Chapter 18 Amelia
Amelia
Turned out, saving Hudson was going to take everything I had.
I rolled out of his embrace and sat up to a spinning cabin. If I thought about what it was going to take to get to the cabin on the other side of the island, it made me want to lie back down beside Hudson and pretend none of this was happening.
Baby steps.
First step, put some clothes on. Since I’d sworn to never wear that dress again, I threw Hudson’s button-up shirt over my head.
It went halfway down my thighs, like a T-shirt dress several sizes too big.
But it was mostly dry and would keep the bugs and branches from coming after me.
I stopped to let the room resettle in my vision, then moved onto solving the next problem.
My foot was burning, but there wasn’t much I could do about that, except put on Hudson’s socks.
They were thick wool, and even more damp than his shirt had been, but it was all I had.
His clothes were too salty and smoky to smell like him but having them around me still felt like I was safely in his arms. You’ve got this, Amelia, I said to myself, but it sounded like Hudson’s voice in my head.
I turned to watch him sleeping. He moved restlessly, like he couldn’t get comfortable, and the swelling in his shoulder was noticeable in the light.
I held onto the wall as I stood and remained there until the black spots in my vision cleared.
One step in front of the other, I focused on each inch passed as I walked outside of the cabin and blinked into the gray dappled sunlight.
Disorientation swept through me as I turned in a circle and saw nothing but dense stands of trees in every direction.
Birds chirped happily in those trees, making the forest seem less daunting.
I stumbled down the porch, nearly falling into a patch of thorny weeds that surrounded the cabin. There were tons of moss, rocks, purple lupine, salmonberry bushes all blending into my vision like wet ink spreading across a page. But no trail.
Getting lost in the forest wasn’t going to help either of us.
But I could hear the rushing sound of the ocean, so I headed in that direction. I stumbled and fell every few steps, and each time I had to pull myself to my feet, it was harder and harder to stand. My foot burned when I placed weight on it, clearing my mind every time the pain shot up my leg.
I was so thirsty. The sound of water drew me close, even though I knew I couldn’t drink it.
I made it to shore and looked back at the island, hoping to spot the Forresters’ cabin high on a hill so I’d know which way to walk. But it was impossible to see anything through the thick moss, weeds, and trees. If I had tears, I’d cry.
Instead, I lay down on the rocky shore and stared up at the sky, dozing in and out, dreaming of water.
Don’t give up, Amy.
I blinked my eyes open again. I could do this. I could save us. Hudson had done everything in his power to save me, time and again, and I would do the same.
I sat and started to stand when I heard a familiar sound.
A boat’s engine.
A jolt of adrenaline brought me all the way to my feet.
“Hey! Help!” I yelled through my dry throat. There was no way they’d be able to hear me over the noise of the ocean and their boat. The tide had gone out while I was lying on the shore, so I limped over exposed tide pools and sea foliage to get further out.
“Help!” I yelled again, waving my arms. There were two boats, traveling horizontally to the island, but facing in an away direction. It wouldn’t be long before they were out of sight.
I screamed as loud as I could, jumped and waved, and ignored every pain, every spot of darkness that hovered behind my vision. But my voice was hoarse, and they were still going in the wrong direction.
I ran out to the edge of the tide, and tripped and fell, scraping my knees and elbows on the hard, exposed rocks. The crackle of sea life met my ear as I dropped my cheek onto the marshy surface. I couldn’t do it. I couldn't stop them. I couldn’t save us.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. The breeze blew over my back and hair, lifting it and cooling my neck.
Something crunched near me, like a footstep. I opened my eyes, but no one was there.
Instead, a glint of light caught my eye. Something shiny sparkled in the dark recesses of a tide pool, the sunlight catching it just right.
I reached out and grabbed it. A compact mirror, the kind my mom used to use. A spark of hope flickered to light in me. What if it doesn’t work? What if they keep going and all I’m left with is devastation?
What if it all works out? I heard Hudson ask me.
I inhaled a deep breath and then used every bit of strength I had to stand up one more time. I turned the mirror so that it reflected the sun toward the boats.
“Please,” I whispered. I didn’t have any more shouts left in me. “Come on. See me.”
They kept going, until suddenly one of the boats stopped. The sound of an engine quieting was followed by the other engine as well.
Then they turned toward me, racing back to the island.
My knees gave out, and I fell backward into a tide pool, among the brilliantly colored starfish, and sobbed without tears.
Help was coming.
We were going to be okay.