The Attorney ✓( A White House occupants prequel)

Chapter Eight

Everything happens so fast. I don't have time to react, and I regret not doing so because if I'd moved even a little bit faster, I could've saved her too. But I am selfish. I did not think about her as the large chunk of rock fell, hitting the other hard surface twenty something feet below.

Instead, I just scrambled towards the trail at lightning speed, getting off the falling ledge with a quarter of a second to spare. My legs hung off, but I grabbed onto the closest tree and pulled myself up that way.

Noelle was not as fortunate. Once I've had a chance to regain my bearings, I finally think of her- and that's when I see just how massive that chunk was.

Fuck. Well that's certainly not going to earn me any brownie points with the Professor.

Hesitantly, I hold onto that same tree and look over the edge. Below, she's too stunned to do anything, as frozen as I was just a second ago- but I want to throw up.

She is sitting up, completely aware of her surroundings and doesn't appear to have a concussion, but it's hard to tell from up here. The thing that's so clear you could see it from a mile away- is that her leg is twisted in a direction none should ever be, which makes it obvious that leg took almost all of the impact. I shout down to her a few times, but it's not until the third that she comes out of shock and starts feeling the pain in her leg.

"Noelle!" I yell down. "You okay down there?"

I know the answer, but it's only human instinct to ask. She turns her head up, and that's when I notice the large gash on her chin, dripping blood down half of her body. Don't puke, Joe. You're a grown fucking man. You'll probably see more blood than that at some point.

"Nope." Noelle Calmly replies, trying to hide the shakiness in her voice. "I am not fucking okay."

"Okay just....stay there and I'll be right down!" I yell back, immediately pushing myself off the tree and turning around. I'm not much of a runner. I could walk for miles if needed, as long as I pace myself, but I do not run, ever.

So I'm out of breathe before I'm halfway down the trail leading to where she is- a steep downhill slope that I have trouble with even while walking. I feel like I am failing her, with how long it takes me, but there's no way I'd be able to go faster than this without actually throwing up.

Stay there, I play my own words back in my head. Where the fuck would she have gone, with the way her leg was twisted? Fucking moron, Joe. You are a moron.

When I finally do reach her, she's managed to maneuver herself to leaning against a tree- I'm assuming by pulling herself along with her arms, and is trying to call somebody on the shitty blackberry. Honestly, for somebody as smart as she is- she should know how shitty the service is down on these trails.

"Okay, Noelle, listen to me-"

"I'm not gonna be able to walk ever again or-"

"Noelle." I interrupt. "You'll be fine, eventually. I know it hurts right now and that you probably won't like me for about twenty minutes but....I have to."

"Joe-" She mocks my tone of voice. "What exactly are you saying?"

I gulp. This isn't going to be fun for either of us. For her, it'll cause even more pain- and I'll have to deal with listening to it, knowing I'm partially responsible. She waits expectantly, and then it clicks.

"Yeah- I'm gonna have to carry you. Which part of your leg hurts the most?" I ask, taking on a kinder tone.

"Uhm...upper, I think." She stutters. "It....hit the ground first."