Puck (Kickstarting My Heart #3) (COMPLETED)

Against The Tide

I found Chase a beaten, bloody mess in the center of the snow blanketed football field a little after the last bell of the day sounded throughout the school. From where I stood at the school's front entrance, I caught only a slight glimpse of the limp black lump peeking out from the thick snow, nearly engulfing him within it. I started across the field without hesitation, my eyes finding the crutches discarded a few feet away, too far to be within reach for the limp figure waiting for the cold to consume him.

We'd gotten snow over the last few days, but I hadn't thought it to be enough to nearly hide a body.

"Chase?"

Casting a look downward, all I was greeted with was a pool of red. Fresh blood gushed from Chase's frost bitten nose, his teeth smeared with the same crimson liquid that had been spit up and on to the white snow at his side. He made no attempt to move or sit upright; it was as if he was already half dead.

"Chase." I repeated, crouching at his side. "Chase, hey."

Shaking him slowly, he was momentarily stirred out of his lifeless daze and turned his head in my direction. "Go away."

"It's freezing, Chase." I stood and swept both of his crutches from the snow before they could become embedded in it, tucking them under my arm as I fell back into a crouch at his side. "Come on, we've got to get you out of this before you get hypothermia."

He pushed my outstretched hand away. "I don't need your help, Harper."

"I don't care. I know you want to die, but I'm not going to stand around and watch it happen, let's go." I forced my bare hands into the thick snow until I felt the back of his black hoodie and started pushing him up. He was shaking his head repeatedly, but didn't make a move to try and stop me. Upon realizing I wasn't going to give up and wander off or stay out of the situation as everyone else apparently had, he helped as much as he could. Once he was sitting upright, the blood gushing from his nose fell at an increasingly alarming rate and splashed against my hand. Swallowing my queasiness, I reached forward and touched his chin, jerking my hand back once I felt how cold his skin was.

"Jesus, Chase." I whispered. "You're freezing."

Flakes of snow fell from his long lashes as he blinked. "On the inside too."

Ignoring the morbid comment, I tore my backpack open and pulled out a travel size pack of tissues. Tearing the wrapper off them, I shoved them into his hand and forced it up to his nose, tilting his head back in a swift movement.

"We've got to get you out of this snow, Chase. You've got to help me." I tugged on his arm a little, hoping it'd irritate him enough to agree. I got the sickening feeling he had lost most feeling in it when he appeared to be oblivious to the gesture.

I shook my head. "Chase, stop acting like a child and help me get you up."

"I can't feel my leg." he shut his eyes. "The one I usually can, I mean. The broken one is a lost cause anyway."

"If you don't let me help you up, I'm going to call 911." I threatened.

The threat hit a weak spot in his tough exterior, and he started to grasp my forearm with his ice cold fingertips. After a few failed attempts-one of which resulted in me collapsing in the snow beside him-I was finally able to get him to his feet. He kept his head bowed and shifted most of his weight on to my shoulders. With the little he did to help me get to the short brick wall outside the school, I was able to get him to the edge of it, allowing him to grip my shoulder for support.

"I'll pull my car around. Just stay right here." I ordered, touching his shoulder. "And make sure to keep the tissue against your nose and your head tilted back a little."