Chapter 33
On Christmas morning, as we were opening presents, someone knocked on our front door loudly. When I opened it, I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was Chris, and he stepped through the front door without an invitation.
“Hey. I really have to talk to you,” he said. “I drove by your house last night and saw you and James on the roof.” He looked like he was going to throw up.
“Merry Christmas to you, too,” I said, trying to keep my emotions in check.
“Sorry, Merry Christmas. I’ve been up all night, sick to my stomach over the idea of you being with James.
“You made me a promise and you broke it. I’m moving on.”
“I know. And I hate myself for that.” He looked down at the floor, then back at me.
“I never should have let you go. I should have stayed with you for doing what was right. I should have stood up for you when everyone else didn’t.
I let you down. I fell victim to peer pressure,” he said, then he stood there, just waiting for me to say something.
“It’s too late. I think you should leave.
” Then I put my hand on the door and just waited for him to go, but on the inside, I was crying out for him to touch me, to hug me, to keep fighting for me.
Instead, he didn’t. He walked back out the door with his head hung low and left without saying another word.
When I shut the door, the phone rang, and I ran to the kitchen to answer it.
“Hello?” I said. It was Isabelle.
“Merry Christmas, Allie! Okay, I’m tired of waiting. You’re coming to the farm today for a trail ride,” she demanded.
“Fine. Tell your mom I’ll be there! What time?”
“Now o’clock. Get ready and get on the road,” she said, then she hung up. Isabelle could be so persistent when she wanted something. I headed up to my room and got ready.
When I arrived at her farm, she already had the horses tacked up and waiting by the barn. I could hear Christmas music playing as I knocked on the door, but her mom waved me around to the side of the house.
“We’re out here, dear!” she yelled.
“Hey, Lucky! I brought you something,” I said, as I held out a carrot that I’d brought from home.
“Look at you, trying to butter him up. He’s going to love that,” Isabelle said, holding the reins as he crunched his treat.
“Merry Christmas, Allie, I’m so glad you were able to make it today,” Mrs. Wharton said.
“Okay, you girls have fun on your ride. I’ll be making lunch for you to have when you get back,” she said, then we put on our helmets and led the horses to the mounting blocks.
Once we were out on the trail, Isabelle immediately started grilling me for gossip.
“Okay, I need news, stat,” she said. “What’s going on with you and James?”
“I don’t know. We kissed two days ago, but I haven’t spoken to him since,” I said calmly, and Isabelle spun around in the saddle.
“What!”
“I stopped him from doing anything else. I just couldn’t do it, Is., I’m not over Chris. He came by this morning, by the way.”
“Excuse me? Hold up, Chris came by your house?” she asked. Her eyes looked like cartoon characters. “What on earth did he want?” She was salivating for my reply.
“I think he wanted me back. He said he was sorry. I can’t honestly remember.”
“Oh. My. God. And what did you say?”
“I told him that he was too late,” and she looked at me with her jaw dropped.
“I am in shock. The Allie that I know would have been back in his arms two weeks ago if he had shown up at your door. I’m so proud of you. It sounds like you are moving on.”
“If I’m being honest, as he walked away, my heart broke all over again. I wanted him to fight for us, and for him to turn around and kiss me, but I knew it was the right thing to do to send him away. He really let me down,” I said, as we continued down the trail.
“Damn right, he did!” she said, then she faced forward in her saddle again.
Just then, a plastic bag blew across the trail and Lucky spooked.
He stepped sideways, and I lost my balance as he stood on his hind legs, rearing in fear.
When his front feet came back to the ground, he took off at a gallop, bucking wildly.
I could hear Isabelle galloping after me, giving me directions on what to do.
“Hang on tight, Allie! Pull the reins! Whoa Lucky! Easy, boy!” she yelled from behind, but nothing was stopping him. He was really scared and completely out of control.
Lucky kept galloping and bucking through the woods, and I knew I couldn’t hang on much longer.
With one last buck, I was thrown into the air, and I closed my eyes tight with no idea what would happen next.
The last thing I remember was hitting the ground so hard that everything went black, and then I started screaming.
The pain that coursed through my body was an out-of-body experience.
I could hear Isabelle’s voice, but I was in too much pain to respond.
“Allie! Oh my God! Are you okay? Can you move? I need to get you back to the barn,” she said in a panic.
Isabelle somehow got me up onto her horse and walked me back to the barn as quickly as possible. She called for her mom as we got closer to the gate, and Mrs. Wharton ran out to meet us.
“Mom! Allie fell off Lucky and is injured! She needs help! Lucky is down by the creek!” she screamed.
“Don’t worry about Lucky!” her mom said as she helped me down from the horse. When I slid out of the saddle and my feet hit the ground, I screamed out in pain, and Isabelle and her mom exchanged a very concerned look. Her mom ran inside to grab a phone.
“I’m calling your mom, dear,” she said as she dialed my house number. Nobody answered, so she left a message letting her know what happened and that she would be taking me to the hospital. Once she hung up, she asked who else I wanted her to call.
“Call Chris!” I cried out.
“Allie, are you sure?” Isabelle asked.
“Please!” I begged
“Okay. Call him, Mom,” She directed, so I gave Mrs. Wharton his number and she dialed.
“Hello?” he answered calmly.
“Hello, is this Chris?” Mrs. Wharton said with urgency.
“Yes? Who is this?”
“This is Isabelle Wharton’s mom. Allie is here at our farm, and there’s been an accident. She fell off a horse and is injured. We are taking her to St. Mary’s Hospital. Nobody answered her home phone, so she asked me to call you. Can you meet us at the hospital?”
“No, wait! I’ll take her!” he said in a panic. “Please give me your address,” he said, and she spoke it slowly for him so that he could write it down.
“Okay, I’m leaving right now,” he said, then he hung up.
“He’ll be here soon, sweetie,” she said as soon as she hung up.
I couldn’t sit down, so I rested my arms over the stall, leaning against the door, as I waited for my ride to arrive.
The pain was consuming every inch of me, and there was nothing I could do to relieve it.
Finally, the sound of the loud engine roared onto the farm.
I could hear the gravel hitting the fence as it pulled up beside the barn, but I was in too much pain to turn around.
I heard a truck door open and quickly slam as footsteps crunched towards me.
“I’m here, I’ve got you, baby,” a voice said. “I don’t want to hurt you, but I have to get you in the truck.”
Baby. Suddenly, I felt hands that gently wrapped around my waist to guide me, and warm breath on my neck as I rested my head on his chest. I craned my neck to see his face, but winced at the pain.
“Chris?” I quietly asked.
“Yeah, it’s me. I’m so glad you called. I’ve got you, Allie, I’ve got you,” he said softly.
“Hi,” I sighed into him, consumed by the pain.
“Let’s get you to the hospital,” he said as he gently lifted me up into the truck and shut the door. As he climbed into the driver’s seat, he reached across to pull me next to him. “You’re in pain, rest against me if that’s more comfortable for you.” It was.
My whole body was spasming, and the pain in my hip and back was unbearable. I leaned my head against his shoulder and closed my eyes as he started the engine. Once we were on the road, he reached his hand up to stroke my cheek.
“You okay? Hang in there.” He said. I sucked in a breath at his touch and exhaled slowly from the pain of breathing. “I’m here,” he said again, as he took my hand in his. “Squeeze my hand through the pain,” he suggested. Every time I squeezed, he drove a little faster.
I don’t remember pulling into St. Mary’s Emergency Room, but I was rolled into a room as soon as we arrived. My mom burst into the room shortly after I arrived and immediately started grilling nurses.
“Oh my God, what happened? What’s wrong with my daughter, please tell me!”
“We don’t know yet. She’s in too much pain to let us move her,” one of the nurses replied.
“He carried her in here,” motioning to Chris.
“He’s the only one she will allow to touch her.
She doesn’t seem to remember what happened, just bits and pieces.
We really need to do X-rays. Can you talk to her?
” the nurse asked my mom. But when has my Mom ever been able to talk to me about anything?
That was not a dynamic part of our relationship.
“Allie, try to remember what happened,” Chris said softly in my ear. “They need to know where it hurts so they can figure out what’s wrong with you. What happened at the barn? Try to remember,” he begged.
“I don’t know,” I said through moans of pain. “I was riding Lucky. A bag flew across the trail, and I fell off. Now my back and hip are throbbing. Chris?” I cried as I looked around for him, forgetting in my concussed state that he was right by my side.
“I’m right here, remember?” he said, as he gently squeezed my hand, and we locked eyes for the first time in weeks as I was consumed with pain.