Saving You

  “I’m starved. Let’s go make some lunch.”

  LUKE AND I sat at the picnic table eating a sandwich when an older couple came walking up. We both smiled as we stood up and made our way to them. I held out my hand.

  “Hello, how are y’all today?” I asked as the older gentleman shook my hand. He had the bluest of blue eyes. I turned to the older lady and was taken aback. She looked familiar to me.

  “Hello, how are you young wipper snappers doing this afternoon?” she asked as she looked at me and then at Luke.

  Luke reached his hand out and shook the older gentleman’s hand first, followed by his wife’s.

  “We are doing wonderful. It’s crazy how hardly anyone is here,” Luke said.

  The older gentleman looked around. “Indeed, it is rather quiet. Make sure to stay on the trails. Don’t wander off. Bring those silly phones as well.”

  “I hear you can take pictures with them,” the older lady said with a giggle. Luke and I chuckled.

  “Yes, you can take really good pictures with them. I’m Libby Hayes, this is Luke Johnson.”

  Smiling, the older couple looked at both of us. “Mr. and Mrs. Lambert.”

  I pulled my head back in surprise.

  Mrs. Lambert sucked in a breath and quickly let it out as she clapped her hands together gently. “Well, we should be moving along. The fresh air is wonderful. Keeps you young and healthy, but gets Mr. Lambert sleepy.”

  Luke extended his hand again, “Mr. Lambert, Mrs. Lambert, it was a pleasure. Enjoy the rest of your afternoon.”

  I shook my head and smiled. “It was a pleasure. Have a wonderful day.”

  Mrs. Lambert grinned and nodded her head while Mr. Lambert stepped up to Luke. “Watch your step hiking son and keep an eye out.”

  They turned and began walking away.

  Luke and I stood there and watched them.

  Finally, Luke broke the silence. “That was weird. We didn’t mention going for hike.”

  Wrapping my arms around myself, I nodded. “What‘s even more weird is their last name. My mother’s maiden name is Lambert.”

  Luke glanced over at me. “Really? That is weird.” Turning back, he shrugged his shoulders. “Let’s hit that trail. I want to make it to the falls with plenty of time to get back before it gets dark.”

  Walking back over to the tent, Luke ducked inside as I stood there and watched the Lamberts until I couldn’t see them anymore. A strange feeling washed over my body.

  Making my way back to the campsite, I grabbed my phone from the picnic table. It was at eighty percent. I shoved it into my back pocket. Luke came out of the tent and smiled. He handed me a sweatshirt. “In case it gets chilly by the falls.” I took the sweatshirt and wrapped it around my waist tying it.

  “I don’t think I’ll need it, but just in case,” I said. Grabbing two bottles of water, Luke and I began walking. Peeking over at him, he seemed nervous as hell. “Is everything okay? You seem nervous?”

  Giving me a nervous chuckle, Luke pushed his hand into his pocket. He pulled it out and ran his hand through his hair. “Nah, it’s all good here.”

  Looking ahead I smiled.

  My heart began racing. I couldn’t wait to tell him. I almost told him when we were laying on the blanket, but I decided I would tell him when we got to the falls.

  Grinning like a fool, I held onto Luke’s hand as we made our way to the trailhead.

  LIBBY AND I walked along the Gorman Falls trail hand in hand. I must have checked six times to make sure I had the ring in my pocket. I attempted to calm my nerves. I had no idea why I was nervous. I’d already asked her once and she said yes, so I was pretty sure her answer would be the same.

  Libby sucked in a breath and pointed. “Luke, oh my gosh, there it is!” I looked straight ahead. I heard the water before I saw it. Then the falls came into view. It was perfect.

  “It’s beautiful,” Libby whispered as we drew closer to it. We walked to a clearing that had a perfect view of the falls. The rocks surrounding the falls were covered in moss. The green was bright against the clear water falling all around it. Spring flowers were beginning to pop up everywhere and the smell was amazing. Peeking over, I watched as Libby took the scene in.

  Libby smiled and shook her head. “I’ve never seen anything so beautiful. I don’t think this day could get any better. This is the perfect spot to share—”

  Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out the ring box and fell to one knee. I took Libby’s hand in mine and cleared my throat. Libby turned and the moment she saw me on my knee she stopped talking. Her left hand came up and covered her mouth.

  “I remember sitting in your kitchen one day and your father walked in. He leaned down and kissed you on the cheek, then turned to your mother and greeted her with the sweetest kiss I’d ever seen. I think I was about sixteen at the time. I’ll never forget what he said to her.”

  Libby moved her hand and wiped away her tears. “What did he say?”

  I gazed into Libby’s beautiful blue eyes. “He told her she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. Then he kissed her and whispered against her lips, ‘I’ll love you forever plus infinity, princess.’”

  Libby let out a small laugh. “He’s always called her princess.”

  I nodded my head. “I know, and they’ve always mentioned loving each other for infinity, but it was something about that moment. It was different. I never understood what it was until the first time I made love to you.”

  Biting on her lip, Libby began to sob. “It was different because in that moment, I knew I wanted that with the girl who was sitting next to me. She wasn’t only my best friend; she was the most beautiful girl I’d ever laid eyes on. The girl who made my heart stop with the sound of her voice.”

  Dropping her hand, I opened the ring box. Libby let out a gasp. “Oh my goodness.” Both hands came up and covered her mouth as tears streamed down her face. “It’s beyond beautiful.”

  Inside I was fist pumping and thanking God she liked the ring. “I saw this ring and immediately thought of you, Libby. The color just reminds me of you. Sunshine. You are the sunshine in my life every single day. You warm me, make me feel so loved, and so very blessed to call you mine. Your light is like the ocean. It kept pulling me to you when all I wanted to do was run away. You led me back to you when I was so scared of my feelings. I promise you, Libby. I will never leave your light again. Ever.”

  Falling to her knees Libby cupped her hands on my face. “I love you, so very much.”

  “And I love you, baby. So very much. I want nothing more than to make you my wife.”

  Libby dropped her hands and looked down at the ring and then back into my eyes. “Isabella Gemma Hayes, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife and lifelong side-kick in pranks?”

  Her smile grew bigger on her face and she let out a short chuckle. “Yes, and yes!”

  I took the ring out of the box and reached for Libby’s hand. I slipped the ring onto her finger as Libby gazed upon the ring. Libby threw her arms around me and kissed me. I could kiss her forever.

  Pulling back, our eyes met. “I’ve never been so happy in my entire life. Pinch me so I know I’m not dreaming.”

  Placing my hand behind her neck, I brought her lips back to mine and gently bit her lower lip before sucking it into my mouth as she let out a long low moan from the back of her throat.

  Standing up, I took her hands in mine. “Come on, I want to climb to the top. Colt said the view is amazing.”

  Libby and I began walking along the trail and climbing further up. A few times, I stopped and reached back to help her up and over rocks. “Are we still on the trail, Luke?”

  Looking around, I called over my shoulder. “It looks like it. Damn thing is steeper than it looks.”

  “And taller!” Libby called out. “If I scratch my new ring, it’s your fault.”

  Laughing, I made my way over rocks. Finally, making it to the top I saw the trail. “Shit. We must hav
e gotten off of it somewhere along the way.”

  Libby walked up next to me. It took us longer to hike up to the top than I thought it would. It was already getting late. My plans of taking Libby against a tree may have to wait. Walking along another trail I cut across to get to the other side. The view looked better. Looking back to check on Libby every now and then to make sure she was still right behind me. “Doing okay, Lib?” She gave me a thumbs up and said, “Yep.”

  “Be careful, it’s a steep drop off on this side. Let’s get to the right trail and then we’ll start heading back down.”

  Libby smiled. “Okay.”

  I glanced up to see where the trail was and quickly looked down when I heard something. A rattlesnake sat on the rock I was about to step on. I kicked a rock, causing it to hit the snake. It lashed out but thankfully toward the direction of the rock and not me. I jumped back and my foot landed right on the edge of the cliff.

  Shit! I felt the rock slip and I knew I was going to slip right with it. I tried to find something to grab onto. Libby screamed out my name as I began to go over the edge. Trying to ride it down on my ass, my foot hit a boulder, causing me to tumble forward. The moment my head hit the rock I felt the pain. It was almost more than I could bear. One more hit of my leg on something and I heard a crack and let out a scream. The pain moved up my leg and my body instantly felt cold. I couldn’t tell what hurt worse, my head or my leg. Yelling out, I could hear Libby above me screaming. All I could think about was the snake. When I finally came to a stop, I looked up. Using all my strength, I yelled out, “Libby! Rattlesnake, get out of there.”

  Everything started to get blurry. I could barely hear Libby calling out my name. I heard her scream again and I tried to turn in the direction of her voice. She was sliding down the trail on her ass. She stood up and began limping as she made her way over to me.

  She fell down next to me as she began crying harder. Her face had dirt on it and I could make out the trail her tears were making. “Oh God, Oh God, Luke. Your head is gashed open and—” She looked down at my leg and let out a gasp. My right leg was throbbing. Her hands covered her mouth as she began crying harder. “There’s so much blood! I see your bone; it’s sticking out of your shin.” She snapped her head back to me as she shook her head quickly. “Luke! I don’t know what to do!”

  Swallowing hard, I tried to talk, but the pain was unbelievable. My head was killing me and everything seemed to be clouding over. “Call … for … help.”

  Libby quickly stood and reached into her back pocket. When she pulled her phone out her mouth dropped open. She began shaking her head as she screamed out, “No. No. No! It’s broke! Oh my God, my phone must have broken when I slipped and fell.”

  I held out my hand and Libby fell to her knees again. Luke, “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry!”

  “It’s okay baby, we have to hike out of here, but I need you to stop the bleeding.”

  Her eyes widened in horror. “How do I stop the bleeding? I don’t know how to stop the bleeding.”

  Taking in a deep breath. “A tourniquet, Lib. You have to make a tourniquet. Use your belt baby.”

  Libby pulled her belt off. “Put it above the open wound and get it as tight as you can.”

  Libby began placing the tourniquet on. Her eyes moved to mine. “How do I get it tight without hurting you?”

  “Just get it as tight as you can.”

  Libby closed her eyes and pulled the belt as tight as she could. I bit the inside of my cheek and tried like hell not to call out.

  “That’s as tight as I can get it, Luke.” Standing up she looked down. “You’ve lost so much blood.” Placing her hands over her mouth again, she began crying. “Oh God.”

  “Baby, I need you to find the biggest stick you can, but watch for snakes. I need to get up so we can hike out of here.

  Her eyes widened in horror. “You can’t hike out of here, Luke.”

  Standing, she began screaming. “Help! Somebody help us!” She started to walk toward the trail. She had blood running down from her knee and she was limping.

  My head hurt so damn bad. I’m so sleepy. I glanced over to Libby. Everything was starting to get blurry. “Lib, help me up.”

  Libby came running back over with a giant stick. “I found this.”

  Getting next to me, Libby wrapped her arms around me as I held the stick in one hand and wrapped my arm around her shoulders. Somehow I got up. “See, I told you. We’re gonna get out of here and find help.”

  “Did you not bring your phone, Luke?”

  Shaking my head I whispered, “No.” I felt pain everywhere as we began making our way slowly back down the trail. I couldn’t put any pressure on my broken leg and tried hopping. Every move shot pain through my body.

  Everything started spinning. “Luke, the road wasn’t that far. Maybe a half a mile. We took the longer trail, we can make it.”

  Everything went black. “Lib, wait. It’s all spinning. Everything is black.”

  I felt Libby move as she guided me somewhere. “There’s a fallen tree. Can you sit on it, Luke?”

  The temperature must have been dropping. The wind picked up and was blowing. “Libby, the cold front is moving through early.”

  I started shaking. “I need to lie down.”

  Libby placed her hands on my face. “Look at me. Luke, please look at me.” I slowly opened my eyes and saw her beautiful blue eyes.

  “Libby. My head hurts, and my leg … the pain.”

  Glancing down she let out a small gasp. “Your bleeding picked up again. We need to get help, Luke. Libby pulled her sweatshirt off of her waist and began putting it over my head. “Put this on, it will warm you up.”

  Standing Libby screamed out, “Help! Please someone help us!”

  Bending down she looked into my eyes. “I’m not going far. I’m going to walk a little ways to call out for help. I promise, I’m not leaving.”

  “I’m so tired.”

  Quickly wiping her eyes, she shook her head. “You can’t go to sleep. Please don’t go to sleep. You hit your head, Luke. Promise me you won’t go to sleep.”

  “Promise.”

  She quickly walked down the trail calling out for help. Her voice got further and further away. I forced myself to keep my eyes open. Reaching down I tightened the belt the best I could. I felt like I was going to throw up when I saw the bone sticking out.

  I need to rest my eyes. Just for a few minutes. I closed my eyes and the pain started to slowly go away.

  “Luke! Luke, wake up! You promised me!” Libby yelled out.

  “Stop yelling, Lib. My head fucking hurts.” Libby began kissing all over my face. I opened my eyes and looked at her.

  “I can’t find anyone. There is no one. It’s dark now and everyone will be at their campsites.

  Libby’s lips were trembling. “You’re cold, Lib.”

  Shaking her head. “I’m scared. I’m fine.”

  “I’m so thirsty,” I whispered. Libby grabbed the backpack she had put on and took out a bottle of water. She placed it up to my lips and I took a small drink.

  “So. Good.”

  I barely had any energy to talk. “Lib, you’re gonna … have to … leave me. Go … find … help and leave me.”

  She stared at me as a tear rolled down her cheek. “Lib, if I don’t get help soon—”

  “No! Stop talking like that. Stop right now. I can’t leave you alone. You have to stay awake, Luke! You’re going to be fine. We’re going to be fine.”

  I SAT WITH my knees pulled up to my chest as I rocked back and forth. Luke was drifting in and out of consciousness. My throat was hoarse from calling out and I was so cold.

  Looking up I began crying. “Please, please don’t do this. I beg of you. Please.”

  “Libby, darling. It’s so cold out here.”

  Turning, I looked to see Mr. and Mrs. Lambert standing there. Jumping up, I went over to them. “W—what are you two doing out here? It’s dark and so c
old?”

  Mrs. Lambert placed her hand on my cheek. “Are you giving up, Libby?”

  I jerked my head back. “No? I just don’t know what to do. I can’t leave him. He keeps trying to sleep and—” I began crying. “I can’t leave him. Please … can you … will you please go get help? Please!”

  Mrs. Lambert nodded her head. “Of course, darling.”

  Mr. Lambert rested his hand on my shoulder. “Libby, you have to give him hope. He’s giving up.”

  “I—I don’t know how to!”

  Smiling he looked over at Luke and then back at me. “You do, darling. You do. Tell him your news.”

  Luke let out a moan I turned and looked at him. “I need y’all to go and find—” I spun back to talk to Mr. and Mrs. Lambert and they were gone. “Hello? Mr. Lambert? Mrs. Lambert. Wait! Please get help!”

  “Libby,” Luke called out in a weak voice. I made my way back over to him. My knee was killing me. I dropped down next to him. He smiled as I put his head in my lap.

  “I saw Mr. and Mrs. Lambert. They’re going to get help, baby. Please hold on.”

  Luke closed his eyes and opened them. A single tear rolled down his face. “I wanted to get married, have a baby. I had so … many plans.”

  I thrashed my head back and forth. “No, don’t you give up, Luke Johnson.”

  “I dreamed of us walking along with a little girl. We … we were swinging her as we walked.”

  Tears flowed from my face as Mr. Lambert’s words came back to me. “You have to give him hope. Tell him your news.”

  “We’re going to, Luke. We’re going to have that little girl.”

  He slowly nodded his head. “Libby, no one is going to find us until tomorrow. I can’t wait … that long. I’m so sorry, baby.”

  “No, no, no. Luke I need you to listen to me. I had my own surprise for you. I was waiting to tell you at the falls, but then you surprised me when you asked me to marry you.”

  Luke eyes opened and looked into my eyes. “Luke, you can’t leave me. You can’t because we’re going to have a baby.”