Survivor

11| Wash it All Away

"Ouch." I flinched as Derek poked and prodded at my ankle. He was checking it for further damage since I had idiotically stepped on it during my whole snake fiasco. There are 3, nay, 4 things that just really scare me, and they are spiders, snakes, heights, and moths, in that order.

"Sorry Cassie," he sighed, "I get why you stepped on it, but it's really swollen now. I wish we had some ice." Bruising was already forming in several places and it looked puffy.

"Did I make it worse?" I asked.

"It's hard to say. I don't think it made a huge difference this time, but you really need to stay off of it. We don't have any ice, but you should try to keep it elevated as much as possible," he said while preparing the wrap for my foot again.

"Wait," I said with enough emphasis that he stopped to look up at me, "Can we go in the water? I really want to wash the blood out of my hair."

"Yeah, I think we all are going in. I'll leave this wrap off for now so that you can go too, but no moving by yourself. I mean it. You could bend it wrong a lot more easily when it's unwrapped."

"Okay," I nodded in agreement. "When can we go?"

"Whenever you're ready. I need to do a few things around here before going in but I'll take you over to Adam. I think he's going in now." I placed my hand in his and allowed him to pull me up. I stood up a little too quickly and ended up reflexively placing my free hand against his chest for balance.

"Woah, sorry," I muttered as I pulled my hand away and blushed a little. Again, personal space invasion.

"Don't be," he smirked before hooking an arm under my knees and another behind my back.

He lifted me effortlessly off the ground and walked me over to where the rest of the guys were gathered. They had a fire going already, although I didn't see how they got one started, and the water appeared to be boiling. Derek set me down on the ground next to Adam before heading off towards the cave.

Adam and I had decided to go into the water together, so I allowed him to assist me to the shallow portion of the lake. I was so focused on wanting to wash the blood off of myself, that I didn't think about the fact that I would need to remove my clothing to get completely cleaned off. I became fully aware of this fact when Adam removed his shirt, leaving just his shorts on. I couldn't help but stare a little at his chiseled body. Although he was a little shorter than some of the guys here, he may have had the most definition in his abs.

"Are you going in fully clothed?" He asked, cocking an eyebrow at me.

This was the debate I was having with myself at the moment. On one hand, I didn't want to go in with all of my clothes on, but on the other hand, I was too self-conscious to go in with just a bra and thong. I decided to do what Adam did, and removed my shirt but left my shorts on. My shirt had the most blood on it anyway.

I caught Adam looking at me briefly and was mildly grateful that I had chosen to wear my black, lace push-up bra today. An insensitive thought due to the circumstances I knew, but I'm a girl and I couldn't help it.

Adam cleared his throat before speaking, "Alright then, let's go!"

He picked me up bridal style and began walking into the water. Finally, when we were in up to Adams waist, he gently eased me down into the water in front of him and held me by my waist. I shivered as my body adjusted to the cool water. I was not in Arizona anymore.