I’m sure he’s fine.
The door opens, and Robyn walks in.
She’s holding a beautiful vase of flowers. The arrangement is bright and cheerful, in yellows, whites and coral pink, and when her eyes find mine, she stops walking for a second before she walks over, putting the flowers on the bedside table. Then her arms are around me.
“Hey,” I manage.
She doesn’t answer that. She just holds on, her grip tight, one hand at the back of my head, and I feel the full weight of the last two days shift somewhere at the back of my chest.
“I’m okay,” I choke out.
I’m not going to cry. I told myself I wasn’t going to cry anymore.
It doesn’t matter what I told myself because the tears come anyway.
I bury my face in her shoulder. She shakes a little, making a sobbing noise. Then she sniffs once and looks at me and laughs, watery and brief.
“You look terrible.” She swipes at her own face. “In the best possible way.”
“Thanks.” I reach for the tissue from the side table and blot at my face. “You look beautiful and put together as always, which, I have to tell you, is offensive.”
She laughs again and pulls the chair up close to the bed and sits on the edge of it, leaning in, both hands curling around mine where they sit in my lap. Her eyes scan my face.
“Are you okay? Are you really okay? You can’t be.”
“I am. Yeah.” And I mean it. “If it hadn’t been for Magma, I…” My voice hitches. “I don’t want to talk about it. It was scary and all one big muddle. We hiked and ran and holed up in little crevices and ate what we could, but we got through it. I’m fine, I’m out, I’m here, and I really, really cannot believe they’re keeping me overnight. There is nothing wrong with me that wasn’t fixed by a shower and a decent meal.” I sigh.
“You got a decent meal? In here?”
“I got a cheeseburger.”
Robyn sits back slightly. “They gave you a cheeseburger? What happened to meatloaf or?—?”
“I happen to know a couple of the nurses. I made a plan.”
She laughs, and I feel just a little better.
“You are a resourceful woman when you want something.”
“A woman has needs, Robyn. I’ve lived on nuts and fruit for days. I wanted grease and meat and cheese…oh…and carbs.”
She’s still grinning. “I’m glad you have an appetite. That you’re already feeling better…after everything. Also, it’s a good thing they’re keeping you here tonight. You should rest. Let them keep you under observation. These things matter.”
“I had X-rays. And a full blood panel. And they listened to my lungs for an unnecessarily long time.”
“You can’t be too sure.” Her gaze drops, and she goes still, the humor in her face shifting into something quieter. She’s looking at my feet, or more specifically at the bandaging that starts at my ankles and goes all the way down. “What about that?”
“I was out there for two days without shoes. It happens. I have a few bruises and cuts. The bandages are overkill, just like this drip.” I lift my arm.
“You need taking care of after what you went through. Your feet must be torn to shreds.”
“They’re not too bad. It would have been much worse without Magma. He carried me over some of the roughest terrain.” I stop and look at the flowers on the bedside table. “How is he? What do you know? I’m a little worried, but I knew no one would tell me if I enquired. It’s not like I’m family or anything.”
She squeezes my hands before she lets them go, sitting back more fully in the chair.
“Ridge and Flint went over to see him when I came here.” She tilts her head. “As far as Ridge told me, he’s doing well, all things considered. He has a couple of broken bones. Three ribs and a collarbone, as well as some cuts and bruising.”
The wounds on his chest and back were deep. Especially the one on his chest. That was no cut. It was more of a slash…to the bone. I watched the blood soak down over my own skin. There was not much I could do for him out there.
