In Between Seasons (The Fall)

by Giovanni, Cassandra

  Doctor Skokie slipped past him and sat his bag on the bed next to me. He unzipped it and pulled out a white metal rod as he flipped a switch on it, it began to buzz. He turned a lever and a blue light appeared out of the bottom of it.

  “I’m going to do a cat scan of your head with this and then do an x-ray of your wrist as well,” Doctor Skokie explained, pulling out a tablet from his bag and tapping the screen. It looked like a larger version of the itouch Hunter had given me.

  “Do you need her to lay flat for that?” Hunter asked as he stepped forward.

  “Yes, if you would help with that,” Doctor Skokie replied, his voice low and soft as if he was afraid that no matter how he said it, it would be wrong.

  Hunter placed his hands under my legs and neck and slid me down, “Are you okay?”

  “Sure,” I replied, letting my head drop flat on the bed. In truth it hurt when he moved me, but I imagined everything would hurt at the moment.

  “Close your eyes,” Doctor Skokie ordered as he played with the metal rod. I did as he told me and a light flashed over my face, “I need to lay her wrist as flat as possible.”

  “I’m sorry, Kate,” Hunter whispered as his hand slipped down to my wrist moving it only in the slightest. It created a shooting pain up through my arm into my already throbbing head. I screamed out in pain as I squeezed my eyes shut so tight that tears formed.

  “I’m going to need to put it in a cast,” Doctor Skokie explained as he tapped on the tablet screen.

  “Should you do a full body scan to check for any other fractures?” Hunter suggested, and I heard the anguish in his voice at whatever was on the tablet screen.

  “Yes, especially after seeing that,” Doctor Skokie commented, his voice grim.

  “Am I dying or something?”

  “You have a small fracture in your skull,” Hunter explained, his fingers gliding over my face. It only soothed me slightly because I realized I could be dead.

  I felt the light go over my face again and then heard the tapping on the screen, “Slight fracture in two ribs, but there’s nothing we can really do there. Other than that and the fracture in the skull, your diagnosis is spot on.”

  “It will take what—two months for all the bones to heal?” Hunter asked, and I opened my eyes to see the vein in his forehead practically ready to burst.

  “I’ll give her an osteo-supplement that should shorten the healing time to about three to four weeks. We need to cast her wrist, but it’s going to be painful for her without any pain killers in her blood stream right now. I can give her one that will take about thirty minutes to become effective and then we can do it,” Doctor Skokie explained.

  “Just do it now,” I demanded, looking between Hunter who was ready to kill the doctor and the doctor who looked like all he wanted to do was run away.

  “Are you sure?” Hunter asked, bending down and pushing a piece of hair out of my eyes.

  “I should suture that up first,” The doctor suggested as he nodded to my forehead.

  “I can do it after you leave,” Hunter retorted, looking out of the corner of his eyes at the gray-haired man.

  “I’ll leave you this suture kit; that way you don’t need to take anything from your active supplies,” Doctor Skokie said.

  “Get on with it,” Hunter ordered as he bent down and put his hand in my good one, “Squeeze my hand as hard as you need to, okay?”

  When the doctor started fixing my wrist I wished Hunter had really killed him. I only screamed once, but ended up kicking my legs and squeezing Hunter’s hand as hard as it was possible. It only served to cause the pain in my arms to filter through all of my limbs, and by the end of the procedure I was covered in sweat and my body was numb with the torture of the cast.

  I barely heard the doctor’s voice as he gave Hunter the pills to give me and the suture kit. I heard the door shut and Hunter come to sit next to me. His hand slid into mine and he sighed, “It’s not quite over—I need to stitch up your forehead.”

  I squeezed his hand, “It’s okay.”

  His hands were far softer than the doctor’s as he wiped my forehead, “Are you ready?”

  I nodded my head and the poking and tugging at my skin was so much gentler than the casting that it felt as though it was nothing more than brushing my hair. I supposed that if I hadn’t just had someone man-handle my bones into place that the sewing of my skin together would have been painful. I wasn’t really being courageous. It just didn’t hurt as much, or I was starting to not feel.

  “Done,” Hunter caressed my cheek with his hand, “Let’s sit you up a little bit, so I can get you something to eat and then give you these pills. On an empty stomach these things are killers.”

  “Sure,” I replied as he lifted and placed me back down in the bed.

  “What do you want to eat?”

  “What can you cook?” I teased, opening one eye with a smirk.

  “Grill cheese?” he suggested, and the vein in his forehead retracted at my smile.

  Once I had eaten and taken the pain killers the numbness started to take over, and I wasn’t quite sure what was reality or dreaming. Hunter lay down next to me, and I put my head on his chest.

  “You gave me a scare there Kate,” Hunter ran his hands through my hair, “I could never live without you.”

  I sure as hell hoped that part wasn’t a dream.

  Chapter 30

  After two weeks of the fog caused by the pain killers creeping in and out of the edges of my mind I had had enough. I was going stir crazy with not being able to train with Hunter because at the edges of the fog were dreams that the secret weapon Hunter had sought was now seeking me out. I didn’t know if it was the drugs causing the anxiety, but the feeling of dread that it caused was real enough. There was one thing I was now certain of, there was a secret weapon. I opened my eyes to see Hunter sitting at the love seat watching a movie on the TV and a slight feeling of relief washed over me. Then it was replaced by another unpleasant thought—one that Mara had placed in my mind about Hunter, and his…friends. I found that thought more disturbing than the one about someone trying to kill me.

  “What are you watching?” I asked as I kicked my feet over the side of the bed.

  “Oh,” he shut the TV off and turned to face me, “Nothing really. I couldn’t sleep—you were talking a lot.”

  “What was I saying?” I asked, standing nervously.

  “Oh, nothing that really matters,” he replied with a smile as I walked past him into the kitchen to get a drink.

  “Great, so you’re not going to tell me?” I questioned as I looked over the top of the fridge door at him. He was leaning against the door, and I had to take a deep breath as our eyes met.

  “How are you feeling?” he asked, cocking his head. His jaw line tightened with a thought that I couldn’t decipher as I smiled at him.

  “Good,” I replied as I looked down at my glass and bit my lip.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I was just thinking…”

  “What?” Hunter asked.

  “Are you a virgin?” I whispered, afraid of his response.

  Hunter leaned forward laughing, “I think your pain killers are talking.”

  “No more pain killers,” I stated as I looked up at him with my heart hammering against my mending ribs so hard that I felt as though they would break against the force.

  “Kate, I’m a twenty-five year old man…you can’t think I’m a virgin,” his eyes pacing back and forth as they searched my face, “I’ve had a girlfriend or two—but if what you want to know is if I’ve been in love before, then no.”

  “I guess it was silly of me to ask,” I replied, taking a sip of water and leaning against the counter.

  “Let me ask you a question?” Hunter leaned against the door frame, “Are you?”

  “What do you think?” I retorted.

  He looked away from me and out the window as he coughed, “I guess not then.”

  “But I�
�ve never been in love.”

  “Was it Trevor?” Hunter asked, looking back at me with his eyes intense.

  “Who else?” I responded with a shrug.

  “I’m glad I shot him,” he hissed under his breath, and I was glad that I heard a hint of jealousy in his voice.

  “What was that?”

  “Nothing at all,” he replied, a crooked smile playing on his lips.

  “So when does this come off?” I asked as I held my arm up, glad to change the subject.

  “Soon…another week and you should be good. The osteo-supplements help the healing process speed up,” Hunter explained, he walked forward and took my casted arm in his hands.

  “We need to start training again as soon as possible,” I said.

  “Can I take a peek at your ribs?”

  “Sure,” I answered, putting the glass down and slipping my shirt off over my head. I looked up at him as innocent as possible.

  He swallowed and then placed his hands gently on my torso causing goose bumps to travel in a visible line up my skin, “I’m sorry if my hands are cold.”

  It was my turn to be embarrassed that I couldn’t control my body’s reaction to him, “No, they’re fine.”

  Our eyes met again, and I found myself to be the one swallowing as my ribs threatened again to break against the pressure of my heart against them.

  “They seem to be healed quite well. The fractures were minor, so I didn’t expect it to take long. I’m sorry I had you doped up so long—I didn’t realize they were healed so well,” he observed, and his hands were still resting on my skin, sending another rash of goose bumps across my flesh.

  “So when can we start training again?” I asked, trying to make my mind stay on anything other than the feeling of his hands against my bare skin.

  “Tonight if you want,” Hunter let his hands drop into his pockets, “As long as you start cooking again.”

  “For sure…you’re cooking sucks.”

  “Tell me about it,” he laughed, but the tension between us still hung in the air as we stood staring at one another.

  I took a deep breath, “So, what would you like?”

  ~~~

  Once we had eaten dinner I went and stood outside, leaning against the porch railing to watch the moon rise above the trees. The snow was still crisp on the ground, and the silence of the night made me feel like nothing could be wrong in the world. It was peaceful to only hear mine and Hunter’s breathing against the night air. I watched the clouds come and go from my mouth in slow easy succession.

  “You ready?” Hunter questioned as he pulled his hood over his head.

  “Sure,” I replied, and he swept me into his arms.

  “I don’t want to risk stairs with you.”

  “Ha-ha,” I replied, putting my head against his warm chest.

  “Hey, you never know,” he teased, and I was struck again by his grace because as he walked down the steps there was no sound.

  “Will I be allowed to run?” I asked as Hunter jumped off the last step without placing me down.

  “I don’t want to put too much pressure on your ribs by having you breathe heavily quite yet,” he explained, beginning to run as if I were no more than a leaf.

  When we reached the field Hunter put me to the ground, his breath a whisper against the night sky as he walked past me. When he turned to face me his arms were crossed across his chest, and I felt as though I was next to the ocean as I looked into his eyes so perfectly framed by the moonlight and the snow. I had never seen the ocean, but I imagined the way the stars reflected in his eyes was the way it would look over the water; shimmering despite the endless depth beneath. It was as if the world had stopped, and all I could hear was the hammering of my heart in my ears and his breath as he began demonstrating a move to me. His movements barely caused the snow to crunch, and I felt as though I was in a dream, but it was too clear to be a farce. His hands gently slid up my arms as he showed me how to position myself to strike, but his hands stopped at my shoulders. I could see it in his eyes that he didn’t have the heart for fighting tonight. His thumb caressed my collarbone and his jaw tightened. He looked up at the sky, and the stars reflected there perhaps deeper than before. In one swift movement he slid his arm behind my back and pulled me to the ground with him. I put my head on his chest, and we stared at the stars without having said a word. We stayed like that until neither of us could stand the cold anymore. Then we stood and walked hand in hand back to the quiet house.

  Chapter 31

  Oh, my god. These women were really starting to get to me. There was such a staunch difference between the time I spent with Hunter, and the time I spent on the coach that I felt I could go insane if I had to spend another moment with them. There was one reprieve from it though—Mara. We didn’t talk about much, but the knowing looks we gave one another were enough to keep me from yelling at the ridiculous statements that happened at that couch. As I looked over at her now, her light blue eyes seemed sad, and her small lips were curled downwards.

  “Is something wrong?” I asked, leaning in close to her so that no one would hear.

  “Oh, I was just thinking,” she replied, turning her face to look at me with a wary smile.

  “About?”

  She put her hand on my knee, “If only I could tell you.”

  “The secrets that bond us tear us apart,” I observed as I took a deep breath. That was one thing that I felt about Mara that I didn’t feel about the other women. There were layers to her, and a sad, but determined look always seemed to be on her face. The only exception was when she was with Rob. It was only then that she seemed to be truly happy. I imagined that she had the same impression of Hunter and I.

  “I wish Rob would just come in for the day. I’m tired of this,” she explained, her eyes glancing around the room.

  “Yeah, tell me about it. They never shut up.”

  Mara laughed, “So what did you used to do at your old home?”

  “Fight with my father, my sister or my mother,” I rolled my eyes at the thought.

  “About what?” she asked as she pulled her knees to her chin and rested her head there.

  I was at a loss for words; too much time with her meant I was getting closer than I should be to her.

  I shrugged, “Nothing in particular.”

  “Forgive me for saying this, but bullshit. You aren’t the kind to fight over nothing,” Mara retorted, her tone even, but her eyes speaking for her.

  “So what were you thinking about?”

  “I get it,” she paused before she continued, “I think in a different situation we would be friends though.”

  “That would be nice,” I replied honestly. It would have been nice to have a friend. The thought was immediately dislodge from my brain as something slammed into the siding of the house, and both Mara and I jumped.

  “What was that?” Amy asked, standing.

  Amy, Mara and I went outside to find Charlie flat out on the ground with Hunter hovering over him fist raised.

  “I wonder what the dumb ass did now?” Amy commented as she rolled her eyes and turned back to go inside.

  Hunter’s head turned, and his eyes met mine. The pain that showed in his face gave me the feeling that I had no insides. I was empty, completely empty and he was too. He swallowed and looked away as his fist came down and knocked Charlie clear out. Hunter’s eyes met mine and his jaw clenched. The expression of his lips and jaw line would be mistaken by the women to be anger just like it was supposed to be. I knew better though; he was being torn apart and it showed in his eyes.

  I wanted to follow him, but the look that I saw in his eyes haunted me as I watched his back fade into the woods. I didn’t know what he wanted from me—to follow him, or to forget what I had seen.

  Mara’s hand was on my back, “We should go inside and watch whatever lame ass movie Amy chose.”

  I looked over my shoulder at her, “You get it right?”

  She nodded her head, “
I think Rob’s going after him.”

  I looked over my shoulder to see Rob jogging into the woods, “It won’t do him any good. He might get flattened out too.”

  “I doubt that,” she winked, “Movie?”

  We went inside and unfortunately the only seats left were the two next to Amy. Mara quickly took the one at the end of the couch and patted the space between her and Amy. I narrowed my eyes at her and she smirked.

  “What did Charlie do that upset Hunter? You said that that had happened before,” I asked Amy, who was twirling her hair around her finger with a not amused look on her face.

  Amy shook her head, “Nothing upsets Hunter. He just has to keep them in line, being the general and all. You should know that by now.”

  What I did know was that a lot of things upset Hunter, and I had just let him walk away from me. I knew that I should have followed him, but there was nothing I could do about it now. There was no way I could find him in the darkness of the night, and the guilt that was building up inside me was almost unbearable.

  “I’m going to go on up to bed,” I said, standing.

  The look in Mara’s eyes told me she wanted to say something, but couldn’t with them watching. No one else even looked up when I left because, frankly, they were probably sick of me anyways. I was already the ice queen to them, and they were all ice to me. Eventually I fell asleep as I stared up at the ceiling cursing myself. At some point in the night I woke up to find Hunter sitting at the end of the bed with his head in his hands.

  “Hey,” I sat up, “Where did you go?”

  “Did you think I wanted to do that?” he asked, his voice muffled by his hands.

  “What?”

  He turned to look at me, but his face was in the shadows, “Do you think I feel nothing? Do you think I wanted to do that? Do you believe that I am what they say I am?”

  “No,” I replied.

  “Then why didn’t you follow me? Why did you just let me walk away?”

  “I wanted to follow you,” I whispered.

  “But you didn’t. I…I” he stammered, shaking his head.