Page 11 of Searching for Bristol
“You ready for a break?” he asked.
They hadn’t talked much as he carried her up and around the outcropping of rocks she’d fallen off. She wasn’t very heavy, all things considered, but with the combined weight of their packs on his back, trying to be careful about where he stepped, and not hurting her as he trekked through the woods, he could use a ten-minute break himself. And Bristol had to be hurting pretty badly by now.
“Yes,” she said without prevaricating.
He liked that about her. Liked that she wasn’t afraid to admit she needed to stop.
“All right. There’s a rock here. I’m going to lean over and put your butt down on it. Donottry to move your legs yourself. Catch your balance with your hands, then I’ll lower your legs straight out. Got it?”
She nodded.
Rocky had bandaged her hands, but they too were probably still sore. A sour feeling swirled in his belly. He didn’t like the thought of her hurting at all. But like she’d said earlier, everything was painful at the moment. She’d been very lucky, all things considered, that all she had was a possible broken leg and various scrapes and bruises. She most likely had a concussion, if her symptoms she’d told him about were anything to go by, but now that three days had passed, she was over the worst of that.
“Okay, here we go. Deep breath.” When she inhaled deeply, Rocky did just as he’d described, placing her ass on the rock and waiting until she had her balance. Then he carefully lowered her legs, resting her heels on the dirt in front of her.
Bristol’s face was white and her teeth were biting into her lower lip, but she didn’t cry out in pain. Just did as he asked and let him move her where he thought she’d be most comfortable.
“On a scale of one to ten, with ten being the worst pain you’ve ever felt in your life, where do you stand?” he asked.
“Five,” she said between clenched teeth.
Rocky blinked in surprise. “Seriously?” he blurted. He would’ve thought she’d say at least an eight.
“Yes.”
“When have you been a ten?” he couldn’t help but ask.
Her eyes opened, and he realized the painkillers he’d given her were definitely doing their job. He should’ve thought about that.
“There’s pain, then there’spain,” she said with a sigh. “The most pain I’ve felt was the day my dad died from colon cancer. I was completely helpless to do anything for him.
“My parents did an amazing job raising me. Never complained when it was obvious I was more into the arts than something moreuseful, like math or science. They encouraged me to take as many art classes as I could fit into my schedule. Then when I majored in art in college, they still didn’t say one damn thing to discourage me. And believe me, plenty of other people told me I’d never make a living as an artist. Said I needed a fallback plan. But all I’ve ever wanted to do was create pretty things. My mom was my first paying customer when I opened my online store. She even used a fake name, so I wouldn’t know it was her. She only told me years later.” She smiled fondly at the memory.
“Anyway, when Daddy told me he had cancer…I wanted so badly to fix it. Use some of the money I’d made to get him the best doctor in the world. I’ve never felt the kind of pain I did at that moment, knowing my big strong father was dying. He tried the chemo and radiation and stuff, but it didn’t work. All I could do was hold his hand as he took his last breath. Nothing physical can ever compare.”
Rocky felt awful. He hadn’t meant to bring up such a painful memory. “I’m sorry.”
“Thanks,” she said without hesitation. “The seventh anniversary of his death is coming up, and it still hurts just as badly as it did when he passed. But…life goes on, you know? You can’t go back and change things, no matter how much you wish you could.”
“I know.”
Bristol looked him in the eye then, and he felt as if she could somehow read his mind. But instead of asking any questions, she just nodded.
“My dad died when I was young,” Rocky said, feeling a compulsion to share. “I didn’t know him all that well, not like you knew yours. My mom raised me, my brother and our sister. She’s awesome. I couldn’t imagine losing her like you lost your dad.”
“You have a brother?” she asked. “And a sister?”
Rocky eased the pack off his back and lay down right in the middle of the trail. He stretched his back and enjoyed being off his feet for a moment. Bristol wasn’t exactly heavy, but carrying someone while hiking through the woods wasn’t something he normally did, and his muscles were already telling him he was going to pay for the exertion over the next few days.
Looking up at the treetops, he nodded. “Yup. And my brother, Ethan, lives in Fallport too. We’re twins.”
“Twins? Lord save us all if there are two of you walking around!” Bristol exclaimed.
Rocky chuckled. “Unfortunately, he’s the good-looking one. We’re fraternal twins, so we don’t exactly look alike.”
“You’re kidding, right?”
Rocky frowned and turned his head to look at her. “About the fact we’re twins? No.”
