Chapter 18
Chapter Eighteen
B rielle turned and spit out water from her mouth. This had to be the most horrible run experience of her life. Why did Mother Nature have to choose now to open the skies and give them enough water for the entire year?
She winced and ducked a little when more lightning flashed through the sky. It seemed odd that she hadn’t received any kind of notification that they were canceling the race. Thunder and lightning while runners were working their way through forested areas didn’t seem like a good idea, but nothing was coming through her watch and Brielle had been checking every thirty seconds.
Taking a fortifying breath, she pushed on. Her headlamp bobbed and her calves continued to wrack up mud with each step. The trail was a mess, and Brielle wasn’t looking forward to another twenty-four miles of it.
Odds were, she’d be close to thirty minutes behind schedule if the whole way was like this and from the sounds of the storm, it would be.
“Whoa!” She slipped, her arms flinging to the side as she tried to regain her balance. A sharp pain in her ankle caught her attention, but after keeping herself on her feet, Brielle took only a moment to rotate the joint before continuing on.
She’d tweaked it, for sure, but that was fine. It didn’t seem to be bad and after a few more steps, she was confident it would ease up.
She reached up to her ears, adjusting her buds and making sure they were in place so she turned on a podcast or something. Anything would help her right now. Between the storm and memories of Ryan’s exhausted face, Brielle was going to need all the help she could get.
She reached into her pocket, and frowned when she came up empty. Pulling her arm into the inner part of her trench coat, she reached into the side pocket of her leggings, but her phone wasn’t there either.
“No, no, no…” Brielle stopped, shifting her weight since her ankle was still bothering her a little and proceeded to do a thorough search of her entire body.
No phone.
“Oh my word, this is a nightmare.” Brielle hesitated when more thunder crashed, and the lightning seemed closer than ever. What should she do? She was only a couple miles away from her starting point. She could go back.
But what if they hadn’t canceled the race? What if going back hurt her team more than the storm already was?
She kept her head ducked so the rain was pelting the back of her hood and bit her lip as she stared back at the trail she’d just come from. Either way was a risk. She risked herself if she moved forward, but she risked her team if she went back.
Closing her eyes, she shook her head. “Gotta take one for the team, Underwood,” she snapped at herself. “Now move it.”
Spinning on her heel, Brielle moved to lunge forward, but the mud under her shoes was too much, and instead of going forward, Brielle found herself slipping to the side. Her ankle folded and her leg spread since there was no traction, and before she knew it, Brielle was sliding down the small slope she’d just climbed.
It was only fifteen feet or so, but by the time she stopped, her head was spinning and her ankle was screaming. “Ow,” she whimpered, trying to get her brain to process enough to take stock of the situation.
She spit mud out of her mouth but didn’t dare roll over with the rain pounding into her back. If she rolled, it would hit her face instead and that certainly wasn’t going to help anything.
Slowly, she put her hands under her and got up on her hands and knees. Please don’t let my ankle be out of commission. Sitting on her backside, she brought her legs to the front and lifted her hurting ankle, rotating it a few degrees before a cry of pain escaped.
Words that she never let anyone hear were pounding against her brain, but Brielle pushed them back, along with the fear that had started to creep up her spine. “It’s fine,” she told herself. “It’s fine. Another runner is bound to come by soon. We weren’t last in the race. There’s gotta be another runner soon.”
She grimaced and looked around. There had to be a better place to wait out another runner, rather than right in the middle of the muddy trail. Her clothes under the trenchcoat were now just as soaked as the coat itself, and she was starting to get cold, which definitely wasn’t going to help if she ended up waiting a little longer than she hoped.
“It’s fine,” she whispered again, pushing down the fear. “It’ll be fine. Someone will come.” As long as the race hasn’t been shut down. But my team will come for me. They’ll come. Someone will notice my phone isn’t with me, right? They’ll notice.
Brielle closed her eyes and began to shiver. She pulled her arms into her coat and wrapped them around herself, trying to preserve the little bit of warmth she possessed, but the sweat that was already on her clothes and the water that had leaked in and the mud soaking from her bottom up was making it difficult.
She waited…and waited…another fifteen minutes went by, and Brielle’s shaking was growing heavier. Pinching her lips, she knew she wasn’t in a very good position. If she stayed put, she was in real danger of hypothermia as the night wore on. Not only was she beco ming more soaked with every passing moment, but the temperature would plummet through the night. “I’m gonna have to walk back,” she muttered.
Slowly, she pushed herself upright, holding her weight on her unhurt leg and using the tree next to her for support. “Okay.” She swallowed the worry churning in her gut. “I can do this. It’s only a couple miles. It’s only a little rain and mud. No biggie.”
Tentatively, she put her throbbing foot on the trail and immediately fell to her knees, gasping for breath through the pain. “Please, no,” she whimpered. “This can’t be happening.”
She stayed on all fours, afraid to stand up, but determined not to give up. Moments that felt like hours ticked by, and Brielle found herself praying like she’d never prayed before.
Please…please let there be another runner. Please let my team figure out what’s going on-
“brIELLE!”
She paused, her head snapping toward the trail. Her headlamp was still illuminating the night, but the rain was making it more difficult to see than usual, until another burst of lightning burst through the sky so brightly that there was no mistaking the dark figure working its way through the trees. “Here,” she croaked, clearing her throat when the sound wasn’t quite enough. “HERE!”
Her body shook with the effort of the scream, but when the person coming moved faster at the sound, Brielle felt a rush of relief that made every limb in her body as soft as the ground beneath her feet.
“Brielle.” The body squatted at her side, cupping her face. “Are you hurt? What’s wrong?”
Brielle couldn’t seem to look away, though Ryan’s eyes were looking at everything but her. She’d never seen a more beautiful sight and in that second, she didn’t care that she was supposed to be mad at him.
Whether he lied or not, he was currently her salvation, and her mind latched onto that relief with frightening intensity.
“Where are you hurt?” Ryan worked hard to keep his voice from snapping, but it was clear he wasn’t successful. All he could do was hope that she didn’t hear it through the storm. It was a miracle that he’d found her at all with how dark it was and how much of a headstart she’d had.
But, as far as he could tell, she’d only made it a couple of miles away from camp and considering how long it had taken his beaten body to get here, he knew something had to be wrong.
Not only was she on the ground and covered in mud, but her face was too pale, when it should have been flushed with exertion. Her eyes had been wild and she’d answered his call like a woman in distress.
“Bri,” he urged, bringing his eyes to hers. “Where are you…” His voice trailed off when he locked eyes with her. There were dark shadows from their lights, but the intensity of her gaze was enough to knock him off his feet.
Her mouth moved, but Ryan didn’t catch what she said, he was too caught up in how stunning she looked, even in her muck and water. How she turned filth into beauty would forever be a mystery to him, but for the first time in over a week, she wasn’t glaring, wasn’t pinching her mouth in displeasure and wasn’t trying to scare him off. Instead, she looked at him as if he hung the moon, and he wanted more of it.
“What?” He leaned in just a touch, trying to hear her over the storm, but he only got a few inches in when Brielle met him halfway.
Shocked at the touch of her cold lips on his, Ryan almost pulled back, but he caught himself just in time and quickly took the opportunity to kiss her back. His hands were still framing her wet cheeks, and he used the hold to get a better angle and increase the pressure of the affection.
He had no idea why she was kissing him, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. His memories of their kiss in high school were absolutely nothing compared to this. He’d remembered the ground moving under his feet and the feeling in his chest that he could run the highest mountain with Brielle at his side.
But this?
This unlocked something inside of Ryan that had before only seemed like a pipe dream. It was the kind of thing that was supposed to only happen in fairy tales and urban legends.
Impossible as it might seem, Ryan knew right then and there that Brielle was the one.
The one he’d been waiting for. The one that was different from the rest. The woman that would keep him from being lonely and fill that spot inside of him that was dying for someone more. The rain, the thunder, the lightning, his aching and tired muscles, all of it had disappeared. Nothing existed except for the feisty woman who was occupying his attention in the best way possible. He didn’t care what had happened before now. Nothing was going to stop him from claiming this woman as his own.
His skyhigh daydreams came to an abrupt stop when she pulled back, gasping and coughing. “Sorry,” Brielle panted, her eyes darting around. “I shouldn’t have?—”
“Not a chance,” Ryan muttered before pulling her face toward his again. No way was he letting her out of this. He’d been through way too many princesses to lose the right one now. He wasn’t going to let her get shy now that he’d found her.
He couldn’t seem to get close enough to her, and when she kissed him back with a responding enthusiasm to his own, Ryan eagerly pulled her forward, wanting to hold all of her, not just her face. When she whimpered, her mouth breaking from his, Ryan was thrust to reality with a heavy thump.
“You’re hurt,” he stated, knowing the comment was stupid, but not having anything else to say.
Brielle’s eyes were closed and mud still clung to her chin. “A little,” she said tightly.
“Brielle. ”
It took a moment, but she finally looked at him again, her skin was definitely not as pale as before. “Where?”
Several heavy breaths went between them before she responded. “I did something to my ankle.”
Ryan nodded. “Right.” He looked around, shining his headlamp toward the trees. “Over here.” With careful movements, he helped bring her to her feet, hating the sounds of discomfort she was obviously trying to restrain but couldn’t quite manage.
Slowly, they made their way off the slick trail and into the woods. Ryan sent more than a few prayers heavenward that all the animals were bedded down for the night and wouldn’t come bother them. The last thing he needed was to fight off wild predators along with the storm and her injury.
A close crop of trees had caught his attention when his headlamp had shown dry pine needles on the ground. He took as much of her weight as he could manage, carefully setting her down with her back against a trunk.
“I know this isn’t that comfortable,” he began to apologize.
“This is better than what I was sitting in before,” she said, her voice tight even though she was trying to smile.
Ryan offered an awkward smile back, but when a shiver rocked her body, he went into doctor mode, all reassurance gone. Squatting, Ryan reached for her leg. He noted she winced at the movement, but didn’t argue with him when he started to unlace her sneakers.
His hood had slipped, and he turned to spit out more rainwater before taking just a second to tug up his hood. It was drier under the tree, but the air was so wet, it almost didn’t matter that they’d taken refuge here.
“We probably shouldn’t stay under the trees,” Brielle said weakly, her head tilted back as Ryan touched and poke her ankle.
When the thunder rumbled again, Ryan made a face. “You’re right. With the lightning, this isn’t the best choice, but I needed a place to look at your foot where we weren’t sitting in a puddle.”
She nodded, her eyes closed in pain. “I know. Actually, I’m hoping the lightning is moving on because I’m not quite ready to venture out into the heavy downpour again.”
“Yeah, this is something right?” Ryan frowned, hoping she couldn’t see it through the dark and gloom. Her ankle was heavily swollen, and when he tried moving it around, the gasps from her made him stop instantly.
He was an animal doctor, not a human one, but it was easy to see that it wasn’t just a small sprain.
When he didn’t say anything, Brielle finally broke the silence. “It’s bad, huh?”
Ryan shrugged, his trench making creaking noises and causing some water to drip over his face. “I’m not sure, but it’s not…good.”
She laughed, her face tight, tugging at Ryan’s chest and protective instincts. He hated that he couldn’t do anything more for her.
He wasn’t exactly tiny, but he couldn’t carry Brielle two miles, and there was no way she could walk or hobble all the way back to camp.
“How did you know to come after me?” she whispered.
Ryan didn’t answer for a moment, while he gently laid her foot down on a small pile of pine needles. “They put an end to the race just a few minutes after you left,” he responded. “When we called your phone, it went off in the tent.”
Brielle nodded. “I realized I left it when I tried to hook up my ear buds, but I was already far enough out that I just let it go.”
Ryan took a deep breath. “Well, I’m here now, and we’ll get you help, alright?” He pulled out his own phone, praying that his battery had enough life in it to help. He’d already run it for hours during his runs, and he hadn’t charged it in between.
He closed his eyes and said a quick prayer of thanks. It wasn’t much, but he had enough to make a phone call, so he quickly dialed Levi, but nothing came through and Ryan’s heart began to pound in panic. He looked at the screen, growling when he realized he had battery but no signal.
“The storm,” Brielle said. “It has to be the storm. ”
Ryan shook his head. “It’s fine. As soon as it goes over us, we’ll get a call through.” He shifted and sat beside her, immediately reaching for her hand. “We’re together. You’re safe, and as soon as we can, we’ll get an ambulance up here for you.”
Brielle didn’t answer, and Ryan looked over to see her eyes closed again. Another shiver went through her, shaking her body so badly that Ryan was afraid she was going to crack a tooth.
Cursing under his breath, he began to unbutton his trench coat. “Get your coat off,” he snapped, his fear causing him to be rougher than usual.
“What?” Brielle’s eyes opened quickly.
“You’re cold,” Ryan said. “We’re both cold.” He took a breath before saying the next thing, knowing it was pushing a boundary she wouldn’t be ready for but was going to be necessary for her life. “If you don’t want hypothermia, we need to conserve heat and the only way to do that is to use our body heat…together.”