Page 33 of Forgiving Fate

Before I even notice I am doing it, I am out of the car and walking over. Landon’s head snaps to me and he closes the distance between us. As he gets close, he lowers his voice for only me to hear and says, “Allie. Everything is fine. Get back in the car. Please.”

I peek around him and see he is wrong. The chaos is very much still prevalent. Noah is sprinting back into the woods. And with a quick glance at the truck, the woman is trying to get out of the truck, while Logan is holding a shirt to her nose while helping Grayson block the woman from hurting herself.

My attention is brought back to Landon when he clears his throat, but I get distracted when I hear Rowe’s attempts tocalm down Carter. Now that I’m close, I can see that is far from happening. Carter’s leg is clearly broken, and the bone is seconds from breaking out from under the skin near his ankle.

Landon clears his throat once more. “Allie. Please get back in the car. You are much safer there than out here and I cannot have you getting caught up in the middle of this.” His dark blues peer down into mine and I can see he is seconds from losing it. He is desperately trying to cling to anything he can control. But unfortunately for him, even though I know he means well, I have had enough of people trying to control me.

I shake my head and say, “Carter needs help. And in case you forgot, I am a nurse. I know you mean well, but like I’ve said before, please stop treating me with kid gloves. I can make my own decisions. And right now, I think you can use all the help you can get.”

“Allie.” His voice comes out completely defeated but with a level of understanding. I follow his gaze over to Logan, who has caught on to the fact that I am now standing within a foot of her. Her entire body is rigid and I can see the tears in her eyes even through the truck’s windows. And I know they aren’t from her face starting to swell from the hit she just took.

I close my eyes for a second, take a deep breath, and when I open them, I step around Landon to kneel next to Carter and Rowe.

I take one final deep breath in an attempt to get rid of the panic. I go to touch Carter but freeze.

Shit. No Allie. You can do this.

Breathe. You are not with him. This man needs help. Breathe.

Closing my eyes, I take a big deep breath and force myself to go into a place that I became very familiar with when I was stuck.

Nope, not going there. Help this poor man.

Quietly to myself, I say, “I can do this.”

Opening my eyes, my hands shake as I reach out to touch him. His eyes lock with mine and I can see the pain he is trying to hide from Rowe, but failing to do so.

Panic starts to rise in me, but I shake my head and will it down.

I didn’t survive months locked in the basement to come out useless. I survived for a reason and now is my time to prove it. Even if I know I am far from ready to face helping myself, let alone another person.

Rowe and Carter’s cries hit me at once and I fight the tears that are threatening to fall at the sound of their pain.

Focus Allie.

Carter and Rowe’s eyes plead with me to help them and I take another breath when I feel someone come up behind me, and my head snaps over my shoulder. I am relieved to see that it is Landon, and when he crouches down next to me, he taps his elbow against mine. The noise starts to quiet.

“Tell me what to do,” he says calmly, his voice low.

It takes me a moment to clue into what he is trying to do, but he doesn’t rush me. I watch as he quietly whispers to Rowe to try to calm her down. Carter takes a big deep breath as Rowe settles and his eyes lock with mine. He flashes me a small smile that I know is full of pain but knowing. He gives me a tiny nod, and it’s like everything clicks back into place.

I can do this. I am not some random broken girl. I am a nurse and it is my job to help people in need. And this man needs my help.

Taking a deep breath, I tap Landon on the arm lightly. He leans closer to me, our arms brushing, and I whisper so that only he can hear, “Is there something we can use to stabilize his leg? His bone is about to pop out and if it does, we will have a very big problem.”

He nods and instructs Rowe to the bed of Grayson’s truck.

She returns quickly and I scrounge through the bag until I find items that will help me stabilize Carter’s leg. It’s not pretty when I’m done but after checking the pulse points to ensure we didn't cut off blood supply when shifting him around, I place the last strap around his leg and sit back on my feet to give him a moment to breathe before we move him.

Sweat drips down Carter’s forehead and I know he is in a crazy amount of pain, but he still says, “Wow. This shit hurts worse than falling off a damn horse at twenty miles an hour, but at least I’m no longer bracing for the moment I was about to see what my bones look like.”

I glance over at Landon, feeling awful that I wasn’t quiet enough with my fears earlier, and he shakes his head, a small smile spreading on his face. “He didn’t hear you. He’s a volunteer firefighter and has seen some things.”

My eyebrows raise and I nod, turning my attention back to Carter and Rowe, who is rubbing a hand up and down his back. Her eyes lock on Carter’s and I can tell this girl is madly in love with this man. And maybe Carter is in too much pain or focused on his leg to notice this girl was seconds from cutting off her own leg for this man.

Landon helps Carter stand, placing an arm around his waist, while Carter’s arm goes around his shoulders.

I stand and flash a smile at them and start to turn around, but Carter stops me. He holds out a hand to me, as Rowe runs around to the other side and snakes her arm around his waist on the other side. He smiles down at her and reverts his attention back to me.

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