Eric saw something up ahead. He let up on the accelerator as he got close to it. Then, he was forced to brake as he saw a tan horse coming out of the foliage. He recognized it as Bandit. Wondering what he was doing out here, he spotted Caitlin lying on the ground, not moving. He ran to where she was laying, and bent down. "Oh God." he said, as he took her in his arms. "Caitlin! Come on Caitlin, wake up. Come on . . ."
He pushed her hair away, and found a pulse. Relief washed over him for a second, but then he thought if he didn't get her back soon, she could go into a coma and die. But how was he going to get her home? He couldn't take her on his bike, and it would be extremely hard if they went on Bandit, but he soon decided that he would have to use Bandit in means of transportation. Luckily, the horse was still there.
He was faced with the difficult task of getting himself AND Caitlin on Bandit. He got a better grip, and lifted her up. He walked over to Bandit, and tried to get her on the horse, but failed. "This isn't going to work." he groaned, laying her back down so he could rest.
He started to get frustrated, and yelled, "Stupid horse! I should give you to the butcher!" As if on key, Bandit leaned down on his front legs, making it to where they could get on. Eric stared at it, mouth hanging open. "Maybe I won't." he said, picking up Caitlin again, and putting her on Bandit. He held Caitlin still, so she wouldn't fall, as he got on behind her.
*** *** ***
Caitlin was lying on the couch, tucked under a blanket while Eric picked up the phone. He dialed Griffin's house, and Eric said as it continued to ring, "For once in your life be home!" He hung up angrily after it rang some more, and seeing no reason to call Brett, he started dialing 911. Before he finished dialing, he heard a groan. He quickly turned off the phone and went to the couch to see Caitlin stir.
Caitlin slowly opened her eyes, and found Eric kneeling in front of the couch. "What happened?" she asked, holding her head to stop the gray spots from swirling about.
"You hit your head; I'm assuming while you were riding Bandit. You were out for awhile." She leaned back and said, "I feel like I got hit by a truck."
Caitlin tried to sit up, but the dizziness became to much for her. "Whoa." She felt Eric's hands on her arms as he guided her back down on the couch.
"Do you want me to call the hospital?" he asked.
"No . . . I think I'm fine." she replied, putting her hand on her forehead. "I just need to rest."
Eric got up and started to leave her so she could rest. When he was almost out the door, he heard her say, "Eric?"
"Yeah?"
There was a pause, and then he heard, "Thanks."
He smiled and said, "No prob." and left the room.
*** *** ***
Jim and Dori got out of the jeep. It was dark, since it was 11:00, and they could barely make out who was headed their way. "Hey Griffin!" Dori yelled. "How was your date?"
"Hey mom!" he yelled back. He rode toward them, so they didn't have to yell. "It went fine."
Jim smiled at his son who was growing up. Dori saw the goofy smile her husband was wearing, and she playfully slapped him in the stomach. They headed inside, and Dori yelled through the house, "Caitlin! We're home!" There was no answer, and she called questioningly, "Caitlin?" Again no answer.
"Maybe she went out." Griffin suggested.
"I don't think so Griffin." said Jim. "If she did, she should have been back by now."
"I'm going to call some people and see if they know where she is." said Dori. "Griffin, do you know where she might be?"
"Maybe Brett's, or some restaurant."
"What about Eric's? Would she be there?"
"Ha! Yeah right! Caitlin at Eric's?" he said with a laugh. "Trust me, that's the last place she would be."
A half an hour later, they were sitting in the kitchen. They had called every place they could think of. Everyone was getting worried; especially Dori. "I'm gonna' call Eric's; she might be there."
"Go ahead mom, but I'm telling you, she's not there." he said, shaking his head and getting up from his seat to stretch. He sat back down, wanting to hear Eric's reply when Dori would ask if Caitlin was there.
Dori called the phone number that Griffin gave to her.
Unbelievably, Eric heard the phone ring with his ear-phones on. He took them off, and went into the living room, and turned on the light.
"Oh God! You turned on the lights!" Caitlin whined, shielding her eyes.
Inside, Eric laughed, and picked up the phone. "Hello."
"Eric? This is Dori."
"Oh, hi. I'm glad you called . . ."
"Eric," said Dori, cutting him off. "Is Caitlin there?"
"Yeah, see that's what I was going to tell you. I found her unconscious on one of my dirt bike paths, and I got her inside. She woke up though, and she's fine. I put Bandit in the barn. I tried calling you, but nobody was home."
Griffin listened on the other end with shock, while his dad just looked at him and said sarcastically, "Trust me, that's the last place she would be, huh?"
Griffin just looked at his dad and smiled a guilty smile. "Well, it was the last place we called." Jim smacked him upside the head. "Ow!! Geesh, I can be wrong once in awhile can't I?" he said, rubbing the back of his head. Jim just shook his head, while rolling his eyes.
"Eric, is your dad there?" Dori asked.
"No, him and my brother are out of state at an auction. Ya' wanna talk to Caitlin?" he asked.
"Please."
Eric handed the phone to Caitlin. "Hey mom." she said.
"Hello Caitlin. Are you all right?" she asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine."
"Is it okay if we leave you there until' morning? It's getting late, and we all need some rest since Jim and I are working tomorrow, and I'm not letting Griffin out this late; even if it the weekend."
"Yeah, okay." she replied.
"Okay then, bye Caitlin."
"Bye." Caitlin hung up the phone, and handed it to Eric. "Looks like I'm bunkin' with you."
"Oh joy." he said sarcastically, and plopped down on the couch next to Caitlin, propped his feet up, and draped his arm across the couch. "What are we watching?" he asked.
"I have no idea." she said as she flipped through the channels. After going through all of the channels, she stopped at some kind of movie and watched that since there was nothing else on, and neither one of them felt like going to sleep.
After a while, Caitlin broke the silence. "So," she said quietly. "When's you dad coming back?"
Eric stared at the tv, and after a pause he said, "Next week."
"Oh." There was silence and then, "Is he still . . .?"
"Yeah." Eric replied. Caitlin could hear the tone of anger in his voice that he was trying to smother. "Yeah, he is."
He looked away from the tv and faced Caitlin. Their eyes locked, and it was almost as they were reading the others emotions. They broke away from the chain of energy that kept their eyes focused on each other, and Caitlin watched Eric get up from the couch while saying, "Ya' want somethin' to eat?"
"Yeah."
