Chapter 19 #3
My energy flags, and the dream ending I’d created in my mind—the SUV pulling up like a knight in shining armor—vaporizes.
How long has it been since he left? I’ve lost track of time.
“Should we keep going?” he asks.
I squeeze my eyes shut. What would Sawyer do? He wouldn’t stay here and risk hypothermia, that’s for sure. So I nod and lift the blanket. “We can use this. It’s not much, but it will give us a little cover.”
He shakes his head. “I’ll be okay. Keep that wrapped around you.”
The man’s lips are tinted blue and his skin is pale, but his jaw is set tight. Stubborn ass.
“The blanket is big enough for b-b-both of us,” I say, the lecture losing some of its potency when a big, fat drop rolls from my hairline down my neck to rest between my shoulder blades.
“You’re freezing,” he says, his words steady. He may look cold, but his teeth aren’t chattering uncontrollably.
“S-s-so are y-y-you.” I focus on limiting the shivers again to keep my own teeth from clacking, but it only makes my vision bounce instead.
Sawyer and Cole, I am not.
“Let’s stop arguing and start walking,” he says, waving at the road.
We travel more slowly than I’d like, given the icy water falling from the sky, but the gravel is slick beneath our shoes. It may have been my idea to walk, but Cy is the one leading.
My ankles continue to wobble in my stupid, no doubt ruined boots.
It would be faster barefoot.
Stopping, I bend at the waste and yank one boot off. Then I toss it down the road as far as I can.
“What are you doing?” Cy asks, his attention shifting from the abandoned boot in front of us back to me.
“T-t-taking these st-st-stupid things off. Fuck,” I shout, struggling with the other boot. Dammit. My fingers are numb and no longer cooperating.
I’m hunched over, cursing at the zipper that won’t budge, when I’m tackled to the ground.
“Look out!”
My breath leaves me in a whoosh, my vision turning hazy around the edges. White hot pain races up my ankle and my head connects with a hard surface, making my ears ring. There’s a low buzz, a vibration, next.
Stars dance in my vision as I struggle to pull air into my lungs.
What the hell just happened?
“Sydney!”
It’s my name, but the sound is distorted, like I’m underwater.
“Sydney!” It’s clearer this time.
Head pounding, I heave myself up to a sitting position. That only makes the stars dance more fiercely. Shit.
I shift my arms, relieved when they follow my brain’s orders.
Finally, I take my first full breath since being tackled.
I curl the toes on my right foot, and when the wet fabric of my sock slides between my toes, I grimace.
But there’s no pain. Left toes next. Stiff, but they’re still stuck in the bootie.
“I-I’m okay. Are you okay? What happened?” I scan our surroundings as water runs down my face.
“Some asshole on a four-wheeler. They nearly hit you,” he growls.
Probably trying to get out of the storm too.
Only now do I realize that Cy is sprawled out on the cold, wet ground practically beneath me.
At the sight, my heart lurches. “Fuck. Are you okay?” I ask.
“Besides being fucking freezing and wet, I’m fine.”
One after another, white specks dot his face, the rain turning to snow.
Of course it is.
“Ugh. I hate snow. Let’s keep going. Surely we’ll meet the car any minute.” I put my hands on the ground, readying to push up, even as my body begs me to burrow closer to him.
Maybe I would if we weren’t outside. If we weren’t drenched. If it wasn’t snowing.
Looks like the universe’s sick sense of humor is at play again.
Any chance you want to cut me a break anytime soon?
The snowflakes get bigger as if in response.
Fuck, it’s cold. I disentangle my limbs from Cy’s and squint, looking down the road for any sign of rescue.
Nothing.
Once I’m upright again, I shift so I’m putting most of my weight on my one booted foot, but as I do, a sharp pain races up my leg. I bite my lip, barely holding back a cry of pain. We’ve got to get back. It’s just stiff. I need to get the boot off. It will be fine.
I shift again, and when the pain fades, relief washes over me.
Cy gets to his feet, and then we’re walking again, anxious to meet the SUV, to get out of the cold. This time, the pain that zips from my throbbing ankle up my leg makes my knees buckle and threatens to take my breath away.
There’s no holding back this time.
“Fuck,” I scream, tears immediately springing to my eyes.
Cy moves quickly—and gracefully, damn him—to my side. “What? What is it? What’s wrong?”
I want to tell him I’m fine. That nothing is wrong.
But even I’m not that delusional.
I point to my ankle. “I-I’m not sure. I-I can’t put any weight on it.”
Dammit. This is my worst nightmare. I hate being some damsel in fucking distress. This isn’t me.
Cy doesn’t lower to his knees to check my ankle, and he doesn’t speak. Without warning, he scoops me into his arms bridal style, instantly easing the pain.
“What are you d-d-doing?” I ask, teeth chattering again. The adrenaline powering me for the last few moments fades quickly.
“We can’t just sit here waiting on the car.”
I grunt. “You can’t carry me.”
“Want to bet?” He peers down at me. The fire in his dark irises momentarily stops my shivering.
Holy shit.
Had Jessie told me on the phone that this was going to happen today, I would have told her she was crazy. But here I am being carried down a mountain by a man I not too long ago referred to as my mortal enemy.
And I’m not exactly mad about it.