by S. E. Rose
Lance slowly pulls back the covers and helps me undress. It’s only now that I really examine my body. I’m actually surprised my feet aren’t worse off as I had no shoes on, but it wasn’t as rocky as I had thought on the way down the mountain. Thank God I spent my youth running around barefoot. Lance peels my clothes off me and reaches not for the yoga stuff, but for a t-shirt. I realize it is meant for him. He slips it over my head. It’s huge on me, like a dress. He takes off his clothes, except his boxer briefs and crawls into bed next to me after turning off the light. He pulls me close to him.
Cody knocks on the door.
“Come in,” Lance says.
“I bought you guys some waters and some snacks. I didn’t know when you last ate, Lily,” he says as he sets down two grocery bags at our feet. It isn’t until he says this that I realize I haven’t eaten in over twenty-four hours.
My stomach rumbles at the mere sight of the food.
Lance chuckles. “Well, that answers that question,” he says softly and grabs us each a water and a bag of chips.
I eat some fruit, a yogurt, some chips, and some chocolate. I drink two glasses of water. They did give me IV fluids at the hospital as I was dehydrated, but the smooth cool liquid still feels amazing as I sip it. Cody sits on the end of the bed and drinks a water.
We are all silent for a few minutes as we eat and drink. I begin to feel slightly human again. “I think I’d like a shower,” I say, breaking the silence.
“OK, that’s my cue,” Cody says, standing. He turns to me as I stand and gives me a big hug. “I’m glad you’re OK, Lily.”
“Thanks, Cody, for everything,” I say to him and give him a kiss on his cheek.
“Tomorrow we’ll get up and go pick up Jack from the airport, his flight should be in by ten a.m.,” he says. “He couldn’t get in before then.”
I nod and head toward what I presume to be a bathroom. I turn on the light and see freshly washed towels, a bar of soap, shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste and a toothbrush. Well, whoever owns this place really thought of everything. I take off the t-shirt and unwrap my ankle and step into the shower once the hot water has kicked in, which takes a few minutes. It’s not as hot as I would prefer, but it feels good, really good. I sense Lance before I see him. He steps in behind me and pulls me against him. He washes my hair and then my body. He’s gentle and his actions aren’t at all sexual, but I can’t help feeling some sexual pull toward him as he caresses my body with such tenderness and care. He rinses me off and then gets under the water to wash his hair. I grab the bar of soap and start cleaning him. He takes it from me frowning.
“I can do it, gorgeous,” he says. “Let me take care of you.”
“You have,” I say. He shakes his head and grabs the bar of soap from me and quickly washes himself and rinses. Then he turns off the water and dries us off slowly. He’s careful around all my stitches and my ankle. I wince a few times as the towel rubs against various cuts and bruises.
“You’re a mess, but you’re still gorgeous,” he says with a smile as he pulls the t-shirt back over my head and lets me brush my teeth before carrying me off to bed.
Chapter 22
Lily’s Playlist: “Down” by Anberlin
I wake to the sound of light rain on the roof. I’m briefly disoriented. I feel the warmth of Lance wrapped around me. My head is on his chest and I am lying on him, my legs in between his and his arms wrapped tightly around me. He is slightly elevated as though he fell asleep half sitting up, but the covers are over us and I feel like I’m a million degrees. I move, and his eyes fly open.
“OK?” he asks.
“I’m fine,” I groan. I feel a little achy here and there, but overall, considering what could have happened, I am alright. He pulls me tighter against him.
“It’s hot in here,” I say, squirming from his death grip.
He immediately pulls back the covers, but he doesn’t let go of me.
“What time is it?” I ask.
Lance reaches for my phone, which is now connected to a charger. It reads 7:00 a.m. “We should get up and shower and eat,” he states as he finally releases me.
We shower and put on fresh clothes. Lance tells me to put on a dress, since the police may want to speak with me today. I nod and slip on the sundress Cody bought me. It’s actually quite nice. I smile as I feel halfway human again, and I turn to go downstairs. I only make it to the door before Lance scoops me up in his arms.
“Oh no, you don’t,” he says. “You can’t be walking on that ankle.”
“It’s not so bad,” I mumble.
“Doctor’s orders, remember,” he reminds me as he carries me down to the kitchen. The house is small, only two bedrooms upstairs and a small bedroom downstairs, but the kitchen opens into a dining area and small living room with sofas off to the left. Cody clearly has been up for a while. There’s a buffet of fruit, bread, juice, and coffee sitting out for us.
“Thanks, Cody,” I say with a smile and kiss on his cheek.
He blushes a bit. “No worries. We should go in about half an hour.”
We are all eating in silence when Cody’s phone rings. He frowns as he looks at the number.
“Yes?” he says answering it. “What? Are you sure? Oh my God…When? Where? We’re coming.” He looks beside himself as he hangs up and sets his coffee mug down. His hand is visibly shaking.
“We need to leave…now,” he says, trying to find the words.
“Cody, what’s wrong?” Lance asks. I can tell it’s bad by the look on Cody’s face.
“The plane…it went down,” he whispers and turns to me. “They aren’t sure where. But it went off radar about an hour ago. They are sending helicopters up to search. My friend is with the military at the airport and they are going in a few minutes.”
“Jack…,” I whisper as my hand flies to my mouth. Tears well up in Cody’s eyes and he shakes his head. “What?” I ask.
“It’s not just Jack, Lily,” he manages to say. “It’s everyone.”
I look at him confused and I feel the panic take over. I begin to shake as dread washes over me.
“Lily, Nick, your mom, and Zoe, they were all supposed to be coming on the flight, too,” he says. He grabs his car keys, and we all run for the car as I try to digest what he has just said. He manages to get to the airport in five minutes. We run toward a man in military garb. He explains that he is Captain Carlos and he is going to be taking a second helicopter up into the mountains. They have reports of a fire in between Bogota and Ibague and it may be from the crash. My heart sinks and my stomach drops.
“We’re coming,” Cody says to him. Captain Carlos shakes his head and Cody whispers something in his ear. Captain Carlos frowns but then waves us through the airport. We board a military helicopter with five other men and we fly off into the sky.
We fly for a while, about twenty minutes, and then I see the smoke. As we approach I can see the wreckage of the plane. The fuselage looks intact, but the right wing and engine are missing. There’s a small brush fire on one side that seems to be from a larger fire that wraps around the crash site.
Captain Carlos sets the helicopter down some ways from the fire. The three of us jump out, and Cody and I begin running full force, but then I crumble under the pain of my ankle, as it takes several seconds to register. Lance catches me.
“Stay here,” he says.
“No! Nick! I know he’s alive, Lance. I feel it. I have to find him before it’s too late,” I cry. Now tears are running down my face.
“I’m going to get him. I promise you,” Lance says, and he and Cody disappear behind a wall of fire.
I feel like everything happens in slow motion as I fall to my knees. Military men are running all over the place. I begin to see injured passengers being brought out of the fire. In the distance, I can hear emergency vehicles. It feels like hours go by. Then, I see Jack stumbling through the flames. He’s carrying my mother who has a bloody leg but otherwise looks OK. They are b
oth covered in soot. I sprint to them, not caring about the pain in my ankle.
“Lily,” my mom whispers as she reaches for me.
“Mom!” I cry, and I throw my arms around them.
“It’s OK, Lily. We are OK,” Jack says soothingly.
“But Nick, Zoe?” I ask, my sobs coming as I begin to lose it.
“Cody is helping Zoe and Lance has Nick,” he says. “Your mom needs first aid. Let’s get her some help, OK.”
I nod frantically and look around until I see a military guy with a cross on his shoulder indicating he’s a medic. I drag him over to my mom and Jack. He radios for help and within minutes there’s two more medics and a stretcher. They get my mom loaded up and Jack says he needs to go with her.
“Yes, please,” I whisper. My mom hugs me from the stretcher and wipes a tear.
“You are so much stronger than me, baby girl,” she says. “It’ll be OK.”
“I love you, Mom,” I weep into her chest as she holds me.
“I know, sweet girl, I know,” she says and kisses my forehead before she’s loaded into one of the helicopters.
I watch as it takes off with my mom, Jack, and two other passengers from the crash. I turn back around and wait. Several minutes tick by before I see Cody carrying Zoe. She looks pretty beat up, worse than my mom.
I run to them. “Oh God, Zoe. It’s me, Lily. Are you OK?” I say as I look over her wounds. I can tell she has broken bones and she clearly has hit her head. I see blood dripping down her forehead. I can’t see from where it is coming.
I scream for another medic and like magic, one appears. He also radios for backup and another medic runs over. I hear more helicopters coming as they tend to my cousin. Cody doesn’t put her down until the medics make him lay her on a stretcher. Zoe seems a bit out of it. At one point, she grabs my hand.
“Lily?” she asks, confused.
“I’m here, Zoe. I’m right here,” I say, feeling so helpless.
Cody takes her hand from my arm. “We’re here, princess. Just rest, OK? We got you now.”
The medic looks to Cody and asks if he was in the accident. He’s also covered in soot. He shakes his head and explains quickly what has happened. The medic nods and explains her injuries are pretty severe, and she’ll need to be transported immediately. Before I know it, the two of them are whisked away in another helicopter.
I sit on the ground where Zoe had been laid out on the stretcher. I feel useless. Fear grips me as the seconds tick by and still no Lance and no Nick. It’s as though time slows down. All the noise surrounding me disappears, the helicopters, the cries, the medics, the fire, and all I hear is my heart beating. I close my eyes. Please let them be OK, please let them be OK. I say it over and over in my head. I’m not sure I could go on without those two men. They are my everything, my flesh, my blood, my love. As I open my eyes, I see movement beyond the flames. Lance and Nick emerge.
Nick is leaning on Lance. His leg is clearly broken and cut, but he seems OK otherwise. I am up on my feet running at them. I throw my arms around them, and everything I’ve been holding inside for the past two days comes tumbling out of me.
I can’t remember crying like this ever. My sobs practically choke me. I can’t talk and can barely breathe. Nick grips me like his life depends on it, and Lance supports us both. I hear yelling, yet I don’t move. I just stand there paralyzed in my emotions. I can feel Nick’s tears against my cheek. Eventually, I feel Lance pull back, and Nick and I remain, clinging to each other as though we are the last people left on earth. We both cry for minutes, many minutes. A medic tries to attend to Nick and Lance tells him to wait.
Finally, Nick speaks. His voice is hoarse and barely a whisper, probably from the smoke. “I’m OK, Lilypond. I’m OK,” he says against my ear.
“You can’t ever leave me, Nick. Please don’t leave me,” I cry. I can feel myself shaking.
“I wouldn’t ever leave you,” he says, his sobs subsiding as he pulls back so he can look at me. “It’s you and me.” He takes his hand and places it on my heart and places mine on his. We used to sit like this in our crib when we were little. I remember it vaguely. Feeling his heart beating used to soothe me. I nod. I finally look at him. He’s a mess and I know he needs medical attention.
I step back so the medics can examine him. I’m vaguely aware of other passengers being brought out, but I only see Nick. Our eyes stay locked as he’s put on a stretcher. I feel Lance’s arms around me. We follow the stretcher to the helicopter and we are whisked away to Bogota.
I hear the engines, the blades whipping around in the air, the pilot talking to the air traffic controller, the medics yelling things at one another as they work on my brother and another passenger who seems to have worse injuries.
We fly for maybe twenty or thirty minutes before I can see Bogota come into view over the mountain. We land at the airport and are taken away in ambulances. Lance rides up front, and I sit in the back with Nick. I have no idea how we’ll get back to Ibague or when we will get back to Ibague. I don’t know what is happening with Mohammed or my father. The only thing I know is Nick is alive, my family is alive.
It takes close to thirty minutes to reach the hospital. This one is much nicer than the one in Ibague. Nick is sent to X-ray and we wait. He comes back and is told he only has a broken leg and he’ll need stitches on his other leg and arm. The doctor comes in and sets his leg and puts it in a cast and stitches up his cuts. Lance goes to find out about Zoe, Jack, and my mom. He returns a few minutes later looking relieved.
“They are all here,” he says. “Zoe’s in surgery. She had some internal bleeding. Your mom’s already in a room. She’ll be fine, just some broken bones and cuts. Jack managed to come out somewhat unscathed. He had stitches on his back and otherwise is fine. They want to keep them all overnight for observation. We can go wait with Cody until Zoe gets out of surgery.”
I nod, and a nurse brings a wheelchair for Nick. They wheel him to the same room as my mom and Jack. Cody comes in a moment later and sits on a chair in the corner.
I feel like we sit there for an eternity. No one speaks. We all just look at one another. I’m the one to break the silence. I climb into my mother’s tiny hospital bed and curl up against her. She holds me while I sob. She smooths my hair and runs her good hand up and down my back. Lance hands me tissues and sits down next to my mom’s bed, placing his hand on my leg. His thumb gently rubs circles against my calf. No one speaks. I can feel all eyes on me. My mom repeatedly kisses my forehead. I don’t know how long I lie there, but I feel my eyes getting heavy, even with the tears falling down my cheeks. And before I know it, I’m asleep.
I wake to voices, concerned voices, some in Spanish and some in English. They are talking about Zoe. I catch little bits of it as I start to wake up. “She’s out of surgery.” “The next twenty-four hours are crucial.” “We were able to save her spleen.” “Her head injury is serious, but she is stable.” “We can’t transport her yet.”
My eyes fly open. A doctor is standing by the door. Nick is sitting up in bed. Jack, Lance, and Cody stand by the door, and my mom is looking at the doctor. I sit up and look around.
“Shhh…it’s alright, sweetie,” my mom says. “Zoe is critical but stable. They’re keeping her in ICU tonight for observation.”
“Can I see her?” I ask, my eyes wide now.
“Yes, the doctor said we can go up once they have her settled. But one at a time,” she explains.
I nod. I can see Cody’s face and it is etched with worry. I’m confused. I thought he and Zoe were just having fun, but that expression does not speak to a couple who are just having fun.
Lance walks over to me. “You OK?” he asks.
“Yes,” I say, sitting up and looking around. In that moment, the craziness of the situation overwhelms me, and I giggle. Everyone turns to me, including the doctor.
“Sorry,” I mutter. “I just realized that no one has had proper introductions. It just struck m
e as ironic considering everything.”
I do formal introductions, and everyone nods at each other.
Jack shakes both Lance’s and Cody’s hands. “Thank you both,” he says.
“No problem,” they chime in unison. If any other family had heard it, they may have laughed, but Nick and I have been saying things at the same time our whole lives, so no one blinks or bats an eyelash.
The doctor leads us up to Zoe’s room. I send Cody in first. After a few minutes, I pop my head in and see him sitting by her bedside. She’s still sleeping. He has his forehead on her hand, and he holds it. I can’t hear what he’s saying because he is whispering to her. He leans up and plants a kiss on her forehead and then kisses her hand. I step back to give them privacy.
He comes to the door. “Go ahead, Lily,” he says softly. “She’s still asleep. The nurse said they want her sleeping for at least the next twelve hours.”
I walk in and sit down where Cody had been. I take Zoe’s hand and squeeze it.
“Hey, Zoe. It’s me, Lily,” I say. “I’m not sure if you can hear me, but I’m here. I love you, Zoe! I love you so much, and I want you to be strong and get better.” I pause, trying to fight back tears. I can feel my bottom lip trembling. “You have to get better. I think Cody really likes you. And if he’s anything like his brother, then you all are going to be having some fucking amazing sex soon. So, you have to get better. And I have so much to tell you about. I need you, Zoe.” Tears fall down my cheeks, and I feel Lance’s hand on my shoulder.
“We should let her rest, Lily,” he whispers in my ear.
I nod and bite my lip, trying to hold in the sobs. He places an arm around me and helps me up and out of the room. I see Jack go in and then we are all back in the elevator. When we get to the hospital room, Nick and my mom are still in bed.
