Bucking Wild

11. Holden

My fingertips are brushing against an awful bruise on her neck. It's a deep purple and it doesn't look right on her pale skin. I'm fuming. No man should ever hit a woman. A tear escapes Ophelia's eye and I softly wipe it away from her freckled cheek.

"He doesn't even know I left yet," she says quietly.

Without thinking, I lift her hand to my lips and give it a soft kiss. Her eyes go wide but she doesn't pull away. I feel like an idiot. She just got out of an abusive relationship and I'm over here kissing her hand. I set her hand down and let it go.

When I came up to the trestle bridge, I was just expecting peace and quiet. Not to be bothered or even acknowledged. Instead, she calls me and pulls all of my attention to her. She climbed all the way up here. And she's afraid of heights. What the fuck am I doing?

"What do you think he'll do when he finds out?" I ask.

"I'm not sure," she admits.

In the distance I hear a low whistle. We both freeze and look in the direction it's coming from. A train is coming this way. She stands and holds her hand out to me. I take it and struggle to get up. Ophelia doesn't leave me behind though. She stays right next to me and puts my arm over her shoulders.

"Come on," she huffs.

We go as fast as I am able to. Its not easy with my left leg stuck straight with the brace. She doesn't rush me even though I see the fear in her eyes every time she looks in the direction the train is coming from. My heart is racing, but not because of the train. It's because of the feel of her hand placed on my chest. Her warmth radiates through my West Highschool Sweatshirt. I push the feeling away and try to move faster.

The train is barreling closer to us when we get to the end of the bridge. I push her forward and she makes the descent down the concrete wall. I follow her. She touches the bike path first and holds her hand out to me to lower myself down too. The noise of the train is so loud, we both cover our ears and look at each other. I look up to the train passing by on the trestle bridge. And so does she.

I look back at Ophelia as she's watching cars go by. She is in jeans tonight, stained by the mud and snow on the concrete wall. Her black winter coat is zipped up to her chin and her orange hat is pulled down low over her forehead. Little wisps of red poke out under her hat. Her green eyes are open wide. She's smiling. God, she's beautiful.

As the train leaves, she looks over at me. I'm caught staring at her. She shies away and looks out at the water. I need to say something to fill the silence.

"Thank you for helping me off the bridge," I spit out.

She turns back to me, "I wasn't going to leave you up there to get hit by the train."

I grab my crutch and lean on it. We start walking back to the parking lot in silence. She's walking with her head down. My mom's Chevy Silverado is parked where I left it. A black Kia is parked under a light pole. Ophelia pulls out her keys from her coat pocket and hits the button. The car's lights flash as it unlocks.

"I'm sorry I intruded on your trestle time," she looks up to me.

I tower over her short frame. I'm about six foot four. She has to be about five feet. I've never realized how small she really was. I look down into her jade eyes and smile.

"Trestle time?" I ask with a laugh.

She smiles and nods.

"I don't mind you intruding on anything I do."

What the fuck did I just say?

She laughs out loud, "I'll keep that in mind. I should get going. My friend is waiting for me at her apartment. I'm going to be staying with her for a little bit."

"Good," I say, "you need to stay safe."

"Um," she starts, "when can I see you again?"

I suck in a breath, "whatever works best for you. I usually have nothing going on, other than my PT appointments."

Ophelia nods up at me, "okay. I'll call you."

She goes to walk away, and I grab her wrist and pull her to me. Before I can stop myself, I gently put my lips on hers. She kisses me back. Her hands going into my hair and pulling me closer. I tease her lips with my tongue, and she opens them for me. She feels like sweet velvet. I cup her face with my hands and keep kissing her. She smells like raspberries. It's intoxicating. Our breaths mixed together warm me from the cold.

I pull away from her and look into her eyes, "I've wanted to do that since the rodeo in Texas."

"Really?" she squeaks.

I nod.

Her green eyes are hooded, and she licks her lips. Her pale cheeks now a pretty pink.

"I thought about you a lot," she admits.

"Oh, yeah?"

She nods, "I used to look at your pictures. I still have them on my camera."

My eyes go wide.

She laughs, "I have to go. I'm sorry. I will call you."

Ophelia steps out of my hands and runs to her car. She looks back at me as she opens the door biting her lip. I wave and watch her get in and drive away.