Page 42 of The Do-Over
THEA
Side by side, they plodded along through the snow.
Every few moments, Thea glanced over at Rob. He seemed to be walking without any trouble, and he was moving in a straight line—he didn’t seem dizzy. Those were good signs. She had checked his pupils while he was down, and they didn’t seem dilated, although it was dark enough that it was hard to be sure.
Under optimal circumstances, she would have liked to get him to a hospital. But an ambulance definitely wouldn’t be able to get through. She’d been in communication with the hospital in Ames all evening, trying to arrange care for her patients, and they hadn’t been able to offer anything helpful. Thanks to the severity of the snowstorm, Deer Ridge was—as frequently happened—on its own.
So Thea had been making her usual rounds on foot tonight. She’d visited all her patients, carrying along the extra stock of their medications that she kept and making sure everyone was supplied for the next couple of days, at least. For those who didn’t live with younger family members, she’d checked their cupboards to see that they were stocked up on food as well.
She’d been on her way home when she had seen the car in the ditch.
Thea knew all too well what could happen to drivers who went off the road in Deer Ridge, especially when they were just outside town limits, as Rob had been. It might have been days before anyone checked who or what was in that car. If you didn’t get out by yourself and walk away from an accident like that, sometimes you didn’t make it out at all.
He probably wasn’t concussed. She was pretty sure.
But something wasn’t right with him. He was definitely acting weird.
“Are your parents going to mind?” he asked her as they trudged along.
“Mind what?” Thea asked.
“Me being at your house.”
“I don’t know why they would care,” she said. “I mean, I’m not planning on calling them up and checking with them.”
“But you don’t think they’ll be surprised when they come home and find me there?”
She looked at him. “I don’t still live with my parents, Rob.” She knew he was Deer Ridge’s big success story, but why would he assume she was that much of a failure? She was a little offended.
Rob frowned. “What are you talking about?”
“I’ve got my own place,” she said. “I mean, I’m sure you weren’t thinking about me when you made arrangements to come back here, but I would have thought that you’d know I would have my own place.”
“You have your own place?” he repeated.
She wanted to retort, but it didn’t sound as if he was making fun of her. He sounded genuinely incredulous.
They had reached the town proper by now, and she turned toward the little home where she lived. Rob seemed completely confused, but he followed her.
“This is my place,” she said, unlocking the door.
“How did you even afford a place like this?” Rob asked her.
“Do you even know what I do for a living?”
“I…you don’t have a job.”
She closed her eyes.
Rob wasn’t trying to insult her. She was nearly certain of it now. Something was really wrong.
She took him by the arm and led him into the kitchen, where she sat him down on a chair. He looked confused, and he was starting to look a little upset.
“I’m going to get you something to drink,” she said quietly. “I want you to stay there, okay?”
“Okay, Thee.”
It was the nickname he’d called her in high school, when they were still…in love, her mind supplied, but she pushed the words away. That part of her life was a long time ago, and she couldn’t even afford to entertain the memory. She had been too badly hurt, and she didn’t want to go down that road again.
