Fall from Love

lie, keeping just how dangerous the roads really are to myself.
    “Damn.” He shakes his head. “Well, since you’re already here, go make yourself comfortable. Oh, man, he’s gonna kill me,” he mutters the last few words to himself as I make my way across the room and sit on the couch, pulling my knees to my chest.
    An hour or so passes with no updates on their location, but, finally, there’s some static noise on the radio that’s lying on the desk where Paul’s sitting. He picks up the radio, glances over to me and then says, “This is Paul, go ahead.”
    I can’t hear what the person on the other end is saying, so I make my way across the room and stand beside Paul. I close my eyes when I hear that it’s Carter’s voice on the other end.
    “We’re going to try to descend while there’s a break in the weather. Over.”
    Paul looks up at me. “Gotcha, buddy. Be careful coming down.”
    When he sets the radio back down his gaze travels back to me. “See, nothing to worry about.”
    “You didn’t tell him I was here, why?” I ask, confusion filling me.
    “One, he needs to concentrate on getting down the mountain and not on what shit you went through driving to get here. And two, he’s already gonna kick my ass; no need to give his anger time to simmer all the way down the mountain.”
    “I’m really sorry,” I say, and I am sorry. The last thing I want to do is get Paul in trouble. Turning around I make my way back to the couch, waiting and hoping that they make it back down soon.
    No words are spoken between Paul and me for over an hour. Every once in a while he will look at me over his shoulder, but the moment our eyes meet, he looks forward again. I’m pretty sure he knows that I know who he is. It’s Paul that called me the night of the accident with Adam. It’s his voice that came across the line, telling me that Adam had been taken to St. Anthony’s hospital.
    When I met him for the first time at Josh and Carter’s, I knew there was something familiar about him, but I couldn’t place it. It wasn’t until I called the station tonight and heard his voice over the line that I knew for sure.
    Another hour passes slowly and Paul stands up, making his way over to me. The couch concaves when his tall frame sinks down into it. He rakes his hands through his dark hair and sighs.
    “Hey, don’t worry about Carter, okay? He’s one of the best guys we have up there.”
    I nod, pressing my lips together.
    “Do you want me to call someone? Maybe Josh or Jenna or something?” he asks.
    I shake my head, knowing Jenna would insist on being with me and the last thing I want to do is put even more people out in the bad weather. “No, I’m good.”
    He sighs again. “Why don’t you at least go lay down? Carter has his stuff in the last room on the left. There are clean sheets on the bed. You should try and get some sleep; it may take them a few hours to get back down.”
    After debating on what to do, I decide to take him up on his offer. When I enter the room, the coldness hits me and I immediately wrap my arms around my waist. I find a lamp sitting on an old oak desk and, when I turn it on, I’m able to take in the room a little better. There’s a twin size bed to my left and it’s covered with Carter’s things. I see one of his black thermal shirts lying over the chair and I pull it over my head, breathing in the scent of him. After curling up on the bed, I glance at the large red numbers of the alarm clock glowing just a few inches from my face. It’s one-thirty in the morning. The last time Carter called in was almost two hours ago.
     
    ❧
     
    The last time I remember looking at the clock it was three-o-six and my nerves are getting worse with each passing second. The next thing I remember is feeling something cold wrap around my midsection. Cold—ice cold. Even through my clothes, I shiver. When I open my eyes, it takes me a second to remember where I am. I blink hard and see the large red numbers now read four-fifteen.
    My heart starts to hammer as I put it all together in my mind. I begin to shift so I can turn to look at him, but he squeezes me tighter against his chest.
    “God, you’re so warm,” he breathes and I can feel the coldness radiating off of him.
    “Carter.” I struggle to turn over, but he grips me even tighter.
    “I’m so sorry you had to go through that again,” he whispers.
    My eyes close and I fight to keep the tears that are stinging my eyes. He