I couldn’t believe I was in the emergency room again. I was even on the same examining table, surrounded by a pink curtain. A nurse slid a protective covering on an ear thermometer. “I didn’t expect to see you back here so soon.” She checked my temperature. “Ninety-seven point nine. Low, but nothing a hot mug of cocoa can’t cure.” She made a note on my chart and slipped behind the curtain.
I let my feet dangle from the hospital bed as they did on doctor’s visits as a child. Thump, thump, thump. My heels hit the drawers under the bed. In a rush, I remembered being at the doctor with my mother and her telling me not to kick the hospital bed. In my mind, I heard her voice and saw her annoyed expression. It took my breath away.
The nurse pulled back the curtain. “We have a couple of guests that insist on seeing you.”
Timothy and Becky rushed toward me.
Becky threw her arms around my neck. “Chloe, what happened? Timothy said you fell into the ice and almost drowned.”
I hadn’t much time to explain to Timothy what had happened. I’d told him over the phone that someone had fallen into the Appleseed Pond. I hadn’t meant to imply it was me. I figured it was better to tell him about Curt and Brock in person. “No, I’m fine. I wasn’t in the water.”
The nurse made another note on her chart. “She saved the guy who fell in. She’s a hero.”
“You saved someone.” Becky squeezed my hand. “Tell us everything.”
Timothy frowned and watched me closely, as if he knew he wouldn’t like what I was about to say.
I swallowed. “It was Brock.”
Becky dropped my hand. I doubted she could be more surprised if I had told her I’d flown to the moon and back while they attended choir practice.
Timothy became extremely still. “How is Brock?” He directed his question to the nurse.
“He’ll be fine. We’re keeping him in the hospital overnight for observation. His temperature dropped dangerously low, but I expect he’ll be discharged by early afternoon tomorrow.” She patted my shoulder. “You’re free to go now, Chloe. Do me a favor. Don’t show up here for a while. This is turning into a weekly occurrence.” The nurse slipped by the curtain and on to the next patient.
I climbed off of the examining table. “I’ll need to grab my coat and we can head home. The nurse said it was at the front desk. I left it in the ambulance.”
“Becky, can you find her coat?” Timothy asked.
Becky’s face fell into a slight pout. “I want to hear about what happened.”
“You will.” His tone was firm. “I want to talk to Chloe alone for a moment.”
I sat back down on the table.
Annoyance flashed across Becky’s heart-shaped face, but she did as she was told.
When she disappeared behind the curtain, Timothy glared at me. “What were you doing alone with Brock?”
“Curt was there too.”
His eye twitched. “Does that make it better?”
I folded my arms across my chest. “I tried to call you twice. I sent you a text message.”
“What did it say? I’m going into the woods with Brock and Curt. See you later.”
“No. If you’d ever look at your messages, you’d know I was meeting Abby there. There was something she wanted to tell me about the haircutting.”
He glared down at me. “What was that?”
My face flamed. “I-I don’t know. She changed her mind. She’s afraid of something or someone.”
“Okay, so you were in the woods with Abby. First of all, why didn’t you meet her in town? How stupid it is to go into the woods alone with someone you hardly know. I thought you were from the city. Don’t you have street smarts?” His voice shook.
“She wouldn’t talk to me otherwise. She was scared someone would see us, and furthermore, she’s an Amish girl. What harm could she do to me?”
“Plenty. What happened after she didn’t tell you whatever she had to say?”
“She left and I was about to walk back to my car when Curt and Brock showed up.”
“How did they know you were there?”
“They saw my car from the road. I ran away from them across the pond. Brock followed me, but he was too heavy. The ice broke and he fell in. Since I’m lighter than Curt, it made sense that I hold onto Brock until the EMTs and police arrive. Did you want me to leave him there to drown?”
Timothy’s chest heaved up and down. “No. I wouldn’t want that.”
I threw up my hands. “So then what’s the problem?”
He took one long stride and was right in front of the examining table. Our legs touched. He grabbed me by the shoulders and pulled me up until I was right in front of him. Without ceremony, he lifted my chin and kissed me full on the mouth. My body went rigid, and against my own will, relaxed into his embrace. When he finally released me, his voice was an octave lower than before. “Please, don’t run off like that again without telling me.”
A smiled curved on my lips. I couldn’t help it. It was as if my muscles had turned against me. My mind told me to be upset by his behavior, but my body had no qualms with it at all.
The nurse peeked through the curtain and found us standing there toe to toe. “Everything okay in here?”
Heat rushed up from the bottom of my feet to the top of my head.
“Everything’s fine,” Timothy said.
She looked at me.
I nodded. “We’re fine. Thank you for checking.”
She nodded and disappeared behind the curtain again.
Timothy took my hand. “Let’s get you home.”
My fingers laced with his. I was calling Tanisha tonight. I didn’t care if I woke her up.