Regretfully, I slowly push off. Not because I want to. I have no other choice. As soon as I start descending, I bend my knees and focus on balancing as I cut to turn the other way, and it works.
I’m not the fastest person out here anymore. My legs are working mostly okay, except for the shaking coming from my knees. That’s straight fear. My shoulder seems to have lost most of its range of motion, and it throbs in pain, but I focus on the little Lego ski lodge down below as motivation to get me through this run.
Somehow, we manage to glide to a smooth stop at the lodge, where I whip off my beanie and sunglasses and drop an explosive sigh of relief. “I’m not going back up there.”
“Nobody said you had to.” Noah’s grin is easy as he unlatches his boots and kicks up his board to prop it against the side of the lodge with the rest of the stored gear.
Despite the winter temps, I’m drenched in sweat and breathe heavily as we pass through the doors. I manage to hobble up the single set of stairs to the restaurant. Two hot chocolates later, we stroll back through the lodge in search of a spot to rest. All the tables are taken, and the only available seat is an oversized leather loveseat. A pile of children’s books and a few discarded toys scatter over the corner, and it takes everything I have not to get up to tidy it up. Normally, my mind doesn’t rest around clutter, but today I don’t care. On a day with fewer bruises, I wouldn’t be able to resist. “After you.” Noah gestures toward the sofa.
“Don’t mind if I do.” The grunt is all mine. I plop down, propping my feet up on the little rustic coffee table. My body melts into the leather like it’s chocolate at the beach.
His snicker laugh is instant, and his direct gaze warns me that he will force me to converse rather than rest in silence. “That smile says you’re done skiing for the day.”
“I can’t say skiing is my forte.” Now that I know my funeral is averted for at least another day, a chuckle moves inside me as I check my smartwatch. “It only took me an hour to almost die today. Not too bad.” I bob my head, feeling the self-deprivation kick in. “If you’re worried about me, I’m fine sitting here. You go ahead and get back out.” I gesture out the window at all the happy skiers buzzing down the hill.
“I would rather sit here with you.” He nudges his shoulder next to mine—thank goodness it’s my good shoulder or I might have yelped. He effortlessly slouches into the cushions to match me.
“Consider that my gift to you.” I take a sip of tepid hot chocolate, hoping to wash away at least some of myembarrassment. When I swallow, my cocoa-coated taste buds beg me to lean my head back, and my eyes close as almost every ligament in my body throbs in pain.
“You might consider getting checked out by a chiropractor or physician,” Noah’s voice cuts through my hazy thoughts. When I don’t reply, he proceeds to pat my thigh, at which point my brain literally booms. “Hey, did you hear me? You might need a doctor.”
My brain is still booming. I’ve never been one for public affection of any kind, but it’s those soft little touches that always get me. Like, melt me even faster into this couch. I open one eye. Noah has a look of concern pinned on his brows, but my skin is begging for those snuggles he teased earlier.
“I’ll be fine.” Taking his cue, I reach over and pat his leg. “But thanks for your concern.”
“I’m not trying to sound like a know-it-all, but I’ve seen an awful lot of injuries, and your whole shoulder looks completely disjointed. How you aren’t screaming in pain is beyond me.”
“Now that you mention it.” I lean forward and proceed to run my hand along the top of my shoulder, checking for anything that feels weird, even though I have no idea what I’m feeling for. “I do feel a little lopsided.” I downplay the intensity of the pain, but I can’t deny something is a little off.
“Here.” He reaches for my shoulder, and I immediately tense, jerk back, and yelp like one of those yippy dogs. “See, you are out of place.” His tone is cautionary as he slides his hand over my shoulder blade.
“I’m fine.” I blink at him, as if moving my eyelids proves my shoulder is functional.
He slides to the edge of the couch. “Come on. You need to be seen by a medical professional, and you’re in luck, because the clinic takes walk-ins until noon. If we leave now, we’ll have enough time to get there.”
“I’m fine,” I assert again, this time tossing my hair back over my shoulder, but the mere circular motion of my head sends a shooting ninja star slicing all the way down my side. I leak out a groan that sounds like something that could only come out of a body raised from the dead. Gazes from people in the lobby dart my way. I’ve never wished to stumble across a sinkhole more than I do in this moment. Except at this point, I don’t think I could even stand to fall into one.
“Here’s the deal.” He stands, squaring his gaze with mine. “You think you can handle it now, but it will get worse when the adrenaline wears off. Unless you get some painkillers, there is no way you’ll be able to sleep. Trust me.” He holds out his hand, offering me a lift. “It’s best to go now while your body is still flooded with adrenaline. If it hurts this bad now, you’ll be crawling on the floor in an hour.”
I want to rub my eyes, soothing my oncoming headache, but even bending my arm to do that triggers my shoulder to shoot jets of fire down my body. “Maybe.”
He quirks a confused eyebrow. “What do you mean, maybe?”
I wag a sassy finger at him as I realize any shred of dignity I’m holding onto is about to go up in flames. “Depends on if I can move.”
“Oh, I’ll get you there.” Without warning, he scoops me off the sofa, the pain so intense even minor movements make my arm shake. I bite down on my lip, resisting the urge to let out another cryptic groan. I hate to admit Noah is right about the pain getting worse as the seconds tick by, but that’s the only way I can reason with what’s going on in my body. It’s like an outer layer of cushion is slowly getting ripped off, leaving the burn of fire from the depths of my core. I’m choking back tears and groans, and my vision starts to go opaque as I lean my head against his chest and allow him to carry me out of the lodge.
I don’t remember much about the hospital except for the fact that they gave me the good muscle relaxers as soon as I got to the examination room. One moment I was nearly convulsing from the pain. The next, I was slumped over on the table, leaning on my good elbow, and everything was chill.
I felt completely at ease by the time the doctor popped my shoulder back into place. So much so, I walk out of the clinic with a bubblegum lollipop the nurse gave me. It sticks out of the side of my mouth, and it’s definitely the source of my slobber. “I don’t know much about medicine,” I slur on my way back to Sophie’s SUV, “but I think that doctor was a little handsy.”
“Nope.” Noah’s straight face lies. When I squint, I can tell the corners of his eyes crease into a want-to laugh. He’s struggling not to laugh at this whole situation. “That was protocol for putting a shoulder back in place.”
“Really?” I pause at the passenger door as Noah opens it and places a hand on my forehead for protection—as if I don’t know how tall I am.
Five six to be exact.
Or maybe that’s metric?
