Chapter 36
“We have to climb that?” Luka says, looking up at the ten-foot-tall barbed-wire fence spanning the perimeter of the mine.
I wipe my hands on the front of my overalls. “Yes. Have you never been here before? I thought this was some kind of teenage initiation.”
I begin climbing the fence with a practiced technique, and I hear Luka grunt as he jumps up to follow me.
“What part of this being illegal is so hard for you to understand? Some of us don’t need to prove anything. Some of us are content with riding motorcycles and playing video games; we don’t need to break the law and provoke monsters too.”
I get to the top and pause. Last time, Leo brought a sweatshirt to cover the barbed wire, but naturally, I didn’t think of that. I hike my leg over, carefully balancing my weight to keep from slicing my leg open.
“What are you doing? Are you fucking serious right now? You want me to climb over that?—”
“At least you’re wearing pants. Stop whining, and let’s go.”
I carefully pull my other leg over, but my bottom foot slips on the fence, and my top leg crashes down on the barbed wire, snagging my thigh. It’s the only reason I didn’t fall.
“Shit. Ow. Fuck.” I wince, finding my footing and pushing myself up enough to pull the sharp wire from my thigh. A stream of blood drips down all at once, like turning on a water hose, covering my overalls and socks.
I hear Luka’s audible gag behind me as he heaves several times.
“You okay?” I ask when he gets to the top, but he just gives me a silent thumbs-up, probably too afraid he’ll puke if he opens his mouth.
I land on the ground with a thud and call up to him, “Just go slow over the top and watch your footing.”
He carefully swings his long legs over, clearing it with ease. Must be nice to be tall. I guess Leo didn’t even need the sweatshirt, which means he remembered to bring it because he was thinking of me.
The realization feels like salt in my wound. Leo’s always thinking of me. Even when he seemed to hate me. It’s in the little things he does, like bringing an extra sweatshirt because he knew my legs weren’t long enough to clear the barbed wire, or checking to see if my coffee was the right color and temperature before bringing it to me, or packing my backpack before the festival with all the things he knew I’d need without me having to ask…
Meanwhile, all I’ve done is taunt him and try to get under his skin. He shouldn’t have come back here by himself. He shouldn’t have to face his literal worst fears because of me …
“I don’t know if I would’ve offered so willingly if I had known I’d be climbing barbed-wire fences and—oh my God, that’s disgusting.” Luka climbs down and covers his mouth when he sees the stream of blood pouring down my leg.
I probably look like something straight out of a horror movie, but there’s nothing I can do about it right now. “Come on. Let’s find Leo.”
“Listen, I don’t know what kind of freaky shit you and my brother are into, but I’d appreciate you never bringing me in the middle of it ever again?—”
I shove him forward as we move inside, stepping over piles of rubble, planks of wood, and ashes as far as the eye can see.
“Where do you think he went?” Luka asks, eyes growing wide as he scans the large front room.
“I’m not sure, just keep your eyes out for any signs of him …” I duck under a fallen sheet of roofing, scanning the hallway. “Leo! Leo, are you here?” I call, my voice echoing off the empty walls so clearly that it sounds like someone else entirely.
“Leo!” Luka yells somewhere behind me.
“Leo! Leo, can you hear me? It’s Ivy!” I call, the threat of tears beginning to burn behind my eyes as I really start to worry.
I really thought he’d be here. I don’t know what I was expecting exactly. That I’d walk in, and he’d be sitting there, waiting for me, ready to hear my apology and welcome me back into his life with open arms?
“Leo! Dude, don’t play with me right now,” Luka says, and I can hear the fear in his voice too.
I look at him as a fresh wave of worry falls over me, and my heart races in my chest.
“What if he’s not here? I really thought he’d be here.” My overactive imagination offers me an assortment of other terrifying scenarios to consider.
“Is this everything? Have we searched all the rooms?” Luka asks, breaking me out of my anxiety spiral.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
I stop in my tracks and look at Luka. “Did you hear that?”
“Hear what?”
The faint banging picks back up, and we both take off toward the sound.
“Is he stuck down there?” I say more to myself than to Luka as I rush down the hallway to the safe room, where I find the bunker door clamped shut.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
“Leo?” I say as I try to pull the rusted metal latch, but it doesn’t budge.
“Ivy! Ivy, baby, is that you?” Leo’s muffled voice says from the other side of the door.
Luka jumps in beside me, and we strain to pull the door open, but even with both of us, it still doesn’t budge.
“Yes, it’s me!” I glance around the small room. There are no holes to give us sunlight, and it takes a minute for my eyes to adjust to the darkness. “Don’t worry; we’re going to get you out of there. Just hang tight, okay?”
“Ivy, I’m so sorry. I’m sorry I ruined your plans for today. I know how hard you worked, and I just wanted you to have your list before you left …”
Luka gives me a confused look, but doesn’t say anything, just keeps pulling at the latch.
“Don’t apologize. This is the sweetest thing anyone’s ever done for me, and you didn’t ruin anything …” I grab a shard of metal from the corner and carry it over to the latch. “Maybe we can pry it open with this?”
Luka shrugs for me to try, and I shove the thin metal in the crack, but it just bends as soon as I put my weight on it.
“The door’s stuck. Do you think you can push it from the inside?” I call out.
“Yeah, I’ll try.”
I move back to the latch and brace myself just as Jett bursts through the door, looking wild and like he’s ready to fight someone or something—I’m not entirely sure.
“Good, you’re here. Come help us with the latch,” Luka says, and Jett immediately stalks over to help, not questioning a thing.
“On three,” I say loud enough for Leo to hear me as we all brace ourselves.
“One. Two. Three.”
We yank the latch, using all our strength. The metal door lifts, creaking a screech of protest, and the heavy door crashes to the ground with a loud thud. Dust clouds fog the air around us, making us all cough to catch our breath, and then Leo’s pulling me into him, pressing me against his big chest and holding me so tight that it knocks the air from my lungs.
“Fuck, baby girl, I’ve never been so happy to see you.” His lips crash over mine as he kisses me like I’m his only source of air and he’s suffocating.
I wrap my arms around his neck and then pull my legs around his waist, forgetting all about my open wound because the rush of adrenaline and relief that he’s okay and he’s here are all that matters.
“Ivy, baby, please forgive me. I’m so fucking sorry.” He wipes my matted hair from my face and swipes a thumb over my tear-streaked cheek. “I’m so happy to see you. I started to think I wouldn’t be able to say goodbye?—”
I shake my head. “Leo, listen, about that …”
“What time is it?” He checks the time on his phone and lets out a sigh of relief. “Fuck, I really thought I’d screwed everything up, but you still have time to make it if we leave now.” He grabs my hand and starts walking toward the doorway.
I should be relieved because he’s right; I do have time. If we leave right now, I could still make it. Sure, I wouldn’t have any of my things, but it wouldn’t be hard for him to ship them to me, and it’s not like I don’t have money to buy new clothes in the meantime … but what about Fern’s ashes? They’re with the rest of my things in the back of Leo’s car.
If only I’d been willing to let her go the other night, none of this would be happening. If I hadn’t been such a coward, maybe I wouldn’t have dropped the list, Leo wouldn’t have felt like he needed to sneak away to look for it, the festival events wouldn’t be running behind schedule, and everything would’ve gone according to plan.
Who am I kidding? Isn’t this exactly the type of thing that always happens when I’m in charge? Isn’t this exactly what I’ve been trying to avoid by following my sister’s list? I can’t help but wonder if there’s a hidden message in all the chaos.
Leo’s right; I could leave right now and be there on time to board my flight … but the thought of leaving so abruptly feels like my heart’s being ripped in two. I’m not ready to say goodbye—and not just to Leo, but to this town. I feel like I have unfinished business, and I’m torn between following my sister’s plan and sticking around to finish, to finally follow through on something for the first time in my life.
I chew on my lip and shake my head, pulling my hand free from Leo’s grip. “We have to go back to the festival?—”
“Baby, we don’t have time. It’s going to take an hour to get to the airport as it is, and you still need to account for security?—”
“I’ve got Guy stalling right now, and the whole ending ceremony depends on you being there.”
He shakes his head. “There’s nothing more important right now than making sure you catch that flight. Ivy, I can’t let you do this, not for me. I couldn’t live with myself if I messed this opportunity up for you.”
I cross my arms over my chest. “I can’t leave my sister’s ashes. We’ll deal with this later, but right now, we need to hurry, or all of this will be for nothing.”
He purses his lips because there’s no way he can argue against that.
“Do you two need a minute of privacy or …” Luka interrupts.
We both look over. I forgot they were here. Poor Leo looks so startled that I truly don’t think he even noticed his brothers before he kissed me.
He looks back at me with confusion on his face, and I shrug.
“I might have asked your brothers for help. Hope you don’t mind.”
“Well, now that we know you’re safe, I think I’ll head back,” Jett says, pulling out his keys from his pocket.
Leo opens his mouth to respond, but then his eyes go wide, and he’s dropping to his knees in front of me to get a better look at my wound. “Jesus Christ, Ivy, what happened to your leg?”
“It’s not as bad as it looks.” I try to pull him up, but he doesn’t budge as he examines the cut.
“This is going to need stitches. We need to clean this up, so it doesn’t get infected.”
I grab his face between my hands. “Leo, I’m fine, really. It’s just a cut.”
His eyes search mine, and he finally nods. “Okay. Well, if you insist on going back, then we’re stopping at the medical tent first thing. I don’t want to hear any arguments.”
“Okay,” I say sheepishly, feeling so mixed up about everything and hoping I’m making the right decision.
Leo looks up at Luka. “Can I ask you for one more favor, little brother?”
Luka shakes his head. “Don’t even think about it?—”
“I’ll owe you one. Big time,” he says, holding out his hands.
Luka pauses, staring at him like he’s considering, then pulls his keys from his pocket with a sigh. “Fine, but you’d better not put a single scratch on her, or I’ll never offer to help you out ever again.”
Leo catches the keys and dangles them in front of me. “All right, let’s get to that parade.”