Whatever happened, you’re safe now.”
It was a surreal feeling. Not knowing what the hell was going on. Simultaneously realizing how perfectly she fit into my arms. I’d never held her like this before. Ever. The fact that it was tonight, like this, was devastating. I was devastated .
My throat was slowly closing up, but I asked as gently as I could muster. “Sara, I’m really worried about how much blood you’ve lost, and I don’t know where exactly you’re injured. Do you know if you’re still bleeding?”
She only cried harder.
“You think we could take a look?” I asked gently, my mind swirling with a thousand terrible possibilities.
She shook her head, shoulders shaking violently.
I swallowed hard. “Can you tell me what happened? Or who you were with at least?” She couldn’t form a full word between her sobs, let alone get a full breath in.
“Sara, I need you to try and take some deep breaths for me.” I gently cupped her face with both my hands, forcing her eyes to meet mine.
“Can you do that for me, sweet girl? Take some deep breaths with me?”
Shoulder-shaking sobs were her only response as she crumpled against me. Oh God, I needed to get her to a hospital. Now.
“He—he and I—I—was supposed to—but I couldn’t.” She was nearly inaudible between her sobs.
My ears started to ring, fingers started to go numb. “Did Eric hurt you? Did something happen between the two of you?” I asked so, so gently, even while I battled the protective fury that was steadily unraveling inside of me.
“I wasn’t with Eric.” She sobbed as I cradled the back of her head.
“ Who were you with? ” I felt dizzy as each breath came faster and faster.
“N-no.” she cried, “It’s fine, I’m fine.” She chanted to herself over and over again, and I knew it was more for her sake than mine.
All around us, the tall grass rasped eerily in the wind, and as I surveyed our surroundings, realization slowly washed over me. Maybe this wasn’t her blood at all …
Oh fuck. Was I going to bury a body tonight?
I would. For her, I would.
“Whatever this is, everything’s going to be okay.” I murmured, knowing I’d move heaven and earth to protect her.
Suddenly, the car headlights clicked off, plunging us into the night, and my skin prickled, knowing that whatever had happened out here, we needed to leave. Right now. We could sort out the details at the hospital, but right now we were exposed, and literally anything or anyone could be out there.
My feet slipped as I tried to find purchase on the slippery embankment, and if it hadn’t been for my height, I wasn’t sure if I would have been able to climb out at all.
At the top, I pulled Sara up onto the road in one swift movement. “Come on.” I ushered her towards the car, taking another cautious glance over my shoulder.
Her voice pitched up. “I can’t.”
My chest was so tight, I could hardly pull in a full breath as I begged, “Please, get in the car, Sara.”
“No.” She stumbled back, and my eyes blew wide as I lunged for her, grabbing her before she fell into the ditch again.
“I’m not asking, we need to get you out of the cold, probably to a hospital.”
“I just can’t, okay?” Tears rolled down her cheeks, shimmering in the hardly there moonlight as she shoved me back.
“Sara, get in the car.” I demanded more sternly. “I’m serious.”
She whimpered, “I can’t.”
I gripped the back of my neck in disbelief because now she was just being plain stubborn. “Why the hell not?” I pleaded, my pulse spiking as I eyed the blood on her dress, total confusion washing over me. “Because you're hurt?”
“Because I’m covered in mud, and the blood will stain your seats.” She cried.
“You think I care about my car ? You are out of your Goddamn mind if you think I’m leaving you out here.” I snapped incredulously .
She took another step away, and panic threatened to swallow me whole.
“Okay. Okay.” I rasped more to myself. “Ambulance. Yeah, we’ll call an ambulance.” I nodded, immediately dialing.
“No, don’t do that.” She lunged for the phone.
I stood tall, keeping the phone out of her reach. “Sweetheart, you’re in shock, but everything is going to be okay.” I promised. “Whatever this is, I’ll protect you, but we need to get you to a doctor.”
“Don’t!” she shouted, just as emergency services answered.
“Hi, we need an ambulan?—”
“No,” she screamed, knocking my phone out of my hand, and it slid across the pavement before it disappeared over the edge of the embankment.
I turned to her, utterly stunned, wondering what the hell was going on. “If you don’t get in my car right now,” I threatened, “I swear to God, I’ll haul you over my shoulder and hike to the nearest hospital.”
Her lower lip wobbled. “I can’t.”
“You can.”
“Please, Carter.”
“Get in the car.” I begged, pleaded, desperately. “I’m trying to help you. Why won’t you let me? You won’t tell me where you’re bleeding, and I’m seriously worried about how much blood you’ve lost.”
“It’s period blood. Okay!” Sara screamed. “I don’t need an ambulance.”
“What?” I stood there, pure surprise washing over me before I quickly recovered. “And what about the cut on your arm? Why were you in the ditch?” I demanded gently enough.
“No. You don’t get to ask me those questions.” She looked me dead in the eye, and I knew she was hiding something. “And just so we’re clear, I’m not going to a hospital.” She gritted out with more determination than I think I’d ever seen.
“Fine.” I gripped the back of my neck, realizing I needed to change tactics. “No ambulance, no questions, no hospital.” I opened the passenger door like I was luring a lamb to the slaughter. Nice and easy. No sudden movements. “Will you please just get into the car so I can take you home?”
She nodded, albeit reluctantly, and I blew out a breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding.
After a few silent miles, I took the next exit. The heat was blasting, but Sara pulled my suit jacket tighter around herself like she couldn’t get warm.
“Where are we going?” She asked nervously, probably wondering if I was in-fact taking her to the hospital. Part of me wondered if I should.
“I’m getting you something to eat.” I said, already heading towards a drive-through. “Did you eat today?”
After a long moment, she confessed quietly, “I may have forgotten.”
“Sara.” I groaned, not totally surprised because she always forgot to eat when she was stressed out.
“I don’t need a lecture, Kensington.”
I swallowed hard. “I’m not trying to lecture you, I just hate knowing you’ve been running on fumes all day.”
A moment later she full out panicked when I pulled up to a drugstore. “Carter, I can’t go in like this.”
“I know.” I smiled softly as I unbuckled. “I’m just going to pop in and get you some supplies. I’ll be right back.”
“You’re going to buy me tampons?” She asked, entirely horrified.
“Is that what you’d prefer? Tampons?”
She turned beet red, and the only response I got was a groan from behind her hands. “This is not information I want you knowing.”