Finally, I slip free and fall into a heap into the gloriously cold snow. My brain is foggy, and my eyes are blurry, but I swear I hear shouts nearby. Someone’s screaming. Flashing lights bounce around, making my head throb.
I crawl as far away from the building as I can, pulling my body toward the tree line on shaky, ash-blackened hands.
The world is fuzzy, and it spins and sways.
The shouts are louder now.
Are they saying my name?Why does it sound like I’m underwater?
My vision starts to blacken at the edges, and I fold my arm and place my head on it, taking a moment to rest. Then, I lose consciousness.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
BRANTLEY
The ride back to the cabin takes forever, and I’m practically vibrating out of my skin by the time we pull into the driveway where my truck is already parked. Seb, bless his heart, has been doing his best to comfort me, but no amount of hand holding or gentle whispers can contain my absolute panic when I think about losing Fiona.
When Lincoln throws the car in park, I’m the first out of the door, stumbling in the snow as I run for the porch.
“Fi!” I scream, pulling at the door, but it doesn’t budge. My breaths quicken, and I feel light-headed as I run to one of the windows, shielding my eyes to peer inside.
Seb comes up behind me, and I turn on him, my eyes hot with tears. “You were wrong! She’s not here.”
I shove him, and he lets me, and when I go to push him again, anger clawing at my chest, he catches me, holding me tightly against him while I lose my fucking mind, screaming and sobbing.
“Baby, shhh, we’ll find her,” Seb says near my ear, but I hear the crack in his voice, the desperation that we might’ve lost her.
“Guys!” Link yells from where he and Trey are standing in the yard. “Do you smell that?”
I take a breath, trying to reign in the chaos, and sniff the air.
Smoke.
“Fuck!” Seb yells. “The barn.”
He grabs my wrist and pulls me after him into the woods. The snow is still pouring down, clinging to us as we run along the path, trying not to fall over piles of leaves or trip on hidden tree roots. By the time we reach the clearing, my clothes are cold and damp, and my lungs are burning.
We slide to a halt, and Charlie runs directly into my back. I pitch forward, and Seb barely catches me as we stare in horror at the barn, which is engulfed in bright orange flames.
“Fi!” I take off toward the building, Charlie close on my heels. I hear Seb’s shouts behind us, and Lincoln joins him, their voices angry and scared.
“Fi,” I sob as I reach the barn door. I try to open it, but it doesn’t budge, no matter how hard I pull.
“Fi,” Charlie yells, throwing her shoulder against the wood as if her tiny frame could break it. I kick and claw at the wall, my boot ricocheting uselessly off the wood.
Link reaches us first and grabs Charlie around the waist, pulling her away while she fights and shrieks.
A firm hand grabs my bicep and pulls, and I turn to see Seb’s stricken face.
”She’s in there, Sebastian!” I scream. “I can feel it. We have to get her out.” A sob shakes my entire body, and Bastian looks at me brokenly.
“Please!” he yells over the roar of the flames. “Don’t do this. The fire is too big. I love her too, but I can’t lose you both. I won’t survive it. Please, Brantley. I fucking love you too. She wouldn’t want you to die for her.”
My heart cracks open as I let him drag me away, and whenwe’re back by the trees, I collapse to the ground, pressing my face to my hands.
Seb drops to his knees at my side, pulling my body against his, and I burrow into his chest, clinging to him. “She’s not gone.” I keep saying it, willing it to be true.
We hear a cry from the barn, and my head shoots up. Charlie is fighting with Trey and Lincoln, screaming Fi’s name over and over. I slip from Seb’s grasp, crawl over to her, and hug her fiercely against my body. The fight drains from her, and she melts against me as she cries hysterically into my shoulder. I kneel in the snow, my body slowly going numb while I hold my love’s best friend and wonder if we’ll ever recover from this.
