Keep on Going

She knew it was going to be another treacherous day. Kacey groaned as she heard the yells of her best friend down the hall of their shared apartment.

“Kacey, you better get your cute ass out of bed right now or so help me I’m breaking down this door!” she yelled playfully.

With a groan, Kacey reluctantly got out of bed, throwing the covers off her legs as she shuffled to the door to unlock it in hopes of shutting her friend up. She loved her friend, honestly, but not on a Saturday morning.

“Abby, my god, what do you want? I have nowhere to be today. Why are you waking me up?” she replied over a stifled yawn. She looked over at her energetic friend, decked out in her jogging shorts and tank top, already bouncing around at this early hour.

“Aww, c’mon. You know you need to get out and enjoy this beautiful Arizona air!” she beamed, already jogging slightly in place outside Kacey’s bedroom door.

“Why does it matter so much to you how I spend my Saturday mornings?” she groaned, already missing her warm bed.

“I just think you need to stop pigeon-holing yourself in your room, pouring over romance novels all the time. You talk all the time about romance and finding your ‘prince charming’ but you never do anything about it.”

“What, so you’re saying it’s my fault that I’m single?” she asked defensively. “And furthermore, what does this have to do with waking me up at such an ungodly hour on the weekend?”

Abby sighed. “I’m just saying, you need to get out of this apartment and start living. Stop living inside of these novels you romanticize so much. I’m driving you out to the desert and you’re going for a hike. Get dressed. I have your pack and water ready. We leave in ten.” With that, Abby turned, closing the door behind her as she made her way to the kitchen.

Kacey sighed, running her fingers through her tangled hair before making her way to her closet to get dressed. Knowing Abby, her morning, if not her entire day, was planned out. She knew how determined Abby was about getting her out of the apartment and would literally drag her out if it came down to it. Perks of rooming with a personal trainer.

She pulled on a pair of khaki shorts and found a tank top to pull on. She shuffled through her mountain of shoes for some sort of suitable shoe to wear. She wasn’t really athletic or outdoorsy in any way, so essentially only had heels, flats, sandals, and a few pairs of stylish knee-high boots. None of them suitable for hiking. She kept digging through the bottom of her closet, hoping to find something she could put on her feet. She eventually found an old pair of tennis shoes that didn’t have any soles on them. She was thankful to find them as she bought them reluctantly a few years ago for a waitressing job that she had.

She pulled on the thin pair of shoes, pulled her hair up into a high ponytail, and went to apply her makeup. She knew she would be hiking, but she would be out in public. She couldn’t go out in less than her best. She prided herself in her appearance and wanted to make sure she looked as put together as possible.

She finished applying her makeup and lightly curled her ponytail as she made her way out to the kitchen to find Abby. “Alright, I’m ready. Let’s get this hell over with already,” she sighed.

“Perfect! Here’s your pack for the day,” Abby said as she handed her a hiking backpack filled with a couple water bottles, some snacks, a light lunch, and a first aid kit.

Kacey looked at the backpack and groaned. “Are you serious? You honestly want me to wear this backpack with this outfit?” she scoffed.

“It’s either that or die in the desert. Your choice.” Abby said nonchalantly.

Kacey rolled her eyes and grabbed the backpack, slinging it onto her right shoulder.

With a smile, Abby turned off the lights to their apartment and led Kacey to the car as Abby got behind the wheel.

It was still a little dark outside and the sun was just starting to rise over the canyons in the distance. Kacey wanted to go to sleep, but she didn’t want to sleep only to be woken up a few minutes later. She leaned her head against the window as she struggled to keep her eyes open.

They arrived at the desired spot a few minutes later. “Alright babe, I’m dropping you off here,” Abby said. “I’m going to pull around and jog the trails. The hiking trail is just past that post,” she pointed out the window, “and I’ll be round to look for you later this afternoon. Let’s meet up back here around 2:00. Sound good?”

With a groan, Kacey slumped out of the car as she shuffled towards the hiking trail. She was not looking forward to this hike.

***
A few hours had passed and Kacey was exhausted. She was slowly approaching the peak of this particular mountain, but was seriously regretting her shoe choice. These flimsy shoes she wore weren’t helping her out any with the hike; only making her feet ache and adding to her exhaustion.

She found a flat spot on the trail that overlooked the town below. She found a large boulder to sit on so she could take a break. She set her backpack down beside her and grabbed the water bottle from the side pocket, guzzling it down as she tried to lower her body temperature. She went to grab her phone from her pocket to check on the time.

10:38

“Shit,” she muttered to herself, “I can’t believe it’s not even noon yet.” With a groan she puts her water bottle back in the side of her bag and replaces it on her back. Keeping her phone out, she decided to entertain herself by checking up on her social media while she hiked. This “scenic view” just wasn’t cutting it for her. She didn’t understand what Abby saw in it.

She continued hiking up the path while scrolling through her Twitter feed when she got a notification that she didn’t have signal. With frustrated sigh, she held her phone up and walked around trying to gain signal. She didn’t notice how close she was to the edge or that there were loose rocks near the edge. She wasn’t paying attention when she slipped and fell the few feet into the crack between the trail and the cliff she was climbing. She definitely twisted her ankle, if not broke it. Her foot was wedged between a couple of rocks down there and she was scratched up pretty badly from the fall. She looked at her phone, still tightly clutched in her hand, and saw that she had full signal.

“Of course,” she rolled her eyes and groaned, trying to figure out how to get out.

The top of this small hole was only about ten feet, but she didn’t have any upper body strength and she was now regretting not taking up Abby’s offers to weight lift on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It would come in handy right about now. So, she did the only thing she could think of. Start yelling for help.

***

Kennedy was glad to be home for a few weeks on break from tour. He was excited to get back out in nature and go exploring his home. There was nothing quite like hiking the cliffs of Arizona. He packed his backpack and drove over to the trails he frequented.

He was making record time on this particular hike; approaching the peak in just under a couple of hours. A new personal record. He was excited to keep going so he could stand and observe the vistas waiting for him when he heard distant cries of “help”. Startled, he quickened his pace, following the sound of the small, yet distant, voice.

He followed it and it lead to a small hole not far from the top. He looked down and saw a girl had fallen into the small pit just off the trail. “Hey, are you okay?” he yelled down to her.

“Does it look like I’m alright? I’m stuck in a fucking hole,” she replied sarcastically.

He chuckled. “I can see that. Do you need any help?” He questioned with a grin.

“Does it look like I’m getting out of here myself?” she quipped.

“I mean, I could just keep going if you’d like,” he started as he began walking away from the edge.

“Don’t!” she yelled.

With a grin he leaned back over the edge, taking joy in messing with her.

“Ugh, fine. Yes, please help me,” she grumbled.

“Uh, what was that? Didn’t quite hear you,” he said while stifling a laugh.

“You heard me, don’t make me repeat it,” she grumbled.

He laughed as he got up, grabbing the safety rope he always kept in his backpack. He tied it to one of the secured tree trunks nearby and dropped the rope down the hole. He then got on the ground, and began climbing his way down the hole. He would have to thank Dirk later for pushing him into rock climbing.

Upon reaching the last few feet before the bottom of the hole, he jumped down, brushing his hands off on his shorts before turning smugly towards the girl stuck.

“Done gloating yet?” she huffed.

“Done being stuck in this hole yet?” he replied with a smirk and raised eyebrow.

She only glared at him.

He chuckled once again before making his way over to where her foot was caught. Her foot got caught awkwardly between a couple of rocks so wedging her foot out wouldn’t be easy. He gently grabbed her ankle, and worked on trying to pull her foot out.

Kacey sat there, wincing in pain. She could see her ankle swelling and bruising already.

Kennedy got her foot out and helped her stand. She winced and death-gripped his arm as she stood. She couldn’t put any weight on her left foot. He lead her to the rope and helped her secure it around her waist. “Do you think you can pull yourself up?” he questioned.

Not wanting him to know of her complete lack of upper body strength she nodded, “Yeah, I’m good.”

He smiled and began climbing up the small cliff wall of the hole.

She took a deep breath and tried to pull herself up the rope, occasionally using her right foot to help boost her up. It had been five minutes and she was barely a couple feet off the ground.

Kennedy got up the cliff with no problem and noticed she was still struggling. Figuring she wasn’t a typical hiker, he chuckled and began pulling the rope to help her up the cliff.

Kacey had stopped momentarily to take a breather when she felt the rope around her waist being hoisted up. She didn’t know what was going on, but held on tightly.

After a few minutes, Kennedy got her to the edge of the hole, and she was able to pull herself up over the side of the cliff. He helped her up and untied the rope from around her waist.

She blushed slightly at the contact, as she stood there, contemplating how she was going to get down the rest of the trail.

“Need a hand?”

“More like a foot…” she mused. “With my ankle so swollen and bruised I won’t be able to wear my heels for my gig tomorrow,” she complained.

“Your gig?” he questioned, wondering if she could possibly be in the same line of work as he was.

“Yeah...I uh, model shoes part-time. It’s a side job for now, but it helps pay the bills.”

“Sorry you lost your moneymaker,” he chuckled as he draped an arm around her shoulders as a support.

She put her weight on his shoulders as she put her arm around his shoulders. “Ha ha. It was a small gig anyway.”

He nodded and they continued down the trail slowly. Knowing the trails as well as he did, he knew of a shortcut that wouldn’t be so strenuous on her ankle. They didn’t talk much on the hike back down.

They neared the bottom, and Kennedy couldn’t help but find himself intrigued by this girl. “So, I take it you’re not a normal hiker…”

“What was your first guess?” she quipped.

“Well, your shoes were a dead giveaway. I mean, they don’t have any support. Any seasoned hiker would know better than to wear these,” he winked, showing off the gap between his front teeth. A feature she hadn’t noticed until they were in such close proximity.

“Yeah well, hiking isn’t really my cup of tea. My roommate dragged me out here. Literally dropped me off and told me to meet her back at two.”

“Sounds like she’s quite the motivator,” he chuckled.

“She’s a personal trainer so…”

He nodded, once again not knowing how else to answer. He was stuck for conversation. He lead her to the bottom of the trail and there was a car sitting at the end of the trail.

“Well, that’s my ride,” Kacey sighed. “Thanks for the help.” She then released Kennedy and hobbled over to the car, ready to end the day on the cliff. She anxiously awaited taking a long, hot, bubble bath when she got home. She got into the car and Abby started in on questions as soon as she closed the door.

“Oh my god, what happened? Are you alright?” Abby fussed.

Kacey scoffed, “ I uh, slipped and fell into a small hole. It’s not a big deal.”

“Not a big deal? Really? Who’s that guy?” She gushed. “He’s gorgeous. Where did you meet him?” Abby mused, unashamedly checking Kennedy out through the passenger window.

Kacey groaned, rolling her eyes. “Just some guy I met on the trails, no big deal,” she said as she pulled her seatbelt over her body.

“Psh, what are you talking about? Where can I find one? And if it’s not a big deal, why is he coming over here?” Abby squealed.

Kacey looked at her questioningly, mumbling “You can have him,” before looking out her window to see Kennedy’s figure quickly approaching her window as he jogged over.

Once he made it to the window, he knocked on it, motioning for it to be rolled down.

Kacey looked at him with a quirked brow, wondering why he was here as she rolled the window down.

“Hey, I just wanted to make sure your ankle is ok. You should go get it checked out to make sure it’s not broken. Elevate it, and keep ice on it to keep the swelling down.”

She only nodded.

“Well, it was nice to meet you, I’ll see ya around,” he grinned as he slowly backed away from the window.

Kacey rolled her eyes and rolled up her window. Definitely not the way she was wanting her Saturday to go.