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12:10 A.M.
Sharp branches scraped her cheeks.
Running.
Aggie was running.
At least she thought she was, but she felt so disconnected that she wasn't altogether sure.
She hurt so badly it was all she could think about.
She was losing blood too quickly.
Her heart was hammering in her chest, and she was breathing fast, but she wasn't sure if it was because she’d been running or because she was falling quickly into shock.
Her head swam and remaining upright and moving was becoming increasingly difficult. She wasn't sure she could keep going much longer.
She couldn’t focus properly either. She couldn’t keep track of where she was going. When she had left the cabin, she had been heading for the road, but now she wasn't sure which direction she was going. If Andrew didn’t find her first, there was a good chance she was going to collapse and die from loss of blood alone in the woods.
Collapse soon if how she felt was any indication.
She wanted to stop. Wanted to lie down and rest. To close her eyes and go to sleep. The urge to give in and let herself rest was almost overwhelming. She was fighting it with every little bit of strength she had left but it was getting harder. Just putting one foot in front of the other was almost more than she could manage.
The world around her faded.
She focused only on her next step.
Left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot.
The mantra kept her moving for what had to be at least several more minutes. Then one of her feet, which were barely moving off the ground—she was shuffling more than running—caught on something and she tumbled to the ground.
Aggie cried out in pain as her injured shoulder made contact with the hard dirt. She was sure it was broken, the limb was useless, and every minor movement sent excruciating arrows shooting up and down it.
She nearly blacked out but clung to consciousness.
If she passed out, she’d die. It was as simple as that.
She didn’t want to die when her life was so messed up.
Her dad. She had betrayed him in the worst possible way. She had believed that he was a rapist and a murderer. She should have known better. She had knocked him unconscious, hadn’t even allowed him an opportunity to explain. Now it might be too late. Her father had risked his life in an attempt to save hers. He’d told her to run and she had, leaving him at Andrew’s mercy. And she now understood that her brother showed no mercy. Her father could already be dead, and she would never have a chance to apologize to him. Or to tell him one more time that she loved him.
Things with Nick were just as messed up. Aggie had thought that it showed weakness to forgive someone who had deliberately hurt her, used her, and treated her like garbage. She had spent the last couple of days convincing herself that Nick did not deserve her forgiveness because what he had done was unforgivable. She had focused all her energy on that and stopped doing the one thing that made herher. She had been worried about what everyone would think about her if she gave Nick a second chance. Worried about what she would think of herself. But she might die, shewasdying right now, and she was rethinking things.
Maybe she had been looking at it all wrong. Maybe instead of showing weakness it actually showed strength to be able to acknowledge that someone was truly repentant and remorseful and wanted to make things better. Maybe it made her a strong person if she could find a way to forgive Nick, to see if they had something real between them.
Setting aside all her hurt, anger, and humiliation, the bottom line was when she had looked into Nick’s eyes before they slept together, she had seen the first spark of real love. She knew in her heart that Nick hadn’t lied about his feelings to her no matter what his initial intentions had been. Aggie didn’t know if they could have a future, she didn’t know if she could ever learn to trust him again, but she wanted a chance to tell Nick that she forgave him.
She couldn’t give up.
She had to keep fighting.
And to keep fighting she had to keep moving.
Getting back on her feet was no longer a viable option, she was too weak.
However, that wasn't going to stop her. Ignoring the pain, which she noted had receded to a distant throbbing, she knew that wasn't a good thing, she was fading, but with her good arm she began to drag herself along the ground. Sticks, rocks, roots, branches, bushes, they all scratched and scraped at her, but she didn’t care. She had to find help. Emily and her father could still be alive, they needed help.Sheneeded help.
