Page 67 of Lucky 14

Holli looks at me, and immediately I drop my gaze, and as I do, I catch sight of a rip in her pants. And under it, red, inflamed skin. Not alabaster. Red. And as the rain slows for a second, I hear her breathing over it. Fast breathing.

Suddenly, I’m a kid again, staring at the fox with the white tip on its tail, trapped, scared, and afraid. My gut twists with that same churning feeling.

Holli is that fox. Only this time, I’m the one who put her in the cage in the first place.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Day 4

Slowly, so I don’t scare her, I angle my body so I can try to see the extent of Holli’s wound. I can’t see much, but what I do see doesn’t look good. It makes my skin prickle. I don’t know much about injuries, but I do know they need to be disinfected and covered up.

Grabbing for my backpack, I catch the wary look she throws at me.

“You’re hurt.”

She says nothing.

Opening the first aid kit again, I look through the items. Bandages, alcohol wipes, gloves, and Band-Aids. Not much else. I stand to hand it to her, and she backs up quickly, almost in the rain again. “Fuck off.”

Raising my eyebrows, I still. The water has given her more life. And with that life, she looks like she wants to cut me.

“Here.” I hold the kit out like an offering. Holli stares at it, then stares at me, a burning look in her eyes. But I can’t help but notice how pretty she looks with her bright eyes.

I shake my head. I’m a deranged fucker to be thinking that right now.

“Sit down,” I tell her. “You need to clean it and get it covered.”

There’s a silence where I think Holli’s considering if she can hang me with the bandages, eyes flashing. Then, she grits, “It’s a bite.”

I stare at her. “What?”

“It’s a bite. Centipede.”

I blink. I’m not sure what happens with centipede bites, but the way she says it doesn’t sound good.

“It looks infected,” I say.

“Well, it’s not going to look easy breezy covergirl.”

Hot anger washes over my skin, but I bite back a retort. If she doesn’t let me help her at least a little, there’s no way I’ll get her off this island with a bunch of people who would rather see her dead. I need her to trust me.

How would she trust me? She clearly doesn’t believe I’m here to help her. Because she sees me as the enemy. Maybe I need to change my tactics.

So, I raise my hands. “Look, you don’t have to like me. But I don’t want to be here just as much as you don’t, so just…go easy.”

She just looks at me.

I let the implication that I’m not here willingly settle, looking away from her, out into the rain.

Lying to her feels wrong. Not that I’m actually lying—I don’t want to be here. But I’m responsible for it. For both of us.

What she doesn’t know can’t hurt her, right? Once she’s home, it doesn’t matter how I got her there.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Holli look around.

Oh shit, she’s going to run. I tense, but she doesn’t. Holli just backs against one of the roots, bracing herself partially on it and resting the supplies there. Then, she starts ripping at the hole in her pants.

She’s trusting me. Goosebumps prick across my back, but I continue to face away. Either that, or she’s doing what I asked, and that’s all I needed.