Chapter 6: A Close Call

Chapter 6:

Anika’s P.O.V

“Oh My God!”

My heart thundered against my chest as I took deep breaths to calm myself.

I was afraid to look up. I was afraid I’d see blood splattered all across my window…or worse…organs. It made my stomach churn.

The only thing that broke the eerie silence in that moment was my mother’s frantic voice over the phone, which was now lying at my feet.

Gulping down my nausea, I picked up my cell from near the brakes as I was already hunched over the steering, my hand trembling so bad that I dropped it several times before successfully bringing it to my ears.

“I-I w-ill call y-ou la-ter.”

I hate that my voice trembled, as did the rest of my body, because my mother kept asking me continuously if I was okay, even as I hung up. But I wasn’t concerned about myself. Not now.

Swallowing past my fear, I jerker my head up to avoid the inevitable…and found myself sighing in relief when I didn’t find any blood on the windscreen.

“Oh thank god!” I dropped my head on the steering, feeling the trembling get better already. But it wasn’t over. My car had definitely hit something, hard enough that the impact had shaken the entire car. So whatever it was, it was still out there, in the middle of the road…blocking my way.

I debated just running over whatever it was, but what if it was an endangered animal? I could get into even bigger trouble that way.

Today was like one of those days that just didn’t want to end.

What happened to those days where I would start watching a show and hours would pass even though it felt like minutes? When I would go on an I***a-spiral and end up wasting hours of precious time by just watching only a couple videos?

Today, everything was the exact opposite of what I wanted it to be. Every second passed by like an hour and with the passage of time, the shit I kept getting into just kept getting deeper and deeper.

“Fuck my life!” I took off my seat belt and unlocked my door and got off.

The first thing I noticed was just how cold it had gotten suddenly. Was it this cold when I came out from my apartment? It was the middle of October and winter was right around the corner, but this cold somehow just…felt different.

Rubbing my hands on my upper arm, I came to the front of my car…and nearly screamed in horror.

My legs gave out from under me and I caught myself on the hood of my car just in time before I collapsed on the concrete road, but ended up burning myself from the heat of the engine instead.

It was a man.

A very…naked, man.

A very, tall, naked man.

“Holy fuck!” I got back up on shaky feet, rubbing my hands on my dress, this time because I had been stupid enough to almost burn it.

That was a close call. A very, very close call! How stupid was I to not have noticed a man jumping out of the woods and onto the road? How could I have thought it was an animal?

I rushed over to the man, afraid that the impact had done serious damage. When I knelt next to him and touched his shoulders, it was still warm. Thanking the Gods above that he wasn’t dead, I turned him over to his front.

“What the…hell?”

There were burn marks on his skin, like it had been scored by something hot that had led to bleeding later. His left shoulder and neck were torn and bloody, but from the way the skin around the cuts was looking…the object had been something sharp. However, it wasn’t the only wound on him. Half of his body had red and blue patches like he had been hit over and over by something blunt. There weren’t many tears on him, which seemed to be the only plus in the situation. But the good thing was, he was still breathing.

“Shit.” He needed medical help and fast. With the number of bruises he had, I was surprised he was still alive. Did he get robbed on the road?

I stood up from the ground, my stance a lot firmer now that my doctor side had taken over and I rushed back to the car to get my first aid kit and a towel so I could wrap it around him.

Working as fast as I could, I disinfected the cuts and placed a makeshift band-air around his wounds to stop the bleeding. Now…it was time to get him into my car.

*

*

“Could this day go any better?” I muttered to myself, under my breath as I brought my car to a halt in front of a small wooden cabin.

I checked my phone for the address one last time and then looked out the window to make sure I followed the markers carefully. Yup. This was the place.

The lights in the front porch flickered on and it felt like the beginning of a horror movie, but instead of a man with an axe in a black trench coat, there was a tiny woman exiting the house, who looked as harmful as an animated chipmunk.

I had no idea why I associated her with a chipmunk, that too an animated one, but she was the complete opposite of what I had expected a ‘Tiffany’ to look like. I’m stereotyping, I know, but whenever I hear the name ‘Tiffany’ my mind pictures a tall, leggy blonde with killer curves and a bitchy attitude. This woman however, was about five feet tall, with short black hair cut to just above her shoulders. She was wearing round glasses and her cheeks were adorably puffy.

Despite the situation I was in, I actually wanted to pinch her cheeks, which wasn’t a very good idea. My hands were still aching because of all the heavy lifting I had to do to get the guy into the car. What the fuck was he made of? A shit ton of bricks?

Tiffany waved at me from the front porch and realizing that she might come near my car any moment; I kept the headlights on, but unfastened my seat belt and all but jumped out of the car.

“Hi,” I waved back and approached her almost cautiously, hoping and praying to God that the shit ton of sanitizer I had sprayed on my hands had helped clean the blood away. “I’m Anika. You must be Tiffany?”

“Yep,” she shook my hand with a cheeky smile. “Not what you expected of a Tiffany, right?”

“Holy cow! I was just thinking that a second ago!” I gasped. “Sorry! That was such a stupid thing to say.”

“Nah! Don’t worry about it.” Tiffany laughed at my expression. “Just call me Tiff or Fin. Do you need help with the luggage?”

“NO! No.” I almost screeched before composing myself with sheer strength of will. “I-I can bring that in myself. I’d hate it if I made you carry my luggage on the first day of us just meeting.”

Tiffany narrowed her eyes at me for a couple seconds before her eyes lit up; it was as if a light bulb lit up in a head. “Ah!” She gave me another cheeky smile as my heart dropped. “You’re worried I won’t be able to carry them, right? Don’t worry, I’m stronger than I look.”

“No…it’s not that!” I told her quickly. “I’m…I’m not comfortable with others doing my work.”

Tiffany shrugged. “Suit yourself. Should I give you a house tour, at least?”

I took a nervous look at my car, unsure of the condition of my patient, but I needed the tour in case I needed to know where I could find certain things. “Sure.” I gave Tiffany a polite smile, deciding to take the tour in the end. A few more minutes wouldn’t kill the man…would it? Nah, I didn’t think so. The makeshift treatment should be working for the time being.

Tiffany showed me around the wooden cabin, naming and introducing me to certain things one by one. Surprisingly, the house was far more technically advanced than I had expected. Heating systems, ovens and almost anything needed for comfortable living in the modern world, it was all there.

The cabin was small, consisting of a living area combined with the kitchen and dining area and then there was the bedroom with the attached bathroom. Nothing else, but there was a stairway that led to the terrace and since there was no dryer in sight, I was going to have to dry my clothes the old fashioned way. One thing did bother me however. In the whole house, there seemed to be only one bed.

Of course there was one bed! What had I expected? That I’d have a castle ready for me when I reached this good for nothing mountain? I should be grateful that I at least had a bed!

But this was going to put a damper on things for sure. I couldn’t possibly make my patient sleep on the couch, not when I wasn’t even sure if he was still alive. So I’ll have to be the one to take the couch.

“I didn’t know if you had dinner or not, so I got you some instant ramen in the pantry.” Tiffany said at the end of the house tour. “There’s also a carton of eggs and a couple water bottles in the fridge, in case you needed them. Sorry for not getting you anything else, I didn’t know if you would like them or not.” She ended a bit shyly.

“Are you kidding me? I’m more than grateful for what you did!” I took her hand and gave them a light squeeze. “Seriously, Tiffany! Thank you so much.”

Her smile turned bright. “No problem. I’ll text you the address to the supermarket as soon as I reach home.”

Oh shit! I looked at my watch to see that it was close to eleven thirty at night.

“Crap! I’m so sorry for holding you up till now.” I apologized. “Do you want me to drop you off?” I told her without thinking…before remembering the man on my backseat. Double shit!

Thankfully, Tiffany shook her head immediately. “It’s fine. I live nearby and I have my bike.” She pointed to a mountain bicycle at one corner that I hadn't noticed before. “You should get some rest and settle down. I’ll see you on Monday.”

“Sure.” I breathed out a sigh of relief. “See you on Monday. And thanks again for all the help.”

“No worries,” Tiffany put on her helmet and an oversized coat before getting on her bike. “Take care and call if you need any help.”

“I will.” I waved her goodbye as she drove off, and then turned my gaze to my car.

Now comes the hard part.