Page 75 of The Edge of Never

“I don’t have all day. I’m fucking tired, Thane, that meltdown took it out of me, so I’d rather get this done now so I can rest.”

That spurred me into action. The mention of what happened earlier had me worrying all over again. I didn’t want to be the cause of more stress for them. It scared me to see them that way. I didn’t know what to do or how to help them.

When they told me why it happened, it only made me want to do better for them. I wanted to learn how to read the signs of when things were becoming too much. To know what to do when they had a meltdown and how to take care of them afterwards. To do what I could to mitigate things. To help them through it.

Funny that I wanted to do all these things for someone I’d not known for long. But to be honest, I would do anything for Kit at this point. They’d given me so much more than they knew. From the way they’d talked about it, I could tell that some people they’d encountered viewed their disability as a burden. It only gave me a clearer picture of Kit. I understood them better. That was the only difference it made to me.

After I got dressed, Kit put the spade and toilet paper into my pockets before helping me out of the tent.

“I dinnae wannae make things harder on ye,” I said, my attention on them rather than on our surroundings.

“You’re not. If I sound irritated, it’s not you. I get grumpy when I’m tired. This whole situation is wearing on me and keeping a lid on everything was hard.”

I reached out and pushed their hair behind their ear.

“Ye dinnae have tae hide that from me, Kit.”

“I know that now.”

They tucked themselves under my arm and let me lean on them. Tipping their head back, they met my eyes.

“How is your ankle?”

I tested putting weight on it. The pain wasn’t as intense as it had been a couple of days ago, but it still hurt. It made me wonder how bad the sprain was. Had I torn ligaments in the fall? How long would they take to heal? There was no point in speculating.

“Sore, but I can walk.”

“I’m still helping you.”

I didn’t dispute that, knowing it would be easier if they did.

Kit didn’t move off immediately. They looked around, their eyes scanning the landscape.

“Well, it looks like the storm is over.”

“Aye.”

They gave me a smile, then tugged me toward the trees. We found a suitable spot to get our business done and made our way back to the tent. Kit helped me sit down outside to let me rest while they set about digging around the tent to clear the snow.

The air was bracing, but now I was back in my warm clothes, it wasn’t too bad. It was nice to get some fresh air rather than being stuck in the tent. It was less oppressive, but seeing all the snow made desolation set in. Even if my ankle was doing better, I still couldn’t see me or Kit walking through it back to civilisation. Not that we would as they agreed to stay here with me.

By the time Kit was done, their cheeks were flushed pink from the cold. They stood by the tent with their hands on their hips, surveying the land.

“Your tent doesn’t really stand out against the snow.”

It was dark green, matching the pine trees next to us. Tents came in all shapes, colours, and sizes, but I didn’t want something outlandish. And I rarely camped out in it when it snowed.

“We need something bright if they’re going to see us.”

“Who?” I asked.

“Mountain rescue. Now the storm has cleared, it’ll make it easier for them to find us.”

“I dinnae think they’re coming.”

They frowned.

“Well, I know our chances are slim, but I’m not going to rule it out completely.”

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