I catch another flicker of movement to my right , and I turn the wheel sharply to avoid it. The car fishtails, and I turn the other way, overcorrecting my trajectory. The headlights bounce crazily, casting shadows through the trees, making my head spin. Something crashes onto the hood, and I scream, the sound ripping raggedly from my already dry throat. Seb’s hand reaches for mine, our fingers tangling together.
The front of the car careens into a ditch, and the airbag explodes against my face and chest. My ears ring and a burning smell assaults my nose. The world goes black.
Someone’s groaning.I open my eyes, blurry shapes sliding in and out of focus. Someone groans again.
Seb.
My collarbone aches as I push down the deflated airbag. A pair of soft, frightened brown eyes meet my gaze. A small rabbit is nestled in a dent in the car’s hood, its little pink nose twitching nervously as it stares back at me.
“Hey little bunny,” I croak.
It must have fallen from a tree?
“Did you just call me little bunny?” Seb asks groggily.
Despite the situation, I laugh.
Now that the engine isn’t running, the outside chill isseeping in, and I can already see my breath. I shove the airbag aside and turn to Seb. He’s also struggling against his airbag, a dribble of blood coming from a small cut above his eyebrow. My stomach twists at the sight.
“Shit, Seb, you’re hurt!” I unbuckle my seatbelt, leaning over to push the hair off his forehead so I can inspect the injury. His eyes widen when I touch him. “Does that hurt?” I don’t know why, but I’m whispering.
He shakes his head quickly and swallows. My eyes drop to his Adam’s apple as it dips with the movement. We stare at each other, our lips inches apart, his breath warm against my skin. My heart beats faster.
Did he just move closer to me?
My hand is cradling one side of his head where I’m still holding back his hair. The strands are so soft.
His eyes catch movement behind me, and he squints. “Is that a rabbit?”
“Uh, yeah.” I sit back, the tension breaking between us. The rabbit spooks and jumps off the hood, disappearing into the darkness.
I glance around, wondering what else is out there besides flying rabbits.
Most predators are probably hibernating, right?
I manage to shove open my door and fall out into the snowy ditch, one of my knees hitting a rock. “Dammit!”
I sit back, panting, and run my hands over my body, checking for injuries while I ignore the cold seeping through my jeans. Nothing seems to hurt too much.
Seb crawls out of his side and stumbles around the car. He extends his hand when he reaches me and pulls me up.
“Are you hurt?” he asks, eyeing me critically, and I shake my head despite the ache in my collarbone and the way my knee throbs.
We scramble out of the ditch and turn to stare at the sad state of my little car.
Seb sighs. “You’re going to need a tow for sure, and who knows if anything else is broken.” He rubs his hands together and blows on them. Flakes of snow cling to his lashes and his dark hair. “I’m not a car guy, but you hit the embankment pretty good.”
Seb pulls out his phone, and I lunge for his wrist, pulling it down, and he stumbles on the icy road. “What the fuck, Fi?”
“Sorry,” I mumble, gripping his coat sleeve to help him balance. “But can we talk about this? Who’re you calling?”
“I was going to call Charlie. Her and the guys are closest to us.”
“No!” My grip tightens, my knuckles whitening. “No one can know where we are. It could put them in danger.”
Seb blows out a frustrated breath. “It’s late, Fiona. Who else is going to help us? Do you just happen to know someone with a truck?”
“Actually, I do,” I mumble, and Seb gives me a confused look while I pull out my phone and pull up Brantley’s contact. I know that he’ll come if I ask, but do I want him involved in this? I told him I was going on a weekend trip when I saw him earlier today. My feelings have been in turmoil since he showed up at the pub the other day. I can see that he’s concealing so much pain and loss, and while I want to take it all away, I also can’t forget that he broke my fucking heart. It’s a convoluted emotional mess, but that’s future me’s problem.
