Gerald stared at her for a moment. "Are you afraid of him?"
She bit her lip. She wasn't exactly afraid of him, but she didn't want to be out there in the woods alone with him either.
"I guess it was a stupid thing to do, but I didn't want Jonathan to know I left it up there." She sighed and shrugged, wincing at the pain caused by the motion. "Now Alex is furious with me."
Gerald grunted. "He's just scared and upset about Ed."
Carmen nodded. "He said he found him. How is he?"
Gerald frowned again. "He's dead. Didn't he tell you?"
Carmen caught her breath. "Dead? From the snake bite?"
"What snake bite?" Gerald shook his head slowly. "We had to shoot him. I'm not sure which bothered Alex more, having someone else shoot him or knowing he had suffered for a long time. He was pretty torn up about that, but mostly he was sick with worry about you."
Carmen stared at him in horror, remembering the two shots she heard. Her stomach twisted into a knot. Ed had suffered miserably for hours because she had disobeyed Alex. The phone could have been replaced and she could have swallowed her pride. No wonder Alex was so upset with her. She finally found her voice.
"Oh my gosh!" He'll never forgive me for this."
"He'll get over it," Gerald said, placing a hand on her uninjured arm. "You're alive and going to fully recover. That's what is most important."
The tears came suddenly without warning. "I broke his heart," she sobbed. "I betrayed him."
"Shhh," he said, leaning down and putting a comforting arm around her. "He'll forgive you. Just give him a little time."
He didn't know Alex. Not really. If Ed had died of natural causes, he would have been saddened, but this was different. Ed had suffered needlessly for hours because she had done something careless - after promising she wouldn't. What was it Alex had said? She usually did something stupid after saying she could take care of herself. It was stupid alright - stupid and selfish. This was exactly what he was talking about. Her stupidity had cost a life this time - the life of a dear friend. Forgive her? Not likely - nor could she forgive herself. Her stomach lurched.
"I'm going to be sick," she warned.
Gerald barely had time to retreat before she unloaded on herself and the bed. He pushed the call button as she retched again.