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Isaac shifted, bringing Kate out of her thoughts. “Drink please, Turquoise,” he pleaded softly, handing her a bottle of water.
She took the water and sipped slowly, downing almost half of it before handing it back. “What about you?”
“I’ll have the rest.” He did as he said before placing the water bottle on the floor in the small space between the bed and the stacked shelving units.
Knowing she shouldn’t but unable to ignore the compulsion, Kate rotated toward the wall and pulled her arm away from Isaac’s warmth. Flattening her palm against the drywall, she closed her eyes, desperately wanting to feel something that would give her hope. Instead, the wall felt colder than it had been before. Just as the room was.
They could now see their breath.
Right after the most recent shift in the room, Kate had pushed on the wall and screeched, jerking her arm back, when she’d felt the wall move. For a moment, she feared it would crack and they would fall out into space… or wherever they were.
But instead of punching outward, the wall had moved inward a fraction more.
It still didn’t stop her from needing to touch the wall. Without saying anything, Isaac took her hand and pulled it back to his chest, tugging her body against his warm skin. She knew she was obsessed with touching the wall—hoping to feel something, but not knowing what. Her magic returning, maybe.
They’d been without their magic for three weeks now. It felt like an eternity, with dying the only end she could see. She didn’t say the words out loud to Isaac, but they both knew it.
They had been in the room for four full weeks. They hadn’t eaten in a week, their water supply was running low, and the room was slowly crushing them.
Leaning down, she placed a kiss on Isaac’s chest, then met his gaze. “I love you, Isaac.” She couldn’t remember how long it had been since she’d said it last, maybe hours, but she needed to make sure he knew.
“I love you too, Kate.” He kissed the top of her head.
They stayed in each other’s arms, her fingers slowly caressing his chest and his trailing over her arm. They hadn’t made love in three days—their energy was waning, it was cold, and now they had very little room to move.
After only offering Isaac sex for months, she never expected that the act of them holding each other like they were could mean so much more. They had each other’s love for however long they… She choked out a sob as a hard lump formed in the back of her throat. She didn’t want to think about them dying, but it was becoming harder and harder to ignore.
“Hey,” Isaac said and lifted her onto his lap. She straddled him, thankful she still had enough headroom, as he pulled the blankets over her shoulders, tucking them in around them both. “What’s wrong? Are you hurting?”
She shook her head, fighting against the desolation that had become a constant shroud enveloping them, but it was no use. Her tears finally let loose and spilled over.
Isaac’s hand found its usual spot on the back of her neck, and he used his thumb to wipe away her tears. She loved that his fingers were so long they could span across so much of her skin. Although she couldn’t feel where the tattoo climbed up her neck, she knew his palm covered it as his fingers caressed her cheek.
Taking in shallow breaths, she swallowed again, trying to get herself under control. “I was just thinking about the last time we made love.”
“Well, if that made you cry, then I wasn’t doing it right,” he teased.
“What if we never—” She couldn’t finish the sentence and choked on the word, a sob bursting out of her.
Isaac pulled her against his chest, wrapping her tight in his arms. He didn’t say anything for several minutes, but then, as if shoring up his own hope in order to reply, he said, “We have to believe that someone will find us.”
Kate wasn’t sure she could believe that anymore. She didn’t think Isaac did either, but she didn’t contradict him, letting that little bit of hope linger in the air.
He held her for the longest time, her hips straddling his, but she didn’t have the energy for sex. She only needed to feel him. Sleep was threatening to pull her under when Isaac kissed her forehead.
“Merry Christmas, Turquoise. I love you.”
She pulled back so she could look up into his eyes. “Merry Christmas, my lumberjack.” They kissed softly. “I didn’t think it was the twenty-fifth yet.”
“It’s not. It’s December twenty-third. I just couldn’t wait any longer to wish you a merry Christmas.”
Isaac didn’t look away from her, but she knew he was lying. He didn’t think they were going to live until Christmas Day—only two days away.
Weakness had become Kate’s constant state of being. She slept more hours than she was awake, but she thought that was good because it conserved her energy.
Laying her head back on his chest, she wrapped her arms around his waist and listened to his heartbeat.
“Do you remember last Christmas?” he whispered. There was no reason to whisper, but they did it a lot, or they talked softly. Maybe they unconsciously didn’t want to make too big a wave out into the universe and have the room dissolve. If they were quiet, they could stay wrapped in each other’s arms a little longer, hoping for someone to rescue them.
