I should have stayed away. I never should have gone back. 

I leaned against the railing and hung my head.

God damn it. Caroline ruins everything. 

And just like I had four years ago, I fucking let her. I walked away because at twenty-three, I didn’t think I had a choice. 

Now Bambi is off wandering through the woods alone because of another choice I’ve made. The choices I keep making. 

Except… no one forced my hand this time. No, this was all my doing. 

My fingers tightened around the railing, the wood groaning beneath my palms. 

I pulled in a deep breath, the cold air burning my lungs. 

You can’t just keep me in dark. 

Her voice cut through my mind, sharp as glass. 

Maybe she was right. 

But admitting the truth meant confronting a part of me, a part of my past, I wasn’t sure I was ready to face. 

I lifted my head and stared at the pines stretching out across the property.

Regardless of how I felt or whatever the hell was going on in my head, I couldn’t let her keep wandering out there. 

My phone buzzed in my pocket. 

I pulled it out and my breath seized. An emergency weather warning flashed across the screen.

“Shit.”

I whirled around, throwing the back door open and rushed inside. I yanked mine and Bambi’s coats off the rack by the door, knocking the stand to the ground.

I tore back through the house and outside. I launched myself off the porch and into the yard, following the footprints she’d left behind.

If anything fucking happened—

No. I couldn’t let myself go down that road. Nothing was going to happen. I wouldn’t let it.

“Bambi!”

I had just crossed into the treeline when thick, heavy snow began to fall.

Damn it. The storm was rolling in faster than expected. It should have been another hour at least before it hit us here. The shit service around the cottage must’ve caused the weather warning to come in late. 

I glanced up at the gray clouds blanketing the sky. With how quickly the snow was already falling, it wouldn’t be long before the conditions worsened. 

Fuck! Her footprints! 

I quickened my pace, keeping my gaze on her tracks as they led deeper into the pines. There was no time to waste. If the snow covered up her tracks, it could take hours to find her.

I didn’t have hours. 

I needed to find her. Now.

A gust of wind swept through the pines, the cold biting at my skin. I slung my jacket around me and pulled up the collar. 

I clutched Bambi’s coat tighter. “Hold on, Bambi. I’m coming.”

The further into the woods I got, the worse the weather was becoming. The wind picked up, blowing snow all around me until I could barely distinguish the ground from the sky.

 My thighs strained with each step, but I gritted my teeth against the burn and kept pushing forward.

I only made it a few more feet before Bambi’s trail vanished from sight. The tracks were damn near impossible to make out through the heavy snowfall. 

My chest tightened as visions of Bambi, freezing and frostbitten, flashed through my mind.

“Bambi!” I shouted against the wind. 

Where the fuck are you?

I turned in a circle, my gaze sweeping across the ground for her footprints.

My eyes caught on a deep impression in the snow. I didn’t stop to consider whether it was made by her or something else. My body just moved toward it. 

A fallen log lay partially buried in the snow, obscured from sight. She must’ve tripped over it and gone down. 

She was here. The impression had to have been hers.

Just as I went to step over the log, something on the bark caught my eye. I bent down to get a closer look. It was a torn piece of black fabric snagged on a splinter jutting from the wood.

Her sweatpants. The ones I’d given her. I pulled the fabric free and my fingers came away slick with blood. 

She was hurt. 

I didn’t waste another second. I charged into the trees. 

“Bambi!” I shouted, praying like hell that she was close enough to hear me. 

My only answer was the sound of branches snapping as gusts of wind ripped through the trees. 

My pulse hammered just as violently. 

Each second that passed put her in more danger. She was hurt. Bleeding. The temperature was dropping fast, and visibility was close to shit. 

Why did she leave? 

Why did you fucking let her?

“Come on, Bambi,” I muttered through clenched teeth. “Where are you?”

I pushed deeper into the woods and still I hadn’t found any sign of her. 

It’s all your fault. 

“Shut up,” I growled.

You’ll never see her again.

“Shut. Up!”

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to drown out the voice in my head. 

When I opened them again, a flicker of orange flashed through the trees.

I blinked once, thinking I had imagined it, but the glow was steady. Faint, but it was there. 

I exhaled hard. 

I plowed my way toward it, refusing to lose sight of it.

A dark shape emerged through the pines. It morphed. Grew. Then I was standing outside of rickety, dilapidated shed.

A warm orange glow flickered through the lone window above the door. 

I damn near ripped the door from its rusted hinges and threw myself inside.

Curled into a ball in the far corner was Bambi. 

I was beside her in an instant. I wrapped her coat around her, then pulled her against my chest, holding her as close as I could. 

A small whimper escaped her blue lips, and the sound nearly fucking broke me.

I held her tighter. “I’ve got you, Bambi. I’ve got you.”

She nuzzled her head into my chest and wrapped a frigid arm around my waist. “I-I knew you-you’d find me,” she whispered.

“Of course I would,” I said, resting my cheek on the top of her head. 

I’d have hunted the entire universe to find you, Bambi.

“Admit i-it,” she half-laughed through chattering teeth. “Y-you care.”

I don’t know if it was the exhaustion, the loss of adrenaline… or just her, but there wasn’t an ounce of fight or denial left in me. 

“I never stopped.”

She didn’t say anything after that. Her fingers just curled into my side. And I guess she didn’t need to say anything. Maybe just hearing the words out loud was enough. For both of us. 

The shed creaked and groaned against the wind, small gusts slipping through the cracks. The small fire Bambi had managed to build crackled softly. The heat wasn’t much, but it took the edge off the chill.

We stayed like this, huddled in the corner, holding onto each other as the storm raged around us.

When Bambi’s shivers had eased enough and the color had returned to her lips, I pulled away. “I need to look at your leg, Bambi.”

She groaned in protest, her fingertips digging into my skin to keep me close. 

I brushed back damp strands of hair from her face. She tilted her head back, her eyes slowly fluttering open. 

“I have to,” I said softly. “I don’t know how much longer the storm’s going to last, Bambi, and if your leg gets infected, I have nothing here to treat it.”

She nodded and slowly unwrapped her arms from around me. She adjusted her position, propped herself up against the wall, and laid her leg across my lap. 

Right below her knee was the tear in the fabric, an angry red gash peeking through. I pushed the sweatpants up her leg to get a better look.

Bambi winced and sucked in a sharp breath. 

“I know. I’m sorry,” I said. 

I carefully pressed along the edges of the gash, checking for any splinters that might have been lodged inside. 

“Hurts,” she croaked.

“I know it does. I know. Just a little more.”

She squeezed her eyes shut, bit down on her lower lip, and nodded.

Thankfully, her wound was clear and wasn’t deep enough that she’d need stitches. I’d still need to cover it, though, to keep it from getting worse.

I glanced around the shed, hoping to find something I could use to wrap her leg, but found nothing besides oil-stained rags and mildewy scraps of canvas.

Fuck. 

I lifted the bottom of my shirt, caught the hem between my teeth, and yanked, tearing the fabric until it came away in a long strip. I slid a hand under her calf and gently lifted her leg, propping her foot up on my thigh. I covered the gash with the flat section of the fabric and crossed the ends behind her calf. 

“Take a deep breath for me, Bambi.”

Her eyes were still shut, but she nodded and did as I asked. 

As she inhaled, I pulled the knot snug. 

“All done,” I said, lowering her leg back into my lap. “You did great, Bambi.” 

Bambi’s eyes opened slowly, her gaze finding mine immediately. Her eyes were red-rimmed and glossy, tears welling at the corners.

“Bambi,” I said, barely able to keep my voice from cracking. “Come here.”

I shifted closer, hooked one arm beneath her knees and one behind her back and lifted her into my lap. 

She rested her head against my chest and clutched the front of my shirt between her fingers. 

I wrapped my arms around her and she melted into me. 

I leaned my head back against the wall and closed my eyes, listening to the steady rhythm of Bambi’s breathing.

Some of the tightness in my chest had eased, but I wouldn’t be able to fully relax until I got her home. 

My attention shifted to the small window above the door. The snowfall had slowed and the shed was no longer being battered by fierce winds. 

If I was going to get her home, it would have be now. Storms around this area had a habit of picking up again, and worse than before, which meant this might be the best chance we had. We risked getting snowed in otherwise, and it could be hours… shit, another day, before we could leave. 

One look at Bambi and the decision was made. 

“Bambi,” I whispered. “It’s time go.”

“Home?” she asked quietly.

“Yeah. Home. We’re going home.”

She lifted her head from my chest and started to pull herself from my lap.

“Woah,” I said, gripping her elbow. “Easy now. Let me help you.”

She planted her feet on the floor, and I placed my hands on her waist to steady her. 

“Hold onto my shoulder, Bambi. Push up. There you go.” 

Her legs were shaky, but she managed to find her balance and stand. 

I pushed to my feet and moved beside Bambi. “You okay? How’s your leg?”

“Fine,” she said. “Sore, but I can stand.”

“Let me see,” I said, dropping to one knee. “I just want to make sure the bandage won’t shift as you walk.” 

I lifted her pant leg, my fingertips brushing the back of her calf. She shivered and wobbled slightly on her feet. 

My hands immediately shot to the backs of her thighs before she could lose her balance. 

She pulled in a sharp breath, and her hands found my shoulders. “Thanks.” 

I nodded before checking the bandage again. It was still wrapped snugly around her calf. “Straighten your leg for me, Bambi. Good. Again.” 

“When did you become a doctor?” she asked. 

“You learn to pick up on a few things when living this far out from the rest of the city,” I said. I rolled her pant leg back down and got to my feet. “Help isn’t always right around the corner. Learned that the hard way.”

She had that look in her eyes, the one that always appeared when she wanted to know more.

“Oh,” was all she said. 

“I’ll tell you about it another time,” I said. “Let’s get you home first.”

“’Kay.”

I slid my arm around her waist and helped her to the door. Then, I shrugged my jacket off, wrapped it around Bambi’s shoulders, and held my hand out to her. “Ready?” 

Bambi slid her hand into mine and held it tight.

I pushed the door open with my other hand, but just as I was about to step outside, she squeezed my hand hard and pulled me back. 

Her brown eyes were wide as she looked up at me. “Don’t let go,” she said, her voice quivering.

I faced her fully, gently squeezing her hand back. 

“Never.”

With a final nod between us, we stepped out of the head and started home. 

Chapter Seven →