Train Wreck

five

We dumped our bags by a group of trees further from the wreck and found a nice dry mossy area that looked perfect for a campout. I didn't do Boy Scouts but Jason did and he taught me some of his fun stuff.  We didn't have the money or time for extra activities but I went camping with Mommy and Daddy in the yard.  Daddy would play guitar while Mommy and Lissy sang to us, or we would make s'mores and I would spend hours listening to them talk about everything.

I liked watching the grown-ups.   Lissy never dumbed things down like most of them did.  She knew I understood but also didn't bug me if it wasn't something I had to worry about.

Now I got to watch Remington with my sister. 

She was leaning back against a tree with her hands on the sides, taking some deep breaths, but he looked really worried.

I knew he liked her right away.

I could tell.

The way he looked at her and how he was so protective made my heart happy.

What was it mom said?  I'll take that as a win? There you go, Benji, take this as a win. Maybe you just lived through a train wreck, but at least your lame big sister finally has a crush on someone.

Alice kind of blushed while Remington helped her sit by a tree. He touched her hips and braced her carefully, whispering, "Is this okay?"

"You're fine, Remington.  I appreciate... oof... all the help..."

She winced and sucked in air through her teeth while trying to talk so I knew she was lying.

Lissy is a terrible liar.

She is not fine.  Her body is falling apart, but hopefully, help comes soon so we can get to the hospital.  Remington is probably badly injured also.  He's the one that hit his head so I should try to keep an eye on him also.

My arm hurt so bad but I didn't want her to worry any more than she already was.

Lissy was in a ton of pain so I can't make her even more sad.

"Benji?"  Remington came closer, his voice lower this time. He started walking away from Lissy, which I knew meant he wanted to give us a little privacy. I followed along and listened while he spoke, "So, what hurts?"

I laughed a bit, trying to be tough like I would to Lissy and hide the pain, "I mean, what doesn't?"

"I have some Tylenol at least that should take the edge off the pain. Can't hurt anything. I would have thought we would see help by now...." He kind of trailed off a bit so I had to think about how to say what was in my head.

"Remington?"

You can trust him, Benji... he just saved your life AND made sure Lissy got to safety first. That means you know he's someone you can trust. Just ask.

"What's going to happen now?"

Remington let out a long sigh and looked at Lissy a minute then past the train crash before his eyes were right back on me. 

I knew he wasn't annoyed, even though sighing usually means annoyed.  I had learned enough about body language from Lissy.  She may not speak a ton around other people but she says a lot in the way she acts.

He was processing.

Lissy always does the same thing. Her brain just needed time to figure out what was next so I learned how to be patient and let her get a plan together.

"Well, right now we are going to take a couple of deep breaths and keep talking a minute before I go into the woods to pee.  You can stick with Alice and we will just stay put right here. We can see the train clearly so when help arrives they can find us."  He smiled and ruffled my hair a little which I liked.