Page 16 of Falling for the Enemy

I didn't remember the impact. I didn't remember anything after the ‘oh shit’ feeling that I couldn't stop. Amber’s hand squeezed me and down we went.

15

Amber

Iwoke up slowly, my head hurting and when I touched it, I winced because it hurt. I could feel the wetness on my fingers, and I didn't even have to see what color it was to know that it was blood. The car that we were in was no longer on the road, it was on its side, and it was then that I remembered I wasn't alone. I looked next to me and saw that Frank was out of it. He looked like he had hit his face on the steering wheel, creating a cut on his cheek that looked pretty deep. I could tell that he was breathing so I didn't freak out about that, but after a few minutes, I didn't want to be the only one that was aware of the situation. I wanted to wake him up, but I wasn't sure if I was supposed to or not. What if he was in pain?

Thankfully, he started to wake up, and I was filled with relief. We weren’t out of the woods yet, but if he was okay, then it was going to be alright. We’d figure it out.

Frank was the sort of man who made a woman feel secure, even when this was probably one of the worst situations I'd ever been in. It wasn’t like I could call AAA and get help. I hadn't looked at my phone yet, but I had a pretty good feeling that there wasn't going to be service. Half the town didn't have service, so there was no way there was going to be service on the side of a mountain.

The more I thought about our situation, the more I realized we were screwed. Frank was still not quite awake yet. He was up, his eyes were opened, but he was still trying to pull himself together. I had done the same thing moments before, so I understood it was going to be hard. I asked him if he was alright and if he was hurt, but Frank didn't answer for quite some time. I thought for a moment that he had passed back out, but finally he grinned at me and said that he was fine.

I wanted to argue with that assessment. None of this was fine, but there really was no reason for it. He was going to figure it out soon enough. I knew that it could have been worse. This was bad, but it could have been really bad.

I looked around for what seemed like forever. The headlights were still working, but they were at such an angle that I was going to have to get out to really get a view of the situation. Frank was coming around slowly, at least enough that he recognized that I was leaving the vehicle. He asked me what I was doing, and I told him I needed to get a look. He said he was going to come with me, but he was still wobbly, and I told him just to take his time. I'd been up for a little bit, so I was ready to work toward getting out of this.

There had been such a fog when I first came to. It was likely because I hit my head. Now the fog was lifting, and my mind was sharper. I was starting to see the danger of our predicament. We had to get back up on the road so that somebody would find us. When Frank was finally able to get out, he made a loud sound like he was in pain. I went to him and asked him what was hurting.

He was holding his side and when he moved his hand I saw blood. Something had been poking him and when he tried to move, it was dislodged. I had to put pressure on it to see if I could get it to stop bleeding. I wasn't any kind of medical expert, but I did know that blood needed to stay in the body. I searched for my phone, knowing that there wouldn't be any service but still needing to see that there wasn't before I went to the next phase of our rescue. Frank talked for a few minutes, but he was completely out of it before too long and passed out. I was scared that he’d lost too much blood. I could barely see anything.

I’d never been in this sort of situation before. I should have been afraid, but I wasn't. It was a bad situation that I had to get us out of. I couldn't move Frank, so the obvious answer was I had to get back on the road and get help.

I put my phone in my back pocket and just went for it. I didn’t want Frank telling me to stop if he realized what I was doing. At first look, it looked like a sheer rock and dirt wall that wasn’t going to be scalable. It appeared that there was no way I would be able to find such a thing. I was afraid of heights and had no ropes to make it safe.

As my eyes continued to adjust to the darkness, I realized that it wasn't as straight up as it looked. There were many places to put my feet and hands. There were also roots on the way up that were as thick as my arm. I just started going up and told myself that I wasn't going to freak out. I couldn’t. Frank was counting on me.

I looked down once and it was something that I learned to be a grave mistake. It was so far down and when I looked back up, there was so much more to go. I wanted to give up right then and there, on the side of an embankment, holding onto roots for dear life, my heart beating a mile a minute from my fear of heights kicking in. I took several deep breaths and told myself that I had to keep going. It wasn’t just for me.

More time passed and more effort was expended. By the time I got to the top and somehow pulled myself up to the concrete road, my arms felt like noodles and there was no strength left in them.

I collapsed right there, not even caring that I was partially in the road, and it was still dark. I didn't hear any cars for quite some time, but I started to feel a vibration underneath me and it gave me the energy to stand up. I got off the side of the road slightly, not wanting to be hit by my would-be savior. When it finally did come close, I waved it down and I could see that it was a semi-truck. I got an exclaimed expression and he wanted to help me, but it took a minute for him to understand that I wasn't the only one that needed help. His phone wasn't working either and he offered to take me into town, but instead I told him that I didn't want to leave Frank.

“Just call us a wrecker and an ambulance, and send them here. I have to go back down there and make sure that he's okay. He’s lost a lot of blood and is pretty out of it,” I explained as well as I could.

The truck driver’s name was Dale, and he asked me several times if that's what I really wanted to do. He almost refused to leave, if that wasn’t a testament to how bad of an idea he thought it was. I made him go though, telling him that my friend could be bleeding out that very second. I hadn't believed it when I said it, but then the reality that it could be true trickled in, and I had to find a way back down. Going up was bad enough, but back down I had to face my fear of heights again. I had to look at it head on and face it. By the time I got back down in one piece, I started to think that I could do anything.

I went to Frank right away to tried to wake him up. Wasn't there always a big deal made about someone getting hit on the head and going to sleep? I wished then that I had taken medical classes instead of marketing. At least it would be useful. I felt helpless, and I hated the feeling of it probably more than anything else.

“Come here, my angel,” a soft whisper said.

I looked down at Frank after he said it and he didn't even look like he was awake. He looked at me for so long. His eyes were dazed. “I am going to make sure that we both get out of this place. Just hold on a little longer, help is on the way,” I assured him.

Frank said something else, and I asked what it was because he was talking so low. I moved closer, trying to hear whatever he was fighting to tell me. When I got closer, the surprising accuracy and strength as he pressed his lips against mine was amazing. It wasn't very long of a kiss, a few seconds, but it set something inside of me on fire. I wanted to deepen the kiss, but he sighed and laid back again.

“What did you do that for?” I asked.

He shrugged with a sleepy, happy grin on his face. “When will I get another chance to kiss an angel?”

I had no words and was not really sure how I felt about it all. It would seem like I had a little bit of time though, even if the truck driver had already called for help. It was going to take some time for them to get here. I was just going to have to be patient, something that I lacked in my character but after that kiss, it wasn't so hard to wait. Not only did I have a stupid look on my face, but I had a million questions on my mind. I fell asleep waiting for help to get there.

I heard a commotion above and I knew that help had arrived. “Get up, Frank!” I said, shaking him. “Everything is really going to be alright. They found us.”

Frank nodded his head, still out of it. I looked at his wound and saw that it had stopped bleeding. I repeated it to myself. It’s all going to be okay. I might be lying to myself in that moment, but I knew of no other way.

16

Frank

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