Page 41 of Calla's Boys

I realize that I’m going to miss this place when we eventually have to leave and return home after our time here has run out.

It’s like something out of a dream, and it is almost hard to believe that it’s even real and not some collaborative hallucination.

We slowly return to reality, turning away from the captivating view to begin our slow descent.

The journey down is easier, though I find the pull of gravity is a bit unnerving at times with the ground seeming to try and pull us down quicker than we’re able to go.

We make it though, safely back to level ground. There’s energy rippling through us all, exhilaration from what we’ve just achieved, mixed with the lingering awe of everything we saw at the summit.

We remove all the harnesses and pack the ropes away in our backpacks, having kept them on for the remainder of the trek upward and then back down to the bottom.

Slowly, we make our way back to the resort, eager to dump all of our bags in our rooms, eat, and clean up. All of us are hot, sweaty, and in dire need of showers.

When we walk through the front doors of the resort, Calla heads over to the reception desk to order food to be brought to our rooms.

While we’ve still got food left over from our trip, I don’t think any of us are going to want to cook when we can simply order it instead.

Calla returns to us, and we go up to our rooms. She swipes the keycard, and we enter one by one, dumping our bags in a haphazard pile before taking it in turns to freshen up.

I carefully unwrap the filthy bandages on my hands, wincing as the material pulls at the wounds. Rinsing them under hot water, I watch as fresh blood stains it pink.

Calla walks in as I’m doing this and gasps. “Your hands! Let me look at them.”

She takes each one in hers and inspects them closely, probably to check whether I’ll need stitches or something.

“I think we can probably just wrap them again, but we need to keep an eye on them and keep them clean so they don’t get infected.”

I sit on the edge of the bed as she grabs the first aid kit and proceeds to skillfully bandage them back up.

“Much better,” I murmur when she’s done, lifting them and stroking her face with my fingertips.

Her breath catches, and her cheeks flush a little.

“Food will be here soon,” she whispers breathlessly, and I lower my hand as I nod. “I’m going to check on the others. I know Jesse was hurt as well, but he’s still in the shower.”

“I’ll be there shortly,” I tell her, and she smiles as she leaves the room to go find Doc and Clyde.

Chapter Thirty-Four

Calla

Billy’s hands look really painful, but I don’t think they need stitches. Clyde and Doc were the only ones who didn’t get hurt on the hike, but it doesn’t mean they don’t still need me to make sure they’re okay.

Both of them stayed so strong for the rest of us, taking care of us all and making sure we all made it back in one piece.

I’m ashamed of myself for being the reason that Jesse and Billy were injured. If not for me, then they’d be fine. If I didn’t need all of them as fiercely as I do, then I’d be tempted to walk away to save them from any further pain.

I suspect that even if I tried to do that then I’d have a fight on my hands—from all four of them.

They’re my boys, and I should have been the one taking care of them. Instead, I messed up and got two of them hurt in the process.

I sigh, weighed down by the guilt of putting them in danger because of my stupid pride and fear.

“Hey,” Jesse says from behind me. “What’s wrong?”

“You and Billy got hurt because of me,”I admit.

“Don’t be silly, it could’ve happened to anyone.”

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