Chapter
22
“Nick? Nick? Nick?”
Nick opened his eyes and turned his head groggily towards the
familiar voice calling his name. There,
sitting in the passenger seat next to him, he saw Angela, her eyes wide with
concern.
“Oh, Nick,” she said, sighing in relief. “Thank God you’re okay.”
“What about you? Are you
okay?” Nick asked, more concerned for Angela than for himself.
“My leg hurts. Really bad,”
she said. “But other than that, I’m
fine.”
“Your leg? Do you think
it’s broken?” Nick asked fearfully.
“I don’t know,” she said, “but I can’t move it. It hurts too much.” She glanced down, then added, “and I think
it’s swelling.”
Nick offered her a sympathetic look. “At least we’re both alive. That’s all that matters. It could have been worse.”
“I know,” Angela said softly, her brown eyes filling with
tears. “Nick, I don’t know what I’d do
if I ever lost you.”
“Don’t even think about it then,” Nick said. “Ang, baby, we’re meant for each other, and
nothing’s going to keep up apart.”
“I hope not,” Angela said tearfully. “I’ve lost my whole family. You’re all I have left.”
Nick opened his arms and pulled her into them, holding her tightly
against his body. “Don’t you worry,
honey. I’ll always be here for
you.”
Angela managed a smile.
“And I’ll be here for you too.”
***
Unable to get the car started, Nick and Angela drifted off to
sleep, figuring things would look better in the morning.
When Angela awoke, however, things were not better. The first thing she was aware of was the
sound of rain pelting down on the roof and windows of the car. She opened her eyes to see fat raindrops
hitting the windows hard and running down them quickly. The sky was dark gray, the morning sun
hidden behind low storm clouds.
Angela gently lifted her head from Nick’s shoulder, where it had
lay the rest of the night and turned to see that Nick was sound asleep, his
head resting against his cracked side window.
She smiled slightly as she watched him and rested her head against
the back of her seat, drifting back to sleep.
***
When Angela awoke for the second time, she found Nick gazing
intently at her.
“What?” she asked.
Nick smiled endearingly. “I
was just watching you sleep,” he said.
Angela grinned, rolling her eyes.
“You’re pathetic,” she laughed.
He just grinned back. But
the smile quickly wore off his face.
“What’s wrong?” Angela asked.
“It’s been raining like this all morning, since I woke up, and it
doesn’t look like it’s letting up any.”
He sighed. “It’s gonna be hell
trying to find some help in this kind of storm.”
“What do you mean?” Angela asked.
“I mean we can’t just sit her forever, stranded in our car. I need to go find some help,” Nick said.
“You mean you’re going to go wandering down some strange road in
this storm? I don’t think so,” Angela
replied.
“Ang, what else are we going to do? Just sit here and rot? Think about it… we don’t have any food, any
water, any supplies of any kind. We
can’t stay here forever!” Nick exclaimed.
“Nick, calm down! It’ll be
okay. Someone’s bound to come down the
road soon and find us here, and they can call for help.” She paused then said, “I take it you don’t
have a cell phone with you.”
He shook his head regretfully.
“I was in a hurry to pick you up last night, and I completely forgot
it. It’s charging on my kitchen table at
home.”
“Oh,” Angela said, frowning.
“But look, it’s not the end of the world. Someone will come. You don’t need to go out there, at least not
now. It’s not safe. At least wait until the rain lets up, okay?”
Nick nodded. “Okay,” he
said. “I’ll wait a little longer. But not too long. You need to get to a hospital.”
Angela nodded, suddenly remembering her leg, which had been aching
dully all morning.
“Does it hurt?” Nick asked.
“Not too bad,” she replied.
“It’ll be fine. How about
you? I didn’t ask you last night, but
you’re not hurt, are you?”
“Naw, I’m fine,” he said.
“A little sore, but I’m okay.”
She smiled. “That’s a
relief,” she said. “Don’t you worry,
Nick. We’re gonna be just fine.”
***
