I raise my eyebrows at him, and he smiles before he speaks again. “I’ll be back in a bit. Feel free to sit with her. I’m sure she’d appreciate not waking up in a strange hospital alone.”
After he leaves, I stand there for a moment, considering the small chair in the corner of the room. I’m not sure why I care so much. Maybe it’s the storm, the rescue, or the idea that after spending her birthday alone and having an accident, she’d wake up aloneagain—that doesn’t sit right with me.
As I approach the chair with her gear on it, I move to pick it up and set it on the small counter next to the sink. When I do, a small notebook plops to the floor. With a quick glance around, I pick it up to return it, but the front cover flips open. I don’t mean to, but the large print words, do I wish I were dead?on the inside cover startles me.
I stare at the chaotic feminine handwriting.
Dead? I wonder about the answer to her own proposed question.
There’s a rustle from somewhere in the room. “Is reading other people’s shit part of your job?”
Chapter 5
Lily
I’ve never been one to elevate stuff above people. I mean, how could I? I literally have nothing. But waking up to see Ranger Rick or whatever his name was, reading some of my most private thoughts—I want to murder the man.
I wince as I swallow the grittiness in my dry mouth. The slurred question I barely put together echoes in the room’s silence, and the pounding in my head intensifies as I glance around, the fluorescent lights burning my irises.
“I, uh, wasn’t reading it. It fell. Was just putting it back.” The ranger’s voice is authoritative, similar to the last time I remember him, but this time there’s also a waver in the undercurrent of his timbre.
I snort. “Yeah, looks like it.”
My leg’s asleep, and I shift, biting my lip. It feels like my head could explode. The IV in my arm stabs me, and I grab for it, ripping it out.
I half expect an alarm to sound, but nothing happens.
The man in the corner crosses his arms, narrowing his eyes at me. What was his name?
Doesn’t matter.
“Where am I?” I ask.
“Pinebrook Hospital. You had an accident on your hike today.” The professionalism in his voice returns, and the softness from moments ago vanishes. I’ve becomethe jobagain. I’m shocked his slobbering friend isn’t here to sniff out if I’m high or not.
I remember through the pain of my headache. The Four Mile Trail. Stopping to blow out my candle. After that, the storm opened up and the rain poured in torrents. Visibility went to hell, and by the time I almost reached Glacier Point, I turned around before the pathway washed out too much.
It wasn’t helpful. The hike down was slow and muddy. The last thing I remember was turning the corner of a switchback and slipping. The rest is black. Void.
“Right …” I say.
His hair appears lighter under the lurid hospital lights, but it’s still a dark brown buzzed into that stereotypical jarhead cut. Another second ticks by, and I’m confused by his presence. Is he here to take to a report?
There’s a knock at the door and an older man in a white lab coat enters, clipboard in hand. He smiles at me, but I can’t spare one in return.
“You’re awake!” He exclaims far too gleefully for me and this shitty migraine I’m working with.
“Appears so.”
Ranger Asshat snorts.
“Well, let me get some vitals. You had a nasty gash on that pretty head of yours, but we put a couple stitches in it, and it came together all right. Should be minimal scarring. You had a fairly serious concussion, so your head will probably feel like it’s on fire.”
I nod as he moves to listen to my heart, and my gaze floats over to the man in uniform staring back at me. He diverts his eyes.
Another ranger enters the room as the doctor drags a pointed light from his pocket and floods my vision with it, giving me commands to follow.
“I’m Ranger Dan. I’m sure you’ve met Noah already,” he says, waving around my ID in his hand.
