Page 3 of Penn
I bite down on my cheek, trying not to tell her shedidburn alotof her face tonight, and that she may never look the same again. There are no mirrors out here, thank God. And I’m pretty sure the fact she’s alive is her main concern right now. But once the pain eases and she starts to heal some…she may care that she looks different than she did before and that it might take a lot of surgeries to come close to how she used to look. To feel like herself in her own skin again.
“What do you even look like?” Her question breaks into my thoughts. “You have a nice voice…”
“I do?” I chuckle warmly.
“Mmhm…I didn’t really see you earlier?”
“I know. You were too busy cookin’ up something fucking mouthwatering smelling.”
“Those were gonna be some delicious ribeye.”
“Maybe you can make them for me someday? And in exchange, I’ll let ya see my ugly mug.”
“No way you’re ugly with a voice that hot…” She reaches out to feel my hand and then curious little fingers scope up my arm, making a path up to my chest and making my cock instantly twitch.
I grab her hand. “Stop that. We should get going to the hospital.”
“Closest one is in Pigeon Forge.”
“That’s correct.”
“Two hours away.”
“Roger.”
“No, Penn. Please, no.”
“You need medical attention.”
“You’remedical. You’re giving me attention.”
“Hearth, I don’t have the supplies, the equipment…”
“I want to stay here.”
I exhale a grievous sigh. I have no idea why she would be so stubborn about this, but I’m not about to drag her anywhere against her will. Maybe that’s a decision for me to regret later. For right now, I am just intent on tending to her the best I know how.
“Fine. Wait here a sec.” I stand up to go grab a blanket and pillow from her tent and bring it over into mine. My tent isn’t meant for two people, but we can make do. Once the bedding is all made up and I open up some vents to let in the breeze, I gently bring her over to it.
I’ve completely forgotten about my grumbling stomach earlier, and when I ask if she’s hungry, she declines food. I tidy up the wound and dress it again. Caring for it will mean I need to stay awake pretty much all night to continually redress it, but as I draw Hearth up into my arms to fit us both comfortably in the tent, I continue to have zero regrets. Laying the back of her head on my chest, her breathing syncs with mine. Cool night air starts to float into the tent, and we both sigh.
A getaway, a hideout, a camping spot—call it what you want. I come here to try to unsee some of the shit I have to see, to pretend it didn’t happen, doesn’t exist. For some of the other guys I work with, they can detach, compartmentalize. Not for me. I have to release it all out here before I can go back and be around my family and my handful of close friends and act like none of it ever affected me.
At least, that’s why I first started coming out here, after I stumbled upon it while taking a drive just trying to get lost. Then, after a few trips I found that I just liked it. I need the grounding, the fresh air. The distance. It feels like a second home. And the land…it’s impossible to explore every corner of it.I can’t afford any meaningful amount of land of my own yet but someday, I will. Someday, I’ll take some good, hardy land like this and make it my own.
It’s weird to not be alone out here, to be perfectly honest. I know why I’m here. But why on God’s green fucking earth—
I let out another deep breath, turning my attention to this incredible girl who somehow spun my world off its axis and is growing more and more comfortable in my tent, tucked into my side.
“You awake?” I whisper.
“Yeah.”
“Wanna talk?”
“Yeah.”
“So, why’d you come out here anyway?” I finally ask. “To find inspiration?” I take a guess.