AllFreeNovel
Share Us
No.
Emotion swells my throat, scalding my insides and I shake my head against his chilly, damp neck, breathing him in. He smells like saltwater. Like terror. As if summoned, an image of him right before the bridge collapsed assaults my vision.
It’s an image I don’t think I’ll be rid of anytime soon, one that will haunt me for the rest of my days. And I realize,No, I don’t regret a fucking thing.
Skyler moans, and it cuts off with a hitch. Pulling back, I turn him just in time. “Just get it out,” I murmur, giving his back a couple thwacks as he bends over, vomiting up more water on the stone. “It’ll be okay.”
“Hurts,” he rasps, cringing physically, like even speaking is painful.
He seizes up again, and coughs up more water.
Fuck. How much did he swallow?
My slaps turn to calming circles as he finally seems to settle. His shoulder blades and spine ripple against my hand through his thin, soaked shirt.
His shivering picks up, and his coughing turns to something else.
“Hey,” I whisper roughly, tugging him to me.
A broken, harsh sob crawls up from his throat, fingers clawing at my arms. I squeeze him to my chest. I can’t stop touching him. Petting him. Gripping him right back. It’s like we’re terrified if we stop—if we let go—we’ll disappear. Like maybe this is the only thing truly keeping us alive right now.
“Nolan,” he whispers, turning his face into my neck, just above my collarbone.
I press my cheek to his head, wrap my arms around, fusing him to me. He feels so small right now. So fragile. And it fuckinghurts.
He mumbles something I can’t make out.
“What was that?”
I don’t know if he even heard me, but he continues to chant murmurings into my throat. Pulling back, I strain my ears, and finally decipher what it is. And when I do, my heart just… stops. Everything in me stops.
“I don’t wanna die. I don’t wanna die…”
He whispers it over and over again, his voice barely even there, until it’s just a string of indecipherable syllables mixed in with his fast, uneven breaths.
I cup the back of his head, fingers tangling in his thick, wet hair. “Shh. I know. I know.”
He shakes his head as if trying to tell me I don’t—I don’t know—but I do…
I do.
I barely know him, and yet in this moment, I’ve never felt closer to another human in my life apart from my daughter. But this is different. It’s…vicious and agonizing in a way I’ve never felt around Abby.
It’s like I’m crawling out of my skin—like something in me wants out, and no amount of strength is going to keep it in.
Lifting my gaze, I peer blankly at the storm raging on outside the cave.
“It’s okay,” I whisper shakily. “You’re safe now.”
“Nol…”
“I know. It’s okay. I’ve got you.”
We’resafe…
A hand presses over my heart, fingers digging in through my shirt. He’s shaky and cold in my arms, but his hand is a warm, steady pressure I can’t deny. Can’t ignore.
What…is this?
