Page 39 of The Do-Over
She stared through the window. “Rob?”
“Oh my God. Thea.”
Thank God it’s her.There was no one he’d rather have seen right now.
She stood frozen for just a moment, then shook it off and kept digging. “The door’s almost clear,” she said. There was a tightness in her voice now that warmed his heart. She’s worried about me. “I’m going to need you to help push from the inside to get it open, though. I don’t think I can do it on my own.”
“I can do that,” he said.
“You’re all right? You’re not injured?”
“I’m okay. Just banged up.”
“Okay,” she said. “Let’s try it now, then. Give it a push.”
She wrapped her fingers around the crack where the door was slightly open and tugged. Rob braced his hands against the inside and pushed.
It moved, but only a little bit.
Thea swore. “The hinge is bent,” she said. “I don’t suppose you can get into the backseat? That door’s clear.”
“I’m kind of pinned in here,” Rob said. “I’m probably going to need you to pull me out, to be honest, even if we do get that door open.”
“God.”
“It’s too bad we don’t live in a big city. I’m guessing the roads are too crappy to just call someone to help.”
“Right,” she said, and it sounded as if her teeth were gritted. “I remember how much you prefer big cities.”
What did that mean? Did she have something against cities now? And even if she did, was this really the moment to get into it?
Rob wasn’t going to argue with her. They could talk about the merits of small towns later. Right now, what was important was to get him out of this car.
“Does anyone else know where I am?” he asked.
“Not to my knowledge, unless you told someone,” she said. “I just got lucky. I was walking by here and saw the car.”
“What were you doing out walking in this weather?”
“We’ve got bigger concerns than that right now,” she said. “Do you think if I grabbed a stick, I might be able to wedge this door open with that?”
“You could give it a try,” he said.
“Okay. Hang tight.”
She disappeared, leaving Rob shivering in the car.
He decided he might as well use this time to try to free himself from this awkward position so that he would be ready to climb out when they got the door open. He leaned into the passenger seat, turning his legs to give himself a bit more wiggle room.
Unfortunately, he’d forgotten about the glass in the seat. When he put his hands down, he felt a sharp pain, and then the hot, wet sensation of blood pooling in his palms. He cursed inwardly. That was the last thing he needed!
“Rob?” Thea was back.
“Yeah.”
“Can you lean away from the door?” She looked into the car. “Oh, you’re already doing that.”
“My legs are still trapped, though.”
