Once I was safe in the air, Nathan turned to talk to Derrick and the others. “Micah, take your shirt off and give it to Derrick. You, too, Gabriel. Luke, grab Micah. Gabe, get Tom. Let’s go back.”
“I’m not getting carried out,” Micah said. He backed up but I could see from my position that his legs were already red.
“Derrick, tie the shirts to your legs,” Nathan ordered.
Derrick caught the shirts in the air that were tossed to him and bent over to tie them at his knees. When he was finished, he grabbed Micah by his belly and hoisted him over his shoulder.
“Put me down,” Micah said, squirming. Since he had his shirt off and was sweating, Derrick nearly slipped trying to hang on to him.
“If you don’t stop wiggling, I’m going to drop you into the nettles,” Derrick hoisted him again.
“Fine. Just don’t drop me.”
Tom hopped on Luke’s back without question.
“Jessica,” Nathan turned around to face her. She was standing by, watching us. Her face flushed. “Take us out of here. Shortest path.”
Jessica nodded, took one look around and then started heading toward the tree line again. Nathan followed close behind her. I did my best to try to hold on by my legs on to his back. I shifted my arms so I wasn’t strangling his neck. My palms pressed against Nathan’s chest.
Nathan didn’t seem to notice me wriggling. His hands gripped at my thighs to the point where I thought it would cause bruising but I didn’t want to tell him it might be a little too strong.
Jessica was a pro. She threaded her way through the trees and picked the easiest paths that would allow those carrying people to get through without too much trouble.
“Still think it was a bad idea to bring Jessica?” I whispered to Nathan as he marched forward.
He glanced back at me over his shoulder. It was the first I noticed where he hadn’t shaved for a few days. With his tan skin and his reddish hair, it was nearly undetectable. It was unbelievably appealing. “Don’t you ever tell her I said that,” he said.
Soon Jessica had us back to the long grass path that was behind Kota’s house.
“Put me down,” Micah said. “I can walk from here.”
Derrick dropped Micah into the grass. Micah crashed on his back. He grumbled but stood up. Tom jumped off of Luke’s back, giving an appreciative nod. At least one of them was polite.
“We made it,” Tom said. “I thought for sure we’d gotten turned around and we were lost again.”
“Want to put me down?” I asked Nathan.
He retucked his arms under my thighs and hoisted me higher on his back. “I’ve got you. Let’s get home.”
We made it to the two palm trees in Kota’s back yard. Max, Kota’s golden retriever, was tethered in the back yard. He barked when we approached, and sniffed at our legs.
Nathan was still carrying me through the back yard and onto the driveway when a familiar green sedan pulled into the drive. Erica took one look at our faces and at Nathan carrying me through her windshield and parked her car in front of the garage doors. She jumped out, her mouth open in surprise. “What happened to you all?”
“Stinging nettle,” Jessica said. “Sang’s legs were stung. And so were the boys’.”
“I’m okay,” Derrick said. “They didn’t get me that bad.” He stood on the concrete and untied the makeshift pants made from shirts, handing them back to Gabriel and Micah.
“I’m out of here,” Micah said. He sprinted off toward the road.
Tom shrugged, waved goodbye and followed along, nearly sprinting on his way.
“I’m going to make sure they cross the road without getting run over,” Derrick said. “See you guys later.”
“Bye,” Luke said.
“Well, get Sang inside,” Erica said, a sympathetic smile on her face. She unclipped her nametags off of her nurse’s uniform and tucked them into the purse on her arm. “We’ll put some lotion on her.”
Nathan carried me into the house. Jessica headed into her bedroom to change. Erica dropped her purse on the kitchen table and disappeared to the downstairs bathroom to grab the first aid kit. Gabriel pulled out a seat at the table and Nathan knelt so I could slide off his back.
After I sat in the chair, Nathan took the seat next to me, scooting his chair over. He lifted my foot up into his lap so he could bend over and inspect my leg.
There were tiny blotches covering my skin from the top of my feet to my knees. His warm breath fell over my calf. I twitched, the intense itching resurfacing. I reached down to rub at them but Nathan smacked my hand when I tried. “You scratch at it now, you’ll just keep scratching until it bleeds.”
Erica reappeared with the kit. “Luke,” she said. “Could you get Sang a glass of water?”
It made me smile. She was taking charge a lot like how Kota did.
Luke disappeared into the kitchen. Erica checked the kit and selected a pink bottle of lotion. “This should work.” She twisted open the plastic top and handed the bottle to Nathan.
Nathan spilled the calamine lotion into his palm and started rubbing it into my legs. He focused intently on the task. From the serious look on his face, I wanted to tell him it was okay but I was embarrassed as it was. Erica was witnessing this and I couldn’t imagine what she was thinking. I knew my own mom would have plenty to say about something like this.
Only she didn’t seem fazed by this, either. Maybe their touches with me were normal and I was still super sensitive. My mother’s constant fear had me still paranoid and unsure.
Gabriel slumped into a chair behind me. His bright blue eyes had dark circles underneath to contrast. I didn’t realize he looked so tired before. Was it the sun and heat that got to him or was staying up at night with me earlier that week getting to him? Or was it the Academy? “Kota’s going to kill us,” he said.
“Kota won’t kill anyone,” Erica said. “It was an accident. I’m just glad you boys got her out safely. You should be more careful when you go into those woods.” Luke came back with the glass of water and Erica held out a couple of pills to me. “You’re not allergic to anything, are you?” she asked.
I shook my head, taking the glass of water from Luke. “Not that I know of.”
“Those antihistamine pills should take care of the inflammation. If it gets worse or if you start running a fever, we’ll take you to the doctor.”
I swallowed some water and took the pills. Nathan gently dropped one of my legs from his lap, reaching to pick up my other leg. My heart was racing at how sweet Erica was and how nice the boys were. This was normal. I was sure of it. People took care of one another. I should do this for them. I couldn’t help but think of how lucky I had been to run into them. Erica, Jessica and everyone seemed worried about me. Kota’s mom barely knew me and she was doing more, hovering over me more than my own mother did when I was sick or hurt.
Jessica returned wearing shorts and a loose t-shirt. Her face was washed and looking refreshed.
“We’re lucky we had Jessica,” I said, wanting to be as kind as they had been. The best I could do was offer a compliment.
“Yeah,” Nathan said, seeming to understand my thoughts. He beamed at Jessica, nodding to her. “She picked up that we were in nettle. Otherwise I think we would have gotten it worse.”
Jessica’s cheeks turn as pink as the primrose still in her hair. “It wasn’t a big deal.”
Erica shared a pleased smile and collected her daughter by the shoulders for a hug. “I’m glad you were with them.”
My heart swelled. Was that good? I was envious of how easily Erica hugged her daughter. I wanted a hug, too, but I quelled my desires by focusing on Nathan’s touch on my leg.
Luke fell into another chair, wiping at his brow. “Let’s not let Micah lead the way next time. I bet those nettles grew around our ankles just to bite him.”
Erica popped him on the hand with her palm. “Don’t say things like that. You all should get along.”
“It’d be easier if he was trying,” Luke complained. “You should have heard the fuss he made about Sang.”
Nathan finished up my legs but kept my foot in his lap as he sat back and replaced the lid on the lotion bottle. “Well, he can complain all he wants. Sang lives on this street now, too. If he doesn’t want to hang out, he can go home.”
“He’ll miss out,” Gabriel said, scratching at his ear behind the black rings, “when we play basketball at Sang’s.”
Like that was a possibility. Why did he even suggest it?
Erica smiled. “That sounds like fun. What are you all doing tonight? Are you guys staying for dinner?”