AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She nods. “I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
The words are so quiet that if I wasn’t leaning on her shoulder, I might have missed them. “Nothing is gonna happen to me, I promise,” I tell her, kissing her neck.
She shrugs and I can tell she doesn’t quite believe me, even if she’s trying to. “We have no idea when we’re going to get rescued,” she says, tilting her head so it’s resting against mine.
“I know we don’t,” I admit. “But there is something I do know.”
She lifts her head now, turning to look at me. Her eyes are wide and questioning as she stares up at me and once again, I am hit with how fucking beautiful she is. How the hell I ever thought I could stay away from this girl is beyond me.
As much as I thought I didn’t want a relationship, that I didn’t ever want to get attached to anyone, now, I can’t imagine my life without Delaney Hayes in it. I want her in ways I’ve never wanted anyone or anything and I know I am never going to do anything to fuck this up again.
And when we do finally get out of here and go back to the lives we had before, none of my feelings for her or the fact that I want her more than anything, is going to change. I’m not letting her go.
“What?” she prompts.
I smile, brushing a thumb along her cheekbone. “That I’ve wanted you from the second I saw you, Laney and now that I finally have you,” I pause, sucking in a deep breath before letting it out slowly, “I’m never letting you go.” A slow, shy smile tugs at her mouth as she blinks quickly. With a soft chuckle, I brush her cheekbone again as I add, “So yeah, I hope you realize you’re stuck with me now.”
She bites her bottom lip, a sexy smirk teasing her mouth as she says, “I mean I guess I could put up with you.”
Laughing, I squeeze my arms tight around her, wishing I could tell her how I really feel, how hearing her say those words to me means more than she can ever know. But even though I’ve finally admitted to myself how I feel about her, it still scares me to give a voice to those words. To risk saying them and not have her say them back.
Because as much as we’ve come a long way since that first night, finally getting on the same page about what we want, and who we are to each other, there are still unknowns, including what this all looks like out in the real world. And deep down, I’m sure there’s still a part of Delaney that has doubts about me, that worries I won’t follow through on my promises here in this cabin when we get back home.
Which is why, as much as I want to tell her how I really feel, I need to wait and prove to her that I mean everything I’m saying in here on the outside too.
So instead of telling her that I love her, I say, “I mean, you know I’ll make it worth your while, right?”
24
DELANEY
It’s hard to fall asleep and it’s even harder to stay asleep. My mind is continually consumed with worry, wondering if Alex will get sicker or if we’ll be rescued or what I can do to help him. Lying next to him, I lean over and check his temperature. Not that I have a clue as to what it possibly could be, but he’s still warm. Not nearly as hot as he was, which gives me hope that he’s getting better.
I count off in my head the number of hours that have passed since he last took some meds. It’s been at least six hours, so that gives me even more hope. The fever isn’t as high and the meds have to be wearing off by now.
But as I lay here, my thoughts keeping me up, I catch the faintest sound of a wheeze when Alex takes in a breath. When you sleep next to someone in the silence of the wilderness, nothing but the sound of the crackling fire and the wind, you learn to pick up on changes in sounds.
It’s why I now listen before I open the door to the outhouse. I listen for the crunch of feet on the snow, the heavy breathing of an animal. Everything sounds louder out here. Everything is louder out here. It’s why I’ve even thought about calling out into the vast emptiness to see if anyone hears me, but that thought feels crazy at times.
I hold my breath, waiting for Alex to breathe again, but this time I don’t hear the sound I heard just a moment ago. I take in a breath, holding it in, I lean closer to Alex, but like last time, I fall short in hearing anything different.
It’s late and I’m tired. It was probably just my mind playing tricks on me or my exhaustion taking over and making me hear something that isn’t there.
I roll over, curling up on my side and spooning my back against Alex’s chest. He shuffles closer to me, burying his face in my hair and letting out a contented sigh.
He’s fine, I tell myself, practically whispering the words out into the open to force them to come true. If I say it enough, it has to come true. If only I had a birthday candle to wish on or a shooting star or anything for that matter.
I sleepon and off for the next few hours with Alex pretty much out like a light next to me. He needs to sleep off this cold or virus or whatever it is, so I go about our daily routine without him.
I collect wood and water, placing the logs next to the fire to dry out, the bowls of water on the stove to boil. I shuck some pine needles and make some tea, hoping it helps Alex feel better and stay hydrated. I take stock of our food situation and plan our meals for the day. It’s all pretty boring and while I’m playing a game of solitaire at the table, Alex wakes up.
It has to be somewhere near noon based on the sky, and I would guess Alex has to be starving. I ate my breakfast which was half a can of pineapples, saving the rest for Alex.
“You hungry?” I ask, when he sits up, coughing a little as he stretches his arms over his head. I walk over to him with the can of pineapples and a fork.
“I’m okay,” he says, holding up his hand as I try to hand the can to him. “I’m not really hungry.”
“You need to eat, Alex,” I say, trying not to sound like I’m demanding he eat, but I am. It’s one of my biggest worries out here. That we aren’t getting enough to eat or drink and in this case, with Alex being sick, he could very easily dehydrate.
