“How did you find me? I was off the trail? No one knew I was even gone.”
He doesn’t have an answer. What would he say? My leg was suddenly on fire, and my senses told me exactly where to find you over an hour away.
“I...umm...I just knew.”
“Axel,” she huffs, “do you have some kind of cameras in the woods or something?”
“There’s a camera on the front of the lodge. I saw which direction you went, and when you weren’t on the trail, I tracked your footprints.”
It’s not a lie exactly. There is a camera on the front of the lodge. It’s by where the guests park, so they can keep an eye on things. And he is an excellent tracker. He could track footprints in the dirt for miles.
She sighs and rests her head back on the pillows, eyes squeezed tight.
“You ok?”
“It just hurts.”
He nods, but he doesn’t really understand. Knows from what his mother taught them that pain for humans is different, worse. Even with all the broken bones and cuts he’s had in his life, the pain was never like this. He never felt the need to scrunch up his eyes tight like she’s doing.
“Advil!” he yells out. Chloe jumps a little at his outburst and looks at him with wide eyes. “I have Advil in the first aid kit. I’ll go get it.”
He’s off the ground and in the bathroom before he stops to think he shouldn’t be moving that quickly around her. Humans don’t move that fast. But when he comes back down, she doesn’t say anything, and her eyes are squeezed tight again. She takes the pills with a glass of water he fetches her, and then he sits back on the ground to watch her.
Chloe seems to relax slowly. First her eyes, eyelids still closed but not squeezed tight. Then her shoulders lose some of their tension. Finally, her chest and the rest of her body. The medicine must be kicking in. He hears her breathing soften and knows she’s sleeping.
Axel slips quietly into the kitchen, calling Gunner to let him know what happened. Chloe sleeps till there’s a knock at the door.
“Here, I brought you some stuff,” Jack says, pushing a large picnic basket at Axel.
“What is it?” Jack rolls his eyes at that.
“It’s fucking food. And other stuff.”
“What kinds of other stuff?” Axel opens one side of the basket and begins to dig through. Jack smacks his hand away and closes the basket.
“Just other stuff. To make it romantic. Candles, wine, lube-”
“Lube!” Axel exclaims loudly.
“Yes motherfucker, lube. Now shut up and take this inside.”
Axel closes the door and turns inside to see Chloe sitting up on the couch with sleepy eyes, looking at him.
“That was Jack, he brought us some food.”
As if on queue, Chloe’s stomach grumbles and she covers it quickly with her hand. He moves to the kitchen. Unpacking it to find lube, condoms, and chocolate-covered strawberries alongside the food. He puts the strawberries in the fridge and shoves the other more intimate items in a kitchen drawer. Sound from the living room draws his attention, and he sees that Chloe is trying to stand.
“Hey, hey. Take it easy.” He comes to her side and helps her to sit back down. She lets him, which he and his bear like; he likes taking care of her. Just wishes she wasn’t hurt.
“I want to help. I can get to the kitchen.”
“Why don’t you relax. Everything is ready. I’ll plate it up and be right back. Ok?”
She nods and tells him ‘thank you’. He wants to say she doesn’t need to thank him, that he’d do anything for her. Go to the ends of the earth if she wantedhim to. All he wants for the rest of his life is for her to be happy.
After he comes back with two plates piled high with roast chicken, rice, and veggies, he settles next to her on the couch. They eat in companionable silence till she clears her throat.
“Thank you, Axel. You found me. I don’t know how long I would have been out there if you hadn’t come to my rescue. So, thank you.”
