BXBX NOVEL Chapter 49: Distance Between Us
"I think we’ve got signal…" Hayden mumbled as he began calling someone on his phone.
"Really?" I asked in amazement and relief.
If Hayden could ask for help, then we could get out of here.
I listened as Hayden spoke on the phone with someone and told him about our location and briefly what happened. Thankfully, he did not mention anything about my wild plan of escape. He just mentioned that some things happened, and we ended up here.
"Let’s find a place to sit down and rest while we wait for help to arrive," Hayden said practically as he looked around for a place to sit.
I watched as Hayden found a large tree and sat down, leaning back on its large trunk. Wordlessly, I followed and sat next to him with my back leaning on the same tree. I stole a glance at Hayden’s face as I sat there next to him. His face was emotionless as ever and as always, I wasn’t able to read him at all.
I wanted to know if the wound on his head still hurt but I decided to keep quiet rather than ask.
Of course, it hurts. I couldn’t believe how hypocritic I was acting. How am I supposed to just ask him about it when all of this is my fault? The silence between us stretched out as my feelings of guilt ate me up from the inside. The howling night wind was the only thing that I could hear. I wanted to apologize for what I had done but I didn’t know exactly what to say or how to say it.
My mind fumbled around with words as the awkward silence continued between us. Hayden sat next to me silently with one hand holding his phone loosely. Since he hasn’t said anything to me apart from things that were completely necessary, I figured that he was very angry at me. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, I did deserve it this time.
I hated the situation that I was in but without considering anyone but myself, I perhaps forgot that Hayden probably didn’t like the situation that he was in either. It was getting darker and darker, and the wind was getting stronger and colder. I pray that Hayden’s men would arrive soon, so that we can get out of here and Hayden can finally go to the hospital to get all his wounds tended to.
…
I don’t know how long we sat there silently next to each other before Hayden’s phone started vibrating in his hand. The sound of his phone vibrating was like a call from heaven to save us. My eyes widened with joy when I heard the sound of his phone vibrating. By the time that the call arrived, I had already loss all track of time, and I had no idea what time it was or how long we’ve waited.
"Alright. I don’t have a lot of battery so you’ve got to hurry…" Hayden spoke through the phone after he listened to the instructions from the other end.
"What’s going on? Is help coming?" I asked in a shaky voice.
"My men are already at my car. So, they’re close by. I’ve turned on the GPS of my phone now so that they can track it," Hayden explained.
"Oh, ok…" I said, relief flooding my body.
It wouldn’t be long now until someone would find us and help get us out of here. After our brief exchange, the conversation between us became extinct once more and we lapse back into complete silence as we sat there next to each other. It was surprising how far away I could feel from Hayden even when we were sitting so close to each other that our shoulders were practically touching.
It was precisely because I felt too guilty about everything that I couldn’t bring myself to speak to him. Each moment that passed by in silence between us felt like I was drifting further and further away from Hayden.
"Hayden!"
"Dude…if you’re there you gotta make some noise…"
"Hayden! Hayden!"
"Why on earth is he out here anyways?"
"It’s so dark…"
"You honestly think the young boss is out here?"
"Hayden! Hayden!"
Suddenly we heard voices in the distance. Hayden’s men were here. That was faster than I thought. Hayden got up at once after he started hearing the voices of his men. Taking a deep breath, he called back to them.
"Luka! I’m here!" Hayden yelled at the top of his lungs.
Hayden kept on calling his men as he turned on the flashlight on his mobile to get the attention of his men. It wasn’t long after that the man named Luka spotted us and signaled for the whole team to head our way.
"Seriously Hayden…how the hell did you end up here?" Luka asked, his brown eyes narrowing suspiciously at Hayden before glancing in my direction.
"You brought some rope or something that we can use to climb up, right? Get those younger men to hold the rope ladder," Hayden said without replying to Luka’s question.
"You think this old man can’t help you up?" Luka asked with a snort.
Luka was probably in his late forties or fifties. His hair was almost completely white, and he had many wrinkles and lines on his face. However, he was probably one of the buffest men I have ever seen in real life.
The other men swiftly dangled down a rope ladder from the higher grounds where they were standing for us to climb up. Now that there were lights from their flashlight, I could see that we have fallen down much deeper than I had initially thought. It’s going to take a lot of effort on my part to climb up the rope ladder. Trust me, these physical adventure stuffs wasn’t really my cup of tea.
"You first," Hayden said as he gestured for me to go before him.
--To be continued…