All For Anna (29 page)

“But...but I-”

“Tori, do you want to
stand here and freeze, or do you want to get warm?”

His voice was no longer
soft, but tense, and maybe even a little annoyed. He grabbed my pillow and “indoor”
sleeping bag and in a second we were in his tent. I shivered as I watched him
zip our two bags together, laying them down on the floor mat.

“Get in,” he said.

I followed orders
immediately. I was too cold to think, let alone argue. I felt him curl up
behind me, putting his arm around my waist as he pulled the sleeping bag up
past my shoulders. A good five minutes passed before my body had calmed enough
to speak without shuddering.

“Why were you awake?” I
asked.

“It was my turn to
stoke the fire. Why didn’t you come find me?” he countered gruffly.

“I thought if I put
more clothes on I’d be fine,” I said.

“And what? Stand in
your tent without a coat while you got dressed in thirty degree weather?”

Was he angry at me?

Had my stupidity caused
him to compromise by having me in here with him? Is that why he’s upset?

“I...I’m sorry for
putting you in this position. I didn’t mean to.”

I felt like a child in
time-out, only it was my boyfriend who was punishing me—not my parents. How
embarrassing.

He signed heavily. His
arm moved from my waist to brush back the hair off of my face and tuck it
behind my ear. Even though he was still lying behind me, I could picture his
eyes, his mouth, and his rumpled hair. The thought caused my heart to pound.

“I’m not upset about
that,
Pele
. I would never be upset with you for needing help. I just don’t
like to think about you hurting or in pain—especially when I can do something
about it. You have to stop thinking of yourself as some kind of burden when
just the opposite is true,” he said. “Besides, we have about ten inches of
clothing between the two of us—I feel pretty confident that nothing
inappropriate will happen in here tonight, don’t you?”

At the mention of the
many layers of clothing we both had on, I started to giggle. I tried to stifle
my laugh in the sleeve of my jacket, but that only reminded me again of how
ridiculous this night had become. Of all the times I had pictured being alone
with Kai, this
vision of romance
was definitely not among them. He
started in too, and soon we were a mixture of both laughing and
shh-ing
.

Finally though, through
some sort of miraculous intervention, we managed to regain control of our
hysteria.

“Goodnight, Tori.”

“Goodnight, Kai.”

Within minutes of
settling I was asleep, dreaming of the warmth that had not only surrounded my
body, but my heart as well.

**********

The clanging of the pot
caused me to sit up with a start. Kai put his arm back around me, pulling me
down to his side again.

“Kai...Kai...its
breakfast time. I need to get out of here before anyone thinks...well, thinks
that something else went on in here last night,” I said, whispering as softly
as I could.

His eyes barely opened
and he shook his head with a groan. I wasn’t sure what that was supposed to
mean, so I moved his arm aside and crawled out of the sleeping bag. I
straightened my coat and untwisted my sweats to be centered on my waist.

Good golly, what must I
look like right now?

I touched my hair
briefly, feeling the work of braided knots beneath my fingers. I grimaced. I
needed to locate a mirror soon, if just for the sake of my dignity alone.

Carefully, I unzipped
Kai’s tent door. Putting one socked foot out onto the cold, hard ground at a
time, I shivered. I squatted down as I re-zipped it, hoping to duck into my own
tent unnoticed.

“Good Morning, Tori,”
Briggs said from some unknown location behind me.

I cringed, frozen in
place with my eyes closed. Of all the moments to have the super-power of
invisibility
,
this would be it! Slowly I turned to face him.

“Hi...this isn’t what
it appears to be,” I said.

Briggs’ smile could
have been pictured in the Guinness Book of World Records—no doubt. My face
flamed, burning hotter by the second. Beyond him I could see everyone, and I
was fairly certain that
everyone
could see
me.

I had two choices in
that moment: the walk of shame to get breakfast and sit with Kai’s friends, or
to duck into my tent and only come out after Kai awoke from his coma. I chose
the second option, proving my cowardice. I had barely made it to the door when
Briggs grabbed my arm, pulling me back with a gentle yank.

“Oh come on, we know
nothing happened. Let me guess...you were freezing because you didn’t prepare
for
arctic
camping
which then led to bunking-up with this punk in
the middle of the night?”

Briggs crossed his arms
over his chest, gesturing toward Kai’s tent with a quick jerk of his head.

I nodded, feeling the
gaze of everyone on Briggs’ back as he spoke.

“Okay, well that’s
settled then. No scarlet letter’s gonna be handed out around these parts. Go
grab your shoes and let’s get you some breakfast, okay? The least we can do is
feed you after a night like that,” Briggs said, amused.

With my face still
flushed, I grabbed my Nikes from just inside my tent. I tried in vain to smooth
out my hair as we walked over to the breakfast table.

Mrs. Julie was the
first to speak to me.

“It was a cold night,
wasn’t it dear?” She handed me a plate full of steaming pancakes. My stomach
growled in response.

“Yes, thank you Mrs.
Julie,” I said.

I sat and stared at the
food, feeling the awkward eyes of the world on my face. It was in that moment
though, that I heard Kai come out of the tent. He looked around a bit dazed and
then found me, walking over to sit at my side.

“Good morning...how did
you sleep?” he asked.

I closed my eyes and
waited for the laughter. I knew it would be led by no one other than Briggs
himself. Sure enough, I was right. Not even a full second later, every person
around the fire was in hysterics, looking at Kai’s unknowing face.

“What...what did I
miss?” Kai asked. His sweet, innocent face only caused more laughter to ensue. 

I laughed too, feeling
just a tad guilty that Kai hadn’t caught on to the fact that our arctic
rendezvous was no longer a secret.

He finally smiled in
understanding, and then helped himself to breakfast, completely unabashed.

**********

Hiking was the big
event of the day. I dressed in jeans and a long-sleeve shirt, tying a zip-up
hoodie around my waist. I never wanted to be caught unprepared in the cold
again—ever.

It took me several
minutes to brush my hair out before eventually pulling it into a loose braid. I
didn’t want it falling in my face during the hike. I’d also managed to wash my
face and brush my teeth with some drinking water. All of that resulted in a
much fresher, much happier, Tori.

I followed Kai and
Briggs up the trail.

The others were behind
us, walking at a tad slower pace. The three guys who were joining us were to
arrive in just about an hour, but they knew where to find us.

The largest of the
hills had a trail that seemed to zigzag its way to the top. I was grateful we
wouldn’t be climbing on our hands and knees, though I’m sure the guys would
have been up for it.

The further we walked,
the more difficult the trail became, and the steeper the cliff’s edge. Kai
didn’t seem to care about heights, but I stayed clear of that side of the path
altogether. The boys both wore a water bag on their back. About an hour into
our trek, I was grateful that Kai had planned ahead in that way, I had taken
many sips from his. I had also pulled on my sweatshirt a while back. It was
surprising how much cooler it was near the top than down at the lake.

The scenery was
breathtaking. From this vantage point I could see a large stretch of forest
below. There was so much green, so much natural beauty. I hadn’t ever really
cared about outdoor living much, but since moving back to Texas, I’d found myself
drawn to nature. Somehow being near land, trees, lakes and hills caused me to
feel more alive.

“I’m going to go back
and check on the rest of the group. I don’t see them behind us anymore,” Briggs
said.

“Do you want us to wait
for you?” Kai asked.

“No, go on ahead. I’ll
catch up.”

Briggs turned to jog
back down the trail as Kai took my hand. We kept our pace for awhile more.

“Are you glad you
came?” Kai asked.

“Yes, apart from our
sleeping scandal, it’s been really great,” I said.

“Well, don’t tell anyone…but
I kinda liked our sleeping scandal,” he said, winking at me when I caught his
eye.

A few more steps and I
felt something sharp and uncomfortable.

“Ow, I think I have a
rock in my shoe,” I said.

“Let’s take a breather,
then. I can use a water break myself.”

I found a flat rock to
sit on near a large tree by the path’s edge. I worked quickly to untie my shoe
and dump out the pebble, wanting to get away from the steep cliff side as soon
as possible. Kai stood near me, drinking his water. I glanced up at him once as
I hurriedly tied my laces. He was swatting his hand in the air in front of him
before throwing his water bag back over his shoulder.

As I stood, my world
began to crumble…in slow motion. 

“Kai?”

He was stumbling—arms
out—fighting to regain his balance. I reached for him, trying to steady his
frightening movements and hold him back from the edge, but his body collapsed.
In less than a second he was gone.

His body barreled down
the hillside at a rate that seemed impossible. I screamed his name over and
over before forcing myself to the same fate.

I slid on my backside
feet first, trying to dodge the branches and tree stumps as they came at me.
There were hidden rocks and roots that I couldn’t see under the brush, but that
didn’t stop them from making contact with my body as I passed over them. I knew
I could only be a help to Kai if I survived this fall—I had to survive.

Even with careful
maneuvering, the burn of my skin and the tearing of my flesh were unmistakable.

It didn’t matter though,
nothing mattered but finding Kai.

I passed yet another
large tree during what felt like a never-ending plummet-to-death. I had no way
to gauge how far we had traveled down the side of the cliff, but once I finally
came to a stop, my eyes spotted something bright in the distance. There, next
to the base of a large tree, I could see his orange sweatshirt—or at least a
small part of it.

I frantically flung
myself around each obstacle in between us, tripping several times as I tried to
get to him. Nothing I did seemed fast enough. I dropped down to my knees the
second he was within my reach, carefully rolling him onto his back to check his
breathing. It was there—but very labored. I looked him over, trying to figure
out what had happened.

A cold calm came over
me, sharpening my senses.

A bee.

He’s been stung.

I suddenly remembered
how he had swatted his hand in the air just seconds before he stumbled. I
checked his exposed skin for a mark.

Hands?
No.
Face?
No.
Neck?
Yes.

A panic ripped through
me.

The neck was one of the
worst places to be stung for a person with a severe allergy to bee stings. He
was in anaphylactic shock; I was a hundred percent certain of that. His neck
and lips had already begun to swell, and his breathing sounded more labored
with each passing second.

“Please, please,
please, have your EpiPen on you Kai.”

Why didn’t I ask him
where he kept it when he told me about his allergy?

I started at his ankles
patting him carefully in an upward motion. Working my way up his legs I hoped
to find it in a front pocket, no such luck. I felt inside the pocket of his
sweatshirt near his waist—not  there either. My stomach lurched then, nausea
hitting me hard as the reality of what this missing Pen would mean for him—
for
us.

Is it in a back pocket?

I pulled his right arm
out straight and then bent his left leg, rolling him over with ease the way I
did in the hospital when someone outweighed me.

Right back pocket
? No.
Left back
pocket?
Yes!

There wasn’t time to
rejoice, every second was critical. I rolled Kai back over and jabbed the first
of two EpiPen injections into his right outer thigh. I was careful to inject
all the fluid inside it.