“Better for me than you, I think, champ,” I replied.
Champ? Stress was making me say some strange things.
Cameron didn’t seem to mind, and he smiled broadly.
“Ah, this is nothing. I’ll be right as rain as soon as they get me out of here—aargh.”
“Sorry.” The EMT said, having pressed a little too heavily on Cameron’s head wound. “Look, it’s kind of crowded here. Can you two give me some space, please?”
She was quite right; Muriel held Cameron’s hand, and I was as close to him as I could get, making access difficult for the only person who could practically do anything for him right now.
I stood up and touched Muriel’s shoulder to encourage her to step away.
“Thanks. I’ll let you know as soon as I’m done.”
We walked behind the vehicle, and I leaned back on a tree in exhaustion. “How does he seem?”
“Upbeat, obviously,” Muriel replied. “But he can’t feel his legs. That’s never good, is it?” Her eyes filled with fresh tears.
“Not usually,” I admitted, and her face fell even further. This wasn’t the time for my plain speaking. “But miracles happen all the time.” I didn’t know who I was trying to convince more, her or myself, and I wasn’t doing a good job with either.
“You sound like Cameron.” Muriel laughed through her tears, and despite everything that had happened, I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her into my chest. My heart pounded against her ear, and she relaxed against my body as I slowly stroked her hair.
“I’m sorry,” she said quietly.
“It’s okay,” I lied.
After a few minutes, Muriel’s sobs had receded, and she stood up straight, wiping her face dry. “Ugh, I’m being ridiculous. I never cry.”
“This isn’t a normal situation you’re dealing with,” I said reassuringly, and she looked up at me, smiling.
“You’re right. Are you going to tell Cameron what happened tonight?”
I rolled my eyes, hard. “Oh yes, that would be great, wouldn’t it? ‘Hey buddy, while you’re hanging there upside-down with a gaping head wound, here’s some disappointing news for ya...’ I’m not a monster, Muriel.”
“I know you’re not. You’re just a little obsessed with the truth, sometimes, maybe?”
Fair point.
“Just this once, I’ll err on the side of sensitivity. Do me a favor, though, don’t mislead him about anything, okay? Don’t tell him you want to be with us to make him feel better, because I’m the one who’ll have to pick up the pieces. It’d be like taking a bone away from an injured puppy.”
Muriel smiled. “I can do that.”
“Hey, you two. I’m done over here if you want to keep Cameron company.”
We walked over, and as I passed, she tapped me on the shoulder and muttered, “Just to warn you, he might be delirious; he’s talking non-stop about waffles and nineties boy bands.”
“Oh, good,” I said, and she appeared taken aback. “That’s standard Cameron, it means he’s fine. I’d only be worried if he wasn’t talking gibberish.”
The EMT nodded with a smile, and left us with him.
We sat back down on the cold wet ground and peered in at our friends.
“How’re you doing over there, Vic?” I called out, and got a thumbs-up in response.
“It’s the wedding day I’d always dreamed of.”
Vic had gotten away without any real injuries, just a few bruises, but the car had rolled onto Cameron’s side, so he’d taken the brunt of the accident.
“Don’t worry. I’ll stare out of my window and let you lovebirds catch up.”
Cameron laughed before clutching his ribs in pain. “Ow. Right, I officially can’t laugh. Thanks though, Vic.”
I sneaked a glance at Muriel. She was blushing hard; I wasn’t sure whether it was guilt about the fact that she was probably leaving us, or embarrassment that Vic knew about us. Neither option was encouraging for me, but I let it lie for now.
“So, you’re still coming tomorrow night?” Cameron asked cheerfully.
Muriel was about to answer, but I didn’t want to risk her committing to anything, so I interrupted immediately.
“Let’s get tonight over with first, all right? For all we know, you might be getting a few days’ vacation in the hospital.”
“Nah, I told you I’m fine,” he protested, but I saw in his face that was only what he wanted to believe.
“We’ll play it by ear, right? Say, remember when we were kids, and we’d have contests to find out who could hang upside down from the monkey bars the longest?”
Cameron and Muriel both nodded, laughing at the memory.
“All training for this moment. I think I’ll belatedly take the trophy for that now,” Cameron said.
“For once, I won’t argue with you on that,” I replied.
“Hey, see ho— Ohh,” Cameron’s expression suddenly changed, as his face instantly paled and his eyes rolled around in his head.
“Help!” Muriel screamed, leaping up to get someone’s attention. “Help, something’s gone wrong.”
I gripped Cameron’s hand as he lost consciousness, and tears welled up in my eyes. Seeing him like this was torture.