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“That’s a lot of money for a young woman to be carrying around,” he said in a grave voice.
I met him in the eye. More firmly, I repeated my previous question. “How much do I owe you?”
He told me the total, and I counted off what I needed. Placing more than enough for the amount he said, I picked up the paper bag he’d put my groceries in and started out of the shop.
“What about your change, young lady?” he called after me.
“Keep it.”
Running to the car, I threw open the door and sat the bag of groceries on the seat beside me. Slicking rain off my face with my hand, I started the engine and stared out at the water-clogged landscape. The storm drains were already overflowing with the sheer volume of water falling, and I knew driving back to the cabin was going to be difficult. Still, I couldn’t sit here all day. Pulling out, I turned around at the next street and navigated back to Orin’s cabin.
The rain intensified, and in the end, the wipers couldn’t keep up with the amount of water. Barely able to see out the windshield, I slowed to a crawl, thankful that nobody else seemed to be out in this weather. I squinted through the downpour, looking for the turnoff.
I had to shield my eyes when headlights suddenly appeared behind me.
“Shit.”
The lane was too narrow for them to move around me. I did my best to pull all the way over onto the shoulder so they could pass. When they made no move to go around me, I put the hazards on and stopped the car completely.
With my eyes on the wing mirror, I watched as a big black SUV pulled alongside my car. They paused there a moment, but I refused to look at them. My heart slammed into my throat as my mind went wild. Who the hell was this person driving around in the middle of torrential rain? Why in the hell were they stopping?
They were probably wondering whether I needed help, but I wasn’t going to engage with them. After a full minute of idling beside me, and me ignoring them, the car pulled away, speeding off up the lane. I felt my pulse hammering through me, my blood soaked in adrenalin.
“It’s fine,” I told myself. “It’s fine. Just … get back to the cabin.”
Shifting the car back into gear, I returned to the cabin, grabbing the bag of food and bolting to the porch. Once the groceries were put away, I went to check on Orin. He looked worse than before I left. A rash had started to develop over his chest, and his legs still moved restlessly every minute or so. I was still going to respect his wishes and leave his body to work through it until he seized.
His whole body went stiff, and my nurse’s training kicked in. Taking hold of his arm, I dragged his hulking frame onto the floor so he would be safer. The bed was already too small for him, and the risk of him rolling right out of it and hitting his head were too great. Once he was on the floor, I lifted his head and put the pillow underneath it.
When I cleared the area around him, I sat back on my heels and timed it. His arms and legs twitched uncontrollably, his skin shivering like a horse’s when a fly lands on it. I kept an eye on his breathing, becoming alarmed when he seemed to labor. But it was when his lips started to turn a shade of blue that I became really concerned.
I had to remind myself that this was only a febrile seizure. I’d read about them only a couple of weeks ago. They were caused by high fevers, but usually only young children suffered from them. That wasn’t to say that adults couldn’t have them, but it was rarer.
Glancing down at my watch, I saw that we were in the second minute of the episode, and each second that passed made the knot in my stomach twist.
I let go of the breath I’d been holding when his arms and legs stopped jerking as much as they had, and his lips returned to their normal color. Orin’s eyes flickered open, but he wasn’t awake yet. Still, I had to try.
“Orin? Are you with me?”
His lids closed, and he dropped into unconsciousness once more.
I had to get him to a hospital, but how? I didn’t have a phone so I couldn’t call an ambulance, and after a quick search for his, I found that the battery had gone flat. The only way to get him to the car would be to haul him there myself. It would be difficult, but not impossible and I had to try. After all, I’d done it once before. I could do it again.
Yanking the blanket from the bed, I laid it out on the floor and then dragged Orin’s deadweight onto it. At least, that’s what I attempted to do. He had to weigh at least two hundred pounds, so I only managed to get one shoulder onto the blanket before I was sweating. Bracing my legs, I yanked again, gaining another few inches, but I was winded and had to take a break. I pulled again, gaining another inch.
In the end, it took me a full fifteen minutes to get most of his body onto the blanket. He hadn’t roused once—not even when I started dragging him down the hall and accidentally clipped his elbow on the wall. When I made it into the living room, I released the blanket and bent in two—breathing hard. Resting my hands on my knees, I waited for my heart to stop racing and then straightened.
I hated to admit that what I’d just done was the easy part of the plan. Now, I had to get him in the car somehow. Walking to the front door, I opened it wide and stared at the torrential rain, which was now coming in sideways. The car was at least thirty feet from the door. Getting wet was inevitable. I glanced around, hoping an awning would magically appear. When it was clear that wasn’t going to happen, I went back to Orin. There was absolutely no way I could carry him while he was unconscious.
Leaning over his body, I squeezed his shoulder and got in close to his face. “Orin,” I said in a firm voice. “Wake up. I need you to wake up.” His eyes moved beneath his lids. “Orin?” I called again, making my voice a command. “Wake up. On your feet.”
Black eyes stared up at me, a small crease forming between his brows. “My beautiful Filly,” he murmured, reaching out a hand to touch my cheek. “Don’t leave me.” His eyelids fluttered shut once more, and I wanted to scream.
“Orin!” I yelled it this time. His eyes opened more quickly, and I could see he was trying to focus. “I need you to get up. I need you to help me.”
His gaze darted to the side, his disorientation clear on his face. “Where am I?”
“It doesn’t matter. I need you to stand up. I need you to help me. Okay?”
