Scrape. Lift. Toss.Crack.
I feel it before I hear it.
Andfuck, do I hear it, despite the music blaring in my ears.
My center of gravity plummets, my heart leaping into my throat as I flail, the ground disappearing beneath me.
I land flat on my back with an “oof,” the air whooshing out of my lungs. I’ve yet to regain the ability to breathe when there’s another creak and a loud crash, followed by a shower of snow and debris.
My shock is short-lived, quickly giving way to pain.
White-hot, searing, unbearable pain.
My right arm is stuck over my head, twisted at an unnatural angle and pinned down by a wooden beam.
Jesus H.
I try to pull free, but even the slightest movement sends mind-melding pain through my arm, shoulder, and back.
“Help!” I cry out. My voice cracks, and then a sob escapes me.
It hurts. It hurts so fucking much.
Tytus is inside, but he was wearing headphones, so I can’t imagine he’ll hear me, no matter how loud I yell.
But my phone is in my coat pocket. I don’t have his phone number, but there is someone I can call.
Hope rising inside me, I use my free arm to fish out my phone. It takes effort, and even these movements send pain through my shoulder, but eventually I pluck it out and unlock it.
Mercifully, she answers on the first ring.
“Hey!”
I grit my teeth. “Sweetheart, don’t panic. But I need help.”
A heavy moment of silence follows. All the while, I grit my teeth, trying so damn hard not to cry out and alarm her.
“What? What happened?”
The line between us gets muffled, then Noah’s there.
“What’s wrong?” he demands.
I inhale deeply through my nose and focus on keeping my voice steady through the pain.
“The porch. It cracked, I think. I fell through. I’m stuck.”
A sorrowful snarl comes through the line.
“We’re leaving right now.” He grunts. “It may be fifteen or twenty minutes, though. The roads aren’t as cleared as I had hoped. Should I call EMS?”
No.
Just the thought makes my gut twist painfully.
Under no circumstances do I want to create a scenario in which Noah pulls up and finds emergency response vehicles scattered around the orchard.
“Don’t. I’ll be fine until you get here. But have Sawyer call Tytus and warn him. He’s still inside. Tell him not to come out here. It’s not safe.”
