All her goodbyes being said and done, Jillian took to her pine tree bridge, bare feet and all. Sure, of every step, she crossed gracefully without even needing to hold her hands out for balance. She looked back across the river, waving to the boys one last time before disappearing into the thick foliage.
It was less than a half-hour before she started hearing voices coming through the trees. This was why she was here. They were looking for her and her for them; still, she hesitated to call out, finding herself back in the memory of that deer as its life slipped away. Every one of these guys was armed with the same kind of bullet that hit Finn. That meant if she startled the wrong person, her internal organs could be shredded in an instant.
“Hello!” Her hands trembled as she held them up, waving them in exaggerated movements to the dark shadows at the top the next hill. “I’m lost. Please can you help me?”
“Hey, I see someone.” One man spoke to the other. “There. See her?”
“Holy shit, she’s alive.” The guy said quietly before sounding an air horn to alert the others.
“Are you Jillian Lox?” The first man shouted.
“Yes!” she shouted, breathing a sigh of relief. “It’s me.”
As they reached her, she noticed they each had a photo of her safety-pinned to the forearm part of their sleeves. She was promptly wrapped in a blanket and offered hot tea they had been carrying in a thermos. She did her best to speak as little as possible. They were all under the impression that she would be dehydrated and half-starved when the truth was, she felt healthier than she’d been in a long time.
They brought her to the nearest clearing, where the helicopter touched down to take her to the nearest hospital where the doctors examined her from head to toe. The nurses whispered to one another that the whole thing must have been some kind of publicity stunt while Jillian stared out the window, pretending not to hear.
Am I crazy, or am I hearing people talking down at the other end of the hall? She rubbed her eyes and climbed back into the hospital bed.
A knock at the door was followed by the doctor peeking in. Doctor Campbell was a tall, sturdy redheaded woman with freckles and a bright smile. She was the only one who seemed uninterested in talking about how strange the whole situation was.
“You have a visitor, Miss Lox.” Dr. Campbell opened the door a little farther as Ted appeared in the doorway.
Jillian’s body went rigid as he entered, and the doctor narrowed her eyes for a split second as if picking up on her discomfort.
“Jillian, thank God.” He held his arms out, but Jillian held her hand up, eyebrows drawn together in a warning expression. Ted’s arms slowly moved back down to his sides as he turned to the doctor. “Doc, can you give us a minute?” Jillian looked at the doctor with a single nod.
“I do have some tests to run, but it can wait for just a couple of minutes.” The doctor pressed her lips together, then continued with a lower tone. “I’ll be right outside.”
“Thank you so much.” Ted clasped his hands behind his back with an angelic smile. The door closed, and Jillian glared at him. “I thought I’d lost you.”
“Oh, believe me; you did.” She folded her arms.
“Jillian, don’t be like this.” He sat on the edge of the bed, reaching out to brush a strand of hair out of her face.
“Don’t even think about touching me.” Her eyes burned into him.
“Babe, when that bear showed up, you fell… You hit your head pretty hard. I know you’ve been wandering out through the woods eating god knows what for the past week.”
“Don’t worry about my head.” She sat up with a pointed grin. “Turns out, you hit like a little bitch.”
“What?” His jaw twitched. “You must be confused or concussed or something.”
“No.” She shrugged, shaking her head. “No concussion. Not even a bruise.” She rubbed the scar on the back of her head. “In fact, I can barely even feel it.”
“Jill, I know you’re afraid of getting married.” He put his arm over her legs, bracing himself on it without touching her. “But I love you, and I know you love me. Do you know how rare it is to find that? You can’t seriously want to throw it away over one little spat.”
“No, Ted. I’m not afraid of getting married, and I don’t think it should be hard to find someone to love.” She tilted her head. “And as for the little spat, as you called it, I will never forget what you did. So, if you know what’s good for you…”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” His jaw twitched. “If you said yourself you don’t have a mark on you, what could you possibly do to me?”
“Stick around and find out.” She smirked. “You’re going to tell everyone that the engagement is off. Blame it on my traumatic experience. Say what you want… but don’t ever come near my family or me again unless you want me to expose you for what you are.”
“You’ve lost your fucking mind, haven’t you?” He scoffed. “Your father needs mine if he plans to get re-elected…”
“And that mattered a lot to me five days ago. Last chance to take me up on my offer.” She crossed her arms. “My name is trending on every social media platform in existence, and there’s an army of reporters clamoring at the hospital entrance, hoping to talk to me on my way out. Everyone is holding their collective breath, waiting for me to tell the world what happened out there. I am willing to leave certain details
