My Country Paradise

Chapter 18: Tiny Daggers

<One Week Later>

I took off directly to my right, the pulsing of my pounding heart in my ears caused me to grow weak and my step faltered. The path in front of me was dark, distant black shapes formed into branches when it was too late and they dug into my skin. I gritted my teeth against the pain, but the panicked feeling kept me from stopping to evaluate my wounds.

Andrew had told me to be careful when I went into the woods alone, but the phone call I had just received minutes before caused me to disregard his words. And now...now I could hear something and I knew it was following me.

"Why can't you be more like your sister." The words tore into me harder than the branches. Would I ever be good enough? Mother had told me those words. The past week I was pushed harder and harder by Jake, driving me closer to the edge. Andrew had also been gone often, making important college visits. I couldn't the way Jake was treating Alyssa, and well I didn't treat him kindly causing me a phone call from Mom.

The crashing of undergrowth closer than before brought me back to my senses. Adrenaline pumped through my veins and gave me the extra burst of speed I needed to gain distance. Tears burned at my eyes and I fiercely swept them away with my hands.

I should never have run into the woods at night.

The hope of being rescued was dim, it was past midnight when I had decided to flee the house and the only person who had been awake was Jake. His name brought a bitter taste to my mouth.

Pain shot up my leg like tiny daggers as I snagged it in a thorn bush and tore away. I could feel the warm blood as it felt its way down my leg. I bit back a cry and forced myself to move even faster.

My strength began to fade and my leg refused to respond. I fell to the ground in a heap. 

I closed my eyes and willed whoever had taken chase of me to disappear. I stayed curled up, arms wrapped tight around my body, and head tucked in when the person arrived. 

I could hear its loud pants and feel its presence over me.

A single tear slid down my cheek.

"Hey Al."

Instantly, a growl escaped from my lips and despite my condition I stood up to face him. 

"What are you doing?" I said the words slowly, hoping he could see that my eyes were in angry slits and the fire that lit them.

"Well, you stormed out of the house like a herd of elephants so I thought I'd check up on you." 

I almost chocked with anger. "You call chasing me through the woods checking up on me." The fear and the pain that had been caused because of him consumed me with rage. "Go away. Now. I don't ever want to see you again."

Even though I could barely make out his face, I could hear he was taken aback. "What's the big deal Al?"

"Now." I heard him noisily turn and leave and suddenly realized that I didn't know where I was. Pride kept me from following him.

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Someone shaking me woke me with a start. I tried to sit up quickly, but a strong dizzy feeling caused me to fall backwards once more. Strong arms caught me and I was finally able to focus long enough to realize I had fallen asleep on the forest floor and that the pair of strong arms that had caught me was Andrew.

I tried to say his name, but only a muted mumbling sound came from my lips. The sun shone high overhead and I assumed it was a little past noon.

"Shh, don't try to talk. You're in shock and you need to recover," his words were urgent but gentle. A worried expression wrinkled his forehead.

"Andrew. Andrew, I got...lost. Jake...chasing...scared," I was unable to make sense with my words.

"Alli, it's going to be OK," he made soft shushing noises and stroked my hair. I grew dizzy again and a biting pain in my leg caused me to lose consciousness without warning. I slipped into an unrestful blackness.

My eyes fluttered open at the feel of something warm touching my leg. Andrew set beside the bed where I lay and the room looked unfamiliar. He was continually stroking my leg with a wet cloth and I noticed the blood that had stained it red. I had been bleeding all this time. He still hadn't noticed I was awake.

"Where am I?" The words came slowly from my lips and uncertainty marked them. Andrew looked up at me, his face worried and I caught a sorrowful look before he quickly replaced it with a half smile.

"I took you to my house. I didn't want to take you back, you seemed to be pretty upset about something." I nodded, not giving any further explanation like I knew he wanted. He let out a sigh and stood, coming closer to me. He had a white gauze in his hands and I noticed that my arms had already been wrapped.

"Are you alright Alli? You were in pretty bad shape."

How I felt proved he was right. "Jake...scared me...I ran...thorns...branches," I found myself getting choked up again.

"I'm sorry," Andrew paused, an expression of anger turning his face red, "Did he hurt you?"

"No, he-"

"Did he hurt you?" Andrew repeated, growing angrier.

"He didn't. I went into the woods...I was upset...he chased me." I grew frustrated with being unable to form complete sentences and closed my mouth.

"Why were you upset, Alli?" The anger disappeared from his voice for a moment and he looked down at me.

"It's...It's nothing." I didn't feel like talking right then. Andrew didn't move for a moment then finally nodded.

"Are you sure you're OK?"

"I'll be fine," I tried to smile at him, but it wavered and disappeared. All at once, the weakness I had felt earlier returned. I closed my eyes and tried to force it away. When I opened my eyes again, Andrew had moved closer.

"Will you be OK to stay here for today? I want to keep my eye on you and I have your Aunt Darcy's permission," he smiled a little, "She didn't really want to change your gauze."

I laughed weakly and nodded to show I was fine with it.

"Good. Now don't do anything crazy while I go and get us something to eat."