Page 23 of Free Heart
“You guys areboth total drama queens,” Rye says from the passenger seat. “As if we can’t solve this with a little teamwork.”
“You’re sure?” Sejin asks, his hands tight on the steering wheel and his long hair in a braid down his back. I prefer it when it’s loose, but it looks nice like this too. I just love his hair and everything about him. It’s sort of ridiculous.
As for me, I’m stretched out in the back seat of Sejin’s Versa. It doesn’t exactly allow for good positioning of my seatbelt, but I’m strapped in, my leg is only hurting a hell of a lot, and we’re driving over stupidly bumpy roads back up to Peggy Jo’s house.
Speaking of, I need to call her when I get there. She’s requested a FaceTime call, but I’ve been hoping to avoid her since I sent all those loopy texts. I don’t want to talk to her quite yet. The texts are embarrassing enough, but seeing Peggy Jo’s face and hearing her voice will make this all too real. Stupid or not, I’m ashamed to have fallen. I want to avoid whatever emotions will crash down on me when I talk to her because I know they’ll be big ones.
They’ve booted me from the hospital after only three days, despite the potential risks of infection, because I have no insurance. I’m surprised they kept me as long as they did, frankly, because they didn’t have to. Legally, they could have put me out the door as soon as they’d ensured I wasn’t on the edge of death. Instead, they kept me a few days in a private room, got me the surgery I needed, and put me in a half-cast. It’s better thanif they’d done the bare minimum for me and let me go, but I can tell Sejin’s still nervous about taking me home.
The final instruction from the nurse before they’d wheeled me out was to take my temperature regularly and to get me back to the hospital at the first indication of fever. That can be a sign of infection setting in—which could cost me my leg or my life. So, I understand why he’s nervous. He’s already reached his long arm into the back seat and pressed his hand to my forehead twice on this car ride alone.
I’m a little scared of getting an infection too, but mostly I’m ready to get back to Peggy Jo’s house and start healing. I don’t want to wait around in a hospital. I want to get better. As soon as possible. I want to get up on a wall. I’ll prove them all wrong. I’ll be climbing again in four months.
“There’s a lot to sort out,” Sejin is saying.
“Don’t worry. We can help,” Rye assures him.
“Who’s we?” I ask. The use of the plural has caught my attention and made me suspicious. Rye’s never been aweas long as I’ve known him unless you count when he’s got Jeanie, and she’s too little to help in any way.
“Me and Lowell.”
I narrow my gaze. “Since when are you and Lowell a ‘we?’”
Rye shrugs. “Since Lowell and I are training for Dawn Wall together.”
“How long has that been going on?”
“A few weeks now.”
“What about your volunteer position at YOSAR?” Sejin asks.
Rye waves that away. “I’m going to take some time off. If I’m training with Lowell and staying at his place, that means I can probably convince Andrew to let me see Jeanie more. I’d rather do that than volunteer right now.”
“Wait,” I say, trying to make sense of what I’m hearing. “You’re Lowell’sclimbing partner?”
Rye looks over his shoulder at me and flashes a teasing smile. “Jealous?”
“Yes. You’remyclimbing partner.”
“Not for the next year,” Rye chirps, a reminder of what the doctor said. “At a minimum.”
I growl lightly. There’s no way it’s really going to take me a year to recover. I can’t fathom it. I won’t accept it. The idea of not being out on the wall tomorrow, or the next day, or the month after that?
I feel lightheaded and want to roll down the window to catch a breath of fresh air, but I can’t find the button for it.
“So, we can help out with the care and feeding of Dan, sure,” Rye goes on. “Obviously, we’re not going to be training on the route itself until January when the wall will be grippier. Lowell still has ‘off’ days, and we have to respect those. But, depending on our schedules and Lowell’s mental health, either he or I can bring Dan down to Fresno for PT if you’re working, or take him to a local clinic, or we can help him out at home. Whatever. We’ll figure it out.”
“Maybe you should ask Lowell about it first,” Sejin suggests, putting on his blinker to pass a slow truck.
“Oh, he’ll do whatever I tell him to do,” Rye says with a smug tone that implies he’s a lot closer to Lowell than I’ve ever known him to be.
I frown.
“Yeah. I got that impression,” Sejin says wryly.
I see the sharp edge of Rye’s smile as he turns away. “We have fun, Lowell and me.”
“Fun?” I ask, shifting the seatbelt to a less annoying position. My leg aches and my head hurts too, probably from the changes in altitude. “Are you saying you’re fucking each other?”
