Inside was cosy. There was a fireplace on one side and a bed on the other. A small table and two chairs were in the middle. An armchair was near the fireplace. There was a kitchen area along the back wall with a window above the sink. There was a door in the far corner, which I assumed was the bathroom.
"Do you live here?" I asked as I gently lowered her to sit on the bed.
"Yes," she replied as she gripped her injured arm against her chest. I realised her clothes were soaking wet.
"You need to change your clothes, or you'll freeze." I helped her take off her coat and snow boots. She gestured towards the drawers at the foot of the bed. I opened the first drawer and found some sweatpants and a sweater. Then I found some socks in another drawer. I put them on the bed and turned around to give her some privacy.
After a few minutes, she let out an exasperated sigh. "I can't get the sweater on," she stated. I turned and helped her get her sweater on, making sure not to look at or touch her inappropriately.
"What's your name?" I asked
"Amelia. You?"
"Brandon," I said simply as I crouched down and put her clean socks on her feet.
"You should also change your clothes," she said, pointing at me.
I dug into my backpack for my spare sweater and socks and went to the bathroom.
When I emerged, Amelia was trying to light a fire with one hand.
"My car is at the foot of the climbing trail," I said. "I can take you to the hospital."
She let out a short laugh. "Neither of us is going anywhere in this," she said with a nod to the window, in her matter of fact way.
"But you need medical attention. What if your wound gets infected?"
"It's dangerous out there. Nobody would make it in this storm." Then, she added while examining her arm, "I think it's stopped bleeding."
I was still worried. There were so many things that could go wrong. Infection, blood loss. There wasn't much I could do if her injuries got worse, but she was right. Nobody could have made it to the hospital in this weather. The visibility outside was even worse now as the sleet turned to snow.
"What can I do to help?" I asked.
"You can help me light this fire," she said as she stepped to one side to make room for me. She had already put a few logs and kindling in it. She handed me the firelighter. I bent down and lit the flames and watched as the fire took hold.
As I stood, she nodded towards the kitchen cabinet. "There's a medical kit in there, I need you to clean my wound," she said as she sat at the table.
I found the medical kit and brought the other chair so I was sitting in front of her. I gently pulled her arm out of her sweater and untied the bandages. I pressed down the wave of nausea and looked at the wound. I was relieved to see that the bleeding had stopped.
I pulled an antiseptic wipe from the packet and cleaned her wound as gently as I could. Then, I opened the bottle of rubbing alcohol and grabbed a pad of cotton wool.
"This will sting," I warned her. She hissed as I dabbed her wound. I felt so out of my depth. I found some more bandages and wrapped the wound up tightly again. I nodded at her and put everything away. She moved to the bed and lay down. Her uninjured arm over her face, while she took deep breaths.
The room was beginning to feel warmer, and I glanced at the fire. I put our wet clothes on the chairs and moved them closer to the fire in the hope they would dry soon. My stomach growled.
I went over to the kitchen and opened some cabinets. We needed to eat something. I found some tinned food and half a loaf of bread. I warmed up some soup and took it over to the bed.
Amelia had fallen asleep. I shook her gently and told her she had to eat. She sat up and put her hand out for the bowl.
"I think I should help you with the soup," I said and handed her a slice of bread. She smiled weakly and accepted.
After she finished the soup and bread, I handed her a glass of water and some painkillers I had found in the medical kit. She swallowed the painkillers and lay back on the bed.
"Thank you," it was a whisper. Something told me she didn't like having anyone help her. I smiled at her and shook my head, "go to sleep," was all I said. She closed her eyes and fell asleep again.
I must have dozed off in the chair. I woke with a startle. I jumped up to check on Amelia. She was still asleep, breathing softly. I looked around and noticed the fire had died. I picked up a few logs and rekindled the fire.
"Brandon," she sounded stronger. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding and turned around.
"How's the pain?" I asked.
"Pretty bad," she let out a little laugh, "but much better than it was."
She was probably in more pain than she was letting on. I wished I could take her to the hospital.
"I'm sorry I'm not able to help you much,"
"Don't be sorry, it's not your fault," she said.
I looked out of the window, hoping the storm had passed, but the snow was still falling very heavily. I cleaned the kitchen and put everything away. When I turned back to look at Amelia, she was asleep again. I sat back in the armchair and closed my eyes.
I listened to the wind howling outside. It was hard to tell how many hours had passed since I had started my climb. I don't bring my phone or watch on my climbs, preferring to be completely disconnected from the everyday grind and distractions of social media and the online world. I never thought I'd end up in a situation like this. I laughed at my own short-sightedness. I could very well have been stuck out there in the blizzard if I hadn't found Amelia.
I shook my head and got up. I wanted to check her arm without waking her. I was satisfied there wasn't any fresh bleeding.
I looked back at the armchair. It wasn't designed for sleeping in, but it was better than the floor.