Page 19 of So Worth More
“Would you?” She looked like she might cry.
“Sure, let’s go find a nice rock to sit on next to the river, yeah?” I took her arm and led her to a flat area that looked comfortable enough to rest on. “Will, is it your bag that has the first aid kit?”
He took the backpack off to have a look, holding it out to me. “Here you go.”
“Thanks.”
Gently taking off her boot and her too thin socks, I noticed that both had bad signs of chafing, but no actual blisters or bleeding. “Good news, we got them before they’d really hurt, but they’ve been rubbing.” I looked up at her, keeping my tone gentle. She wasn’t an outdoorsy person, so she didn’t know any better. Considering the state of her feet, I felt my conscience twinge, I think I’d have complained sooner. “Your socks are too thin for these new boots. A couple of band aids or a bandage should help.” Quickly getting her sorted out by wrapping her feet to act as a better barrier, I got her boots re-laced slightly tighter than before.
My legs were starting to cramp from the crouching. Making a move to stand, I pushed off the rock, but my left foot was wedged and I cried out as I staggered and twisted. I landed with a dull thud. Pain, sudden and sharp, flared as my head struck something, likely another rock. The world blurred for a second. I dimly heard the others shout for me, and felt hands trying to catch me.
I came back to awareness, in what could have only been seconds after I fell, as I was still on the ground. Will was kneeling on the ground by my head. “Andy? You okay?”
I winced as his fingers stroked over my head and came away covered in blood. Trying to move, I was stilled by his hand on my chest. “Don’t, you’re bleeding. I need to look at that and try and stop the bleeding a bit before you move.”
Unable to stay lying on the damp grass, I tried to pull myself up to sit, pushing off his hand as I attempted to pull my legs up. Gasping with the pain and trying not to shout out, I gave up.
“My leg, it’s stuck. Hurts,” I managed to grit out through the wave of agony.
Will pulled some clothing from the backpack. He covered me with his navy jacket he’d taken off earlier, using it as a blanket, before finding a grey hoodie in the depths of the bag and making a pillow for me. “I’ll get blood on it,” I protested.
Will frowned. “Don’t care. I’m going to try and get your foot free, okay? It might hurt. Okay, it probably will hurt, but I’ll do it as quickly as I can.”
White hot pain flared along my leg as Will ran his hands over my foot. Trying to wiggle it loose, I could only clench my fists and bite my lip. It was excruciating but quickly faded to a throb as Will freed my foot, placing it gently on the grass. With deft fingers, he unlaced my boot, removed my sock and examined the injury.
Quickly cleaning the scrapes and wrapping my foot and leg firmly, vomit rising with how badly it hurt, Will announced, “I think the hike is over for you. At the very least, it needs to be iced and elevated. I’d feel better if you had an x-ray.” A part of me wanted to argue and not be a burden but there was no way that I was going anywhere but back to the cabin.
Will looked up at the others who had been watching carefully in silence. “I’ll take Andy back to the house and try to convince him to go to the clinic in town.” He smiled as he said the last part and I could only huff out a laugh. “You guys continue on if you like, Andy’s fine. Pretty sure it isn’t broken. Most likely a sprain and maybe a mild concussion.”
“I’ll help,” Gem chimed in. “I feel like it’s my fault and I was holding everyone back, anyway.” She shrugged, like it wasn’t a big deal, but I wanted to give her a hug. The poor woman looked to be on the verge of tears.
Henry approached her, giving her a quick hug and a kiss on the temple. “You sure, babe?” Giving him a short nod, she stepped back and drifted to my side.
Will pulled my attention back to him as he started to fuss over the wound on my head. “It won’t stop bleeding,” he grumbled.
“Head wounds bleed a lot,” Pete called over. “It likely needs a couple of stitches, or to be glued.”
“Right, thanks.” Will muttered, pulling out dressings from the kit.
While the others all looked concerned, Will looked upset. His fingers trembled as he cleaned the cut, causing me to flinch. “Sorry,” he whispered. I covered his hand with one of mine, giving it a brief squeeze.
“I’ll be fine. Thanks for cleaning me up.”
After doing what he could to stop the bleeding, Will packed up the remains of the kit, got his things together and helped me stand. He took my left side to take up most of my weight, his arm around my waist, mine along his shoulders. He had to stoop slightly to make it work but when I tried to move my arm, he resisted. “It’s fine, let’s just get you to the car, okay?”
Gemma came to my other side, putting her arm around me too, making me steadier. The others seemed reluctant to continue, but after a grumbled complaint from Will about having me standing about, they set off. Gem watched them sadly as Henry didn’t spare a backwards glance.
The miles passed surprisingly quickly with Gem keeping conversation upbeat, refusing to let us sink into silence. She stripped off her coat and fleece top, stripping down to a thin t-shirt, as we reached the car, propping the coat and fleece under me in the back seat. Touched by her thoughtfulness, I pulled her to me and kissed her cheek. “Thanks, Gem.”
She looked taken aback, more so, perhaps on the verge of tears as Will squeezed her shoulder as he passed. “Couldn’t have gotten him down here without you.”
We were silent in the car, the sounds of the radio seemed distant. On approaching the house, Will turned his gaze to Gemma next to him, “Will you be okay in the house yourself? I’m going to take Andy to the clinic.” I went to interrupt him and refuse but he sent me a quelling look and I subsided. If I didn’t go now, the others would insist on it later and I didn’t want Will to be worrying about me all afternoon.
“Sure, no problem. Maybe I’ll take a bath or something.” Turning to me, “You’ll let me know what’s happening, won’t you? So I don’t worry.” Poor thing looked like she was taking the blame for the whole thing on herself.
“It wasn’t your fault, Gem. Just a freak accident. I’ll message as soon as we get done at the clinic, okay?” She gave me a nod and a kiss on the cheek before exiting the car and heading up to the house.
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