little flower❁chris chambers

"you use your left hand or right hand for that?"

"Holy crap," I mutter as I look at the bridge crossing the river.
"Well, let's get walking!" Teddy says marching onto the tracks.
"What if a train comes?" Vern asks.
"We'll jump!"
"Are you crazy? That's at least a hundred feet!" I say.
"We could go down to the route 136 bridge," Chris suggests.
"That's five miles down the river! That could take till dark. We go across here, we can get to the same place in ten minutes!" Teddy explains.
"It's still not a smart idea. And if a train does come, I'm screwed cause my ankle!" I say.
"Look, you guys can go around if you want to, I'm crossing here. And while you guys are dragging your candy asses half way across the state and back, I'll be waiting for ya on the other side, relaxing with my thoughts."
"You use your left hand or right hand for that?" Gordie asks, causing me to snicker.
"You wish."

We begin to walk on the bridge, Teddy in front, Chris and I walking together, Gordie and Vern falling behind.
"How's ya holding up?" Chris asks referring to my ankle.
"I'm okay," I say.
"Well, if you need me to hold onto you just holler." I nod.
"Need to holler?" Chris asks. I laugh at him.
"Sure. Why not?" I smile. He wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me in close to him. I look up at him, since he is a bit taller than me.
"Enjoying the view?" He smirks.
"Yep, the sky looks real pretty. And I guess you're okay," I shrug.
"Go screw, Merrill!" He jokes.
"I know you love me, you can't resist that," I wink sarcastically.
"Wink all you want Addy," he shakes his head and smiles.

We don't talk much, I rest my head on his shoulder and he rubs his thumb against my torso. Thankfully, Teddy hasn't turned around to trash us about cuddling like we are.

We're a little more than halfway across when Gordie suddenly shouts, "TRAIN!"

Chris and I snap our necks back and I see gray smoke puffing above the trees.
"Oh my gosh," I breathe.
"Oh shit!" Chris yells.
We starts to run, my ankle in severe pain, but I know if I stop running, I'll be in severe pain everywhere.

Teddy already makes it onto land, Chris and I close to it. Gordie and Vern follow close behind us, when my ankle suddenly gives out on me. I trip over a wooden plank and twist my ankle. I yelp and try to get back up but I only fall again.
"Chris, oh my gosh, Chris!" I cry.

Gordie and Vern pass us out, shoving us out of the way.

Chris pulls me up and grabs onto my hand. Every step I take hurts even more than the step before.

We start to sprint, the train about 5 meters from us and the land about 10 meters. We both jump off the bridge, slamming into a pile of dirt and rocks. Chris covers my head with his arms once we're on the ground, so nothing can fall onto my head like any loose rocks. Also to block out the noise.

Once the train passes, Gordie, Vern and Teddy look over the bridge.

Chris and I sit up, both of us holding our heads.
"Are you guys okay?" Gordie shouts from the top. We don't respond, only groan in pain. Once I feel somewhat stable, I try to stand up, but fall back down.

"Shit," I sigh, looking at my scraped up ankle with blood all over it.
"Look on the bright side, at least you didn't die!" Chris chuckles. I nod.
"Thanks to you," I say to him.
"Well I wasn't just gonna leave you there, geez!" He laughs.
"Gordie, got any first aid stuff in your backpack?" I shout up to him. He shakes his head.
"Well now what am I gonna do?" I ask Chris. He thinks then looks down at his shirt. He takes it off, making my eyes trail up and down his torso.
"We'll use this," he says wrapping his shirt around my leg.
"Now your shirt is gonna bloody from me!"
He looks at me, "What you want me to put it back on?" I'm silent, not quite sure of what to say.
"Thought so," he says standing up.