Trust Me

Chapter 4

"Josh," I yell. "Get in the car right now! I'll explain on the way." When he realizes I'm not being tormented or anything, but I am willingly helping Caleb, he gets even madder. "Please Josh, I promise I'll explain, but I don't know how far along Caleb is."

Josh looks angry and confused, but he gets into the drivers seat. I help Caleb into the back seat, and climb into the seat next to him. Tiff sits up front with Josh.

"Where are we going," Josh says as we pull out of the parking lot.

"The Emergency Room," I whisper. Then, remembering that I promised to explain, I continue talking, a little louder this time. "Josh, Caleb has hypothermia. I don't know how, but he does. I don't care about him personally, but hypothermia can be fatal if left untreated, and I can't just let him die. I feel bad killing spiders, imagine how I'd be if a person died on my watch."

"Whatever Lottie. I don't see why you don't let him take care of himself." Why is Josh so angry, I'm doing the right thing?

"No, he's dazed and confused. He's not even Caleb. He called me Lottie, Josh. He has never called me Lottie." I say, surprised at how defensive my voice is. I notice that Caleb is drifting off, which isn't good.

Smacking his face, I yell, "Wake up!" I don't want to be mean, but if he falls asleep he might not wake up.

"How much longer?" I ask. I'm surprisingly worried about Caleb. I don't want him to die.

"Maybe 10 minutes. Probably less." Josh says. That is one of the benefits of living in a small town. Everything is pretty close to you. Before I know it, we are there.

Ignoring Josh and Tiff, I grab Caleb's arm and put it around my neck. "Come on, we need to go see the doctor."

"Why?" Caleb asks. It's like I'm talking to a little kid, the way he looks at me with innocent eyes.

"You are sick, and they are going to make you better," I inform him. This seems to satisfy him, and he goes quiet.

I open the door to the ER, and rush to the person at the desk. "This is Caleb. I believe he has hypothermia, and he seems very sick." She takes a quick look at his pale skin, and sees his uncontrollable shivering, and pages and ER attendee immediately. Within seconds, they are taking him away.

"Let me go with him," I beg.

"Are you his girlfriend," one of them asks.

"No, just an old friend. Please, he shouldn't be alone," I whisper. I vaguely hear Josh make a disgusted noise, but I could care less.

"Fine, whatever," the man says. I thank him, and run to catch up with the gurney that is holding Caleb.

Upon seeing me, he whispers, "Lottie."

"Yeah, its me," I respond, a weak smile on my face. Then I start wondering how he got hypothermia. It did rain yesterday, but he went home long before that. There was that one person out there, who brought Luna back. No, that couldn't possibly be Caleb. He hates my dog. And me, too.

Then why can't I just leave him? I guess, I just don't want him to be alone when he 'returns,' so to speak. I know he's talking to me right now, but it's not really him. This Caleb is far too nice.

After an hour of pumping medicine and fluids into him, they let him go to sleep. When he wakes up, he'll be back to normal, according to them. I wonder if he'll be angry if I'm here when he wakes up. I fall asleep in the chair next to his bed, trying to decide if I should stay or go.