Rowan and I stayed up most of the night. He was actually really nice to talk to. I laid in the bed and he just sat in a chair next to me. He told me that before his parents were big environmentalists, his father was an engineer and his mother was an architect. They demolished the house that his grandparents lived in up here, and then made plans and designs for an eco-friendly cabin that could harvest and store its own power. I was in awe, I wished I could have met them. Eventually I fell asleep, and woke to the sun, high in the sky. The blizzard must’ve stopped at some point.
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“Morning.” Rowan said from the kitchen. “Whenever you’re ready, I’ve got everything set up to take you down to the hospital.”
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I nodded, he brought me a glass of water, and more Tylenol. “Alright.” I said.
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He helped me into his old thick coat, luckily my boots were spared when Rowan decided to turn my clothes to rags. He lifted me up so easily. His arms were so strong. He walked me out to the snowmobile, and laid me down gently in the sled, attached to the snowmobile. I was uncomfortable and in pain but I knew I would be fine as soon as I was off this mountain.
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Rowan wrapped a thick blanket around me, and hopped on the snowmobile, revving the engine. I knew he would try to drive carefully, but there was so much snow. Every turn, every bump sent the most intense pain shooting through my body. Even trying to take a breath was excruciating. We were a few miles away from the cabin when Rowan stopped suddenly.
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“No..” He said, “No, no. Fuck.”
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“What?” I asked.
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He turned the snowmobile around so I could see. Right in the middle of the path, was a massive landslide. There were several trees that came down with it. The snow was piled so high we could even see beyond it.
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“There’s another way down, right?” I asked. “I mean, there has got to be another way off this mountain.”
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“This is the only trail.” Rowan said quietly. “The rest of the way around us is rocky, and drops every so often. We paved this trail, because everywhere else was far too steep.”
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My mouth hung open. “No.” I said. “Nope. No. There has to be another way.”
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Rowan came over to the sled and crouched down. “I’m in these mountains, I’m all around, everyday. There isn’t another way to get down, Blythe. We’ll just have to go back to the cabin.”
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“Until when?” I asked, breathlessly. “Who is going to come and clear this path?”
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“I don’t know.” Rowan said, and then softly, “I don’t know.”
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When we arrived back at the cabin, both of us just sat in stunned silence. Rowan got me back into bed, and then sat at the kitchen island. “I’m gonna go out and look for your pack.” He said.
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He marched down a hall to the left of the kitchen, before I even had a chance to process what he said. I heard a door opening, and whimpering. He came back with Sadie, and just walked straight out the door, without even glancing over to me. I sat there on the bed, in silence. It was already bad enough that I’m stuck battered and bruised, but then for him to just…walk out? I couldn’t take my mind off of how much pain I was in. The Tylenol did nothing to stop my body from aching. And then I remembered…Rowan said he had pills. Opioids. I did my best to tell myself I could make it through this on just Tylenol but I knew I couldn’t.
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“Just one.” I said, quietly.
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I pulled myself out of bed, a yelp escaping my lips. I grimaced in pain, but I forced myself to keep going. I could only hope Rowan kept all his medication in one place. When he brought the Tylenol to me, he brought it from down that hallway. I forced my feet to move, wincing in pain. I hobbled around the kitchen island, and turned down the hall. There was a door just off to the right, I opened the door and stumbled in, howling in pain. The bathroom was huge, and it was beautifully designed. There was a huge window straight ahead and sitting under it was a deep, clawfoot tub. To the left was a stand up closet, and there was a little room to the side of it where the toilet was. Immediately to the right of the room was a beautiful, granite double sink with a large mirror and on the wall beside it was what looked like a closet.
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I first checked the cabinets under the sink, there was nothing except a few hand towels and toilet paper. It was getting almost unbearable to be upright. I made my way to the closet door. I didn’t see much when I opened it, just tons of towels, but there was a basket on the top shelf. I reached for it with my left arm and stood as well as I could on the toes of my right foot, but I would have to stretch to reach it, and my rib cage just wouldn’t allow that.
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In the corner, there was a small pouf-like knitted stool. I pulled it over to the closet and climbed onto it, reaching for the basket. I could just feel the woven texture, when I lost my balance. Putting my full weight down on both feet. I yelped in pain, and the stool scooted beneath my feet. I felt everything as my body collided with the cool bathroom tile.
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For a few seconds, I held my breath… and then the pain came rushing in. I writhed, screaming in agony. My entire body throbbed, I felt my heart drop into my stomach. I was crying now, the cold tile felt like razor blades against my skin. My tears were hot, and my chest felt tight. I started to feel a warm wetness surrounding me and I realized that I’d lost control of my bladder. I lay there on the floor, tears covering my face, writhing in pain, in a pool of my own urine.
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I was so zoned out I didn’t notice hearing the door open. I heard Rowan call my name, but I was too ashamed and humiliated to call out for him. I heard the pitter patter of Sadie’s paws on the hardwood floor. I could hear her panting as she came around the corner. When she got to me she whined, and then began to lick the salty tears off my cheeks with her cold wet tongue. It took no time for Rowan to follow her into the bathroom.
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“Blythe?” He said. “Oh my god, Blythe, are you alright?”
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He crouched down next to me. “I need the pills.” I said quietly.
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“What?” He asked.
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“The pills.” I croaked. “Please.”
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He paused for a second, as if weighing the thought. “A-are you sure?” he asked.
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I nodded. He stood up, turning on the bathtub. He left the room for a minute and came back with one ovular pill and a glass of water.
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“Just one?” I said, hoarsely.
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He nodded. “I thought about even breaking it in half. Just one, Blythe.”
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He placed the pill onto my tongue, and propped me up on his knee holding the glass to my lips. I swallowed the pill, with a sigh. “Thank you, Rowan.”
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He helped me pull off my shirt. “I hope you’ll still be thanking me when this wears off.” He said, lifting me up. He lowered me into the warm water, and I smiled brightly.
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~
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Cedar ran fingers down my bare back. “Mrs. Blythe Terranova.” He whispered. “Has a nice ring to it right?”
I smiled at him as we lay next to each other in bed. “I love it.” I whispered back.
He kissed me, taking my head in his hands. “I love you, Blythe Terranova. I’m the luckiest man in the world, I get to spend the rest of my life with you.” He said.
“Are you going to tell your parents?” I asked.
He smiled at me, “Are you?”
I laughed, “Beth will have an aneurysm.” I said.
“You’re twenty-two1” He laughed, “She can’t control your life forever.”
I rolled my eyes, “Try telling her that.”
Cedar pulled me closer to him, running his hand up and down my back. “We already did it, we’re legally married, there’s nothing she can do about it.”
“You’re right, but I don’t want Beth in any part of my life. Nothing good can come out of me getting back in contact with her. All she does is micromanage my life.” I ranted.
He kissed my forehead. “We’ll, I’m gonna tell mine, my mom would love you.” He said.
I smiled brightly at him. “You really think so?” I asked.
He reached over to his bedside table and pulled out a little bag of white powder. “She’ll have to,” He said, opening the bag and scooping out some of the powder with his finger. “We’re in this until death do us part.”
~
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Rowan sat behind the tub, lathering shampoo into my hair. The pain in my body was dull, but still present. As he ran his fingers through my hair, he named off all the different kinds of flowers that can be found on the mountain.
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“Purple Cornflower,” He said softly, “Fireweed…Blanket Flower…Stonecrop…Columbine…”
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“Someone named a flower ‘Columbine’?” I asked, hazily, “That’s dark.”
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Rowan chuckled softly, “I’m actually pretty sure the flower was named before the school where the tragedy took place.”
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He poured a cup of water on my hair, softly rubbing out the shampoo. “How’s your pain?” He asked.
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I smiled. “Two.” I giggled.
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“I’m happy it’s more manageable.” He said, combing conditioner through my hair.
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“You’re so good at this.” I sighed. “Who taught you?”
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He laughed at that. “Who taught me how to wash hair?”
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I sucked my teeth, “You know what I mean. Who taught you to wash black hair?”
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“I’m pretty sure washing hair is universal, red hair, purple hair…” He trailed off.
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I turned to meet his gaze and glared at him. “Okay,” He said. “My niece is mixed. I used to babysit her a lot when I was a kid.”
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I sat back in the tub. “That’s nice of you.”
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“Eh.” He shrugged. “I love kids, I was hoping to have a few of my own by now… but I guess life had other plans for me.”
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“How do you mean?” I asked, “You never try to meet anyone. I mean, you’re like seven feet tall, and you could probably bench like ten of me. I’m sure the girls would all fawn over you.”
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“Maybe, but I don’t think I want to be fawned over.” He said. “I want someone who will challenge me.”
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He stood up and grabbed a towel. He pulled me up, careful of the bruises on me and wrapped me in the towel. It wasn’t until now that I fully grasped how bad these injuries are. My left ankle was swollen and black and blue. There was massive bruising across the right side of my chest and torso. My shoulder looked fine, but I was almost completely unable to move it without feeling like it might just fall off. I was covered head to toe in scratches and scrapes. Rowan brought me back into the living room and laid me down on the pull out couch.
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“I uh, didn’t get a chance to tell you but I did find your pack out there.” He said. “Is there anything in there you want to wear? Sweat pants or something?”
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I nodded. “Yeah there's actually a few sweaters and sweatpants in there. I’ll wear any of them.” I said.
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He walked over to the couch. My tent bag and backpack were empty, but all my things were neatly arranged on the couch. “I emptied your pack out, just so that nothing got wet, I hope you don’t mind.” He said.
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He walked back over to me with a pair of gray sweatpants and my baggy black sweater. He also handed me one of the thongs I packed. I bit my lip. “Thanks.” I said, taking it from him.
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“Do you, uh, need—” I cut him off.
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“Actually I think I can manage.” I said.
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His cheeks were rosy. “I’ll just be down the hall then. Call if you need anything.”
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I nodded, and waited for him to leave the room before pulling on my sweater, the painkillers were letting me at least move a tad. I first pulled my bad shoulder through the sleeve, and then over my head, which was so much easier. I carefully lifted my sprained ankle, and stepped carefully into my underwear and sweatpants. It felt so good to be completely covered and in my own clothes.
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Across the room I could see my sketch pad, and art supplies. I’d been in so much pain, sketching was the farthest thing from my mind. I thought about the pill Rowan gave me. If I could just take one more, I’d be golden. I’d be practically pain free, and I’d want to paint. I’d just told Rowan my pain was at a two, why did I tell him the truth?
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“Are you clothed?” Rowan called.
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“Yeah.” I laughed.
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He walked around the corner, and smiled. I smiled back at him. “I don’t think I’ve heard you laugh, until today.” He said.
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“We’ll, I’ve been a little too banged up and you’re not that funny.” I said, smirking.
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“I’ve been told.” He laughed. “Are you hungry?”
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I shook my head. “Not really, no.” I said. “I have a question for you though.”
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“What’s that?” He asked, getting a glass of water.
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“What else do you do when you go into town?” I asked, coily.
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Rowan took a sip from his glass. “How do you mean?”
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I giggled. “Do you like, go on the hunt for girls when you go into town?”
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He didn’t seem amused. “Uh, no. That’s not really my thing. I forgot to help you put your sling and stuff back on.” He said, changing the subject quickly.
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He walked over to me, and slipped the brace around my ankle, and propped my foot up on the bed. He then wrapped the sling around my arm and tightened the straps around my good shoulder.
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“So what do you do then, all the way up in the mountains. No girls, I’m sure it gets pretty lonely up here.” I said, biting my lip.
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“I suppose I deal with that the same way anyone else would.” He said, flatly.
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I giggled. “Like, how?” I asked.
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Rowan stood and walked back into the kitchen. “You know, I don’t think this is a discussion I want to have.” He said.
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“Why not?” I asked. “Are you scared?”
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Rowan laughed. He walked over to me, and leaned in. Bringing his face just inches from mine. “Blythe, I know what you’re doing, and I’m not going to give you any more pills than I have to.”
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